WARNING: This article contains spoilers about Severance Season 2, Episode 7.
Severance fans are convinced they have worked out how the show will end – and it’s not good news for Mark.
Episode 7 of Season 2 follows three different storylines – Mark being looked after by Devon and Reghabi after his stroke, the story of his relationship with Gemma from the moment they meet until he learns that she died in a car crash and Gemma’s life in the Testing Floor. An eagle-eyed viewer who noticed that Dr Mauer pulled a book – The Death of Ivan Ilyich – out of Gemma’s shelf before being knocked unconscious has now claimed that this could be “the most important and direct allusion to how the show will end.”
After researching the theme of the novel, the viewer pointed out that there are “many parallels” between the book and the show. Taking to Reddit, the Severance fan pointed out that in The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the main characters’ “focus on social position and relationships prevents characters from forming true relationships and living meaningful and authentic lives” and “the only characters in the novella who do not lead artificial lives are those who are removed from society’s influence.”
This is somehow reflected in Helena, who is not able to lead an authentic life as an Eagan. And the viewer pointed out that the book’s main theme is that “it is possible to find meaning and clarity through suffering, but only by embracing it and allowing it to strip away illusions.”
Through Severance, Lumon is trying to do the opposite – sell a life void of suffering. According to the viewer, such a life, though, would be “spiritually empty and incomplete” – and this could be the message the show is trying to convey to its viewers.
Analyzing Mark’s case, the viewer wrote in their Reddit post that Mark might be faced with “an impossible choice” at the end of the show – either living a life remembering both the grief and love he had for Gemma, or neither. But there might also be an alternative outcome, the viewer said, with the pair realizing that they risked their love by trying to fix grief and choosing to fight for their love instead, even if it comes with grief.
The Reddit user wrote, “Putting it all together, what seems bad – like grief – is also a testament to love, and embracing both will give Mark the clarity he needs. Mark tried to run from this by severing himself, such that his innie will know neither grief nor love, while his outie fails to move past grief.
“I think, cruelly, he might have an impossible choice at the end of either living a life remembering both the grief and love for Gemma or neither. Alternatively, Mark and Gemma may realize that trying to fix grief has risked their love, and choose to fight for love instead, even if it comes with grief.”
Many other fans of the show shared their opinions in the comment section, with one writing, “If they’re testing the severance chip on Gemma, and Cold Harbor is grief, and Mark is necessary for Cold Harbor, and ‘Kier will take away all of Mark’s pain… well, I have a guess of how you could test Gemma’s grief and take away Mark’s pain that requires Mark, but it’s not good news for ol’ Mark.”
Another agreed saying, “That’s what I think it is too, that’s why Mark is so important to Cold Harbor. I think they’ll kill Mark in front of her and see if the severance barrier holds during the ultimate unpleasant experience.” But the user then changed their mind, adding, “WAIT NOPE I just realized that won’t do anythingthey are testing the severance barrier on the inner vs outies..so killing Mark in front of an innie Gemma wouldn’t really matter because the innie wouldn’t know Mark. They would need to kill him in front of Gemma but then that does nothing for testing the barrier. I thought I had something lol back to the drawing board.”
A third fan added, “I think the thing that could save Mark in the end is that he would father a child with Helly/Helena, and she wouldn’t let him die because of this. Potentially creating an even more painful life for Mark.” One more wrote, “I wonder if they would show Gemma video of Mark ‘moving on’ with Helly/Helena to see if the severance block holds.”
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