2025 was a standout year for television, mainly because of the highly anticipated second season of Severance. After a three-year wait that felt much longer, the show completely blew me – and many others – away. Knowing we’ll likely have to wait a while for season three, a special episode of The Simpsons titled “Seperance” offered a welcome distraction. It was a clever parody packed with Easter eggs that fans of Severance really appreciated.
I went into watching this episode with pretty low expectations, honestly – I didn’t want to be let down. But wow, “Severance” really delivered! It’s up there with Season 37’s amazing “Treehouse of Horror” segment that brilliantly parodied Late Night with the Devil, and it’s easily one of the best pop culture references The Simpsons has done in a while. (I’m not sure how it landed with people who aren’t familiar with Macrodats, though.) Seriously, make sure you catch all the A+ references throughout the episode. Just a heads-up: spoiler warning if you haven’t seen it yet on Fox or through your Hulu or Disney+ subscription!
The Ms. Cobel-esque Consonance And The Lumon-ish Enthusiasm On Demand
Julianne Moore voiced Consonance, a character who talks in confusing technical terms, much like Patricia Arquette’s Ms. Harmony Cobel. The company she works for, Enthusiasm On Demand, is similar to Lumon but feels more outgoing. Although we don’t know anything about this company’s long history in Springfield, it clearly has the same ability to secretly watch people, just like Lumon. How else could Consonance have been observing Homer while he was bowling?
Later in the show, Consonance explores the contrast between people’s work and home personalities by playfully calling the energetic, outgoing versions of the characters “Uppies” and their more relaxed, homebound selves “Downies.”
Super-Specific Snacks As Perks
As a follower of Lumon, I’ve noticed their vending machines are stocked with quick snacks like nuts, dried fruit, and those little meat cubes. They’ve even added more options in Season 2, including fruit leather, cut beans, Christmas mints, and salsa! And if you’re a fan of The Simpsons, you might recognize those bee capsules, along with pickled blueberries – which really are a bit tangy – and even candied squid ink!
Riffing On Severance’s Piano Theme
As a big fan of Severance, I instantly think of Teddy Shapiro’s amazing theme music, and this episode really leaned into that – thankfully! They used it often, and it worked beautifully. It’s funny, though, Severance has never actually shown anyone playing the piano, even though you just feel like the Choreography and Merriment department probably has one hidden somewhere in that building.
EOD’s Exterior Mirrors Lumon’s, Springfield Geography Be Damned
I don’t know the exact location of EOD near Springfield, but it’s a fun mystery for fans to try and figure out. It’s interesting because Severance hasn’t told us where Kier is located either, so it fits the show’s pattern of ambiguous geography.
The Giant Face In The Lobby
A striking detail in the show Lumon is the enormous wall featuring the face of its founder, Kier Egan. It’s great that even though it only appeared briefly on screen, the creators still put effort into building it and other unique, one-time-use sets. That level of detail is important and makes the show better.
The Haunting Hallway Portraits
Lumon created these disturbing, war-like images to create tension between the Macrodata Refiners and Optics and Design teams – though it didn’t really work. I’d love to own a print of it, if I can find a website that sells them!
Homer Gets An Elevator Zolly Shot
A defining visual effect in Severance is the dramatic camera move – a zoom and dolly combined – used when characters transition between their work and personal lives in the Lumon elevator, accompanied by a jarring sound. Even though The Simpsons parody doesn’t involve the same brain-altering technology, it cleverly recreates this iconic shot with Homer and Marge. Oh, and I’m getting ahead of myself in the explanation!
Beyond just the idea of having separate work and personal lives, the show Severance introduced the unsettling concept of ‘shadow’ versions of the MDR team during their trip to the Outie Reintegration Therapy and Behavioral Orientation (ORTBO) facility. I’m really glad the main difference between our Homer and his ‘Outie’ version is just having hair – it could have been much worse if he were a strangely deformed creature!
Zach Cherry Voices A Diamond Desk Co-Worker
Zach Cherry, known for his role in Severance, appears as a guest star, and it’s a real treat – he’s always fantastic. His animated character, Farley, doesn’t directly imitate Dylan G. from the live-action series, but he’s a loyal companion to Homer.
The show continues to impress with its detailed animation, including the unique “diamond desk” where Mark, Helly, Irv, and Dylan work. It’s also worth noting the set design – the green carpet and the deliberately old-fashioned technology, like dot matrix printers, really add to the atmosphere.
EOD Gives Employees Walnut Parties
Lumon loves to throw parties, especially ones centered around food – remember Dylan’s enthusiastic quote about the ‘egg bar’ from Severance? Continuing that tradition, the latest event offers… walnut parties. The options are simple: whole walnuts, walnut halves, or a mix of both. It’s making me crave those mysterious bee capsules!
Woe And Contrition Corner
This situation echoes a pattern we’ve seen before. Similar to how Lumon forces employees to dwell on their perceived failings, EOD offers a less harsh method – a quiet corner with a stool for personal reflection.
As a huge fan, I learned something really cool! “Woe” isn’t just a feeling in the show, it’s actually one of Kier Eagan’s “Tempers.” It’s why the beautiful place the ORTBO group goes to – Woe’s Hollow with its waterfall – is named that way, and also why that episode has that title. I was even tempted to count how many times we saw the waterfall earlier in the episode – it’s just that significant!
Duffman Is A Petey Surrogate
Okay, so one of the funniest parts of this episode definitely involves Duffman. He shows up looking totally frazzled and out of it, and starts rambling about Petey, that former Lumon employee we met earlier. But it gets really creepy when Duffman reveals a scar, claiming it’s from where he had an implant removed – a direct echo of what Cobel did to Petey’s body. It’s a brilliantly unsettling detail that really connects things and left me with chills.
Lisa Actually Referencing Severance
This isn’t a hidden easter egg so much as a playful reference that breaks the fourth wall, along with some funny fake titles. I wouldn’t really describe Severance as a mystery-focused show, though, because the entire setting—the building itself—is a major part of the story.
Homer And Marge Are Dressed Like Mark And Helly
After Marge agrees to help with the EOD team, she wears a green outfit that closely matches Homer’s blue suit. It’s almost like Marge and Helly are two sides of the same coin, just like Mark and Homer.
Lumon Has Goats, But EOD Maybe Has Human-Breeding Kangaroos
The characters in Severance aren’t the only impressive parts of the show—the goats are fantastic too. The Simpsons took a similar approach with a bizarre scene where the kids and Duffman discovered a room with a kangaroo who really didn’t want to be disturbed, and was bottle-feeding a human baby. It raises so many questions: What was in that bottle? And what’s hidden behind the other door?
Running Down Red Hallways
The season two finale was visually striking, especially with its use of flashing red lights, and this episode brings that same intense feeling to mind when the characters are pursued like rats.
Most Of The Lumon CEOs’ First Names Are Used
The Hall of Perpetuity at Lumon showcases the company’s former CEOs. Interestingly, many past executives from the EOD division all share the same first names.
- Kier Eagan / Kier Puzzlebox
- Ambrose Eagan / Ambrose Worldbuilding
- Myrtle Eagan / Myrtle Backstory
- Baird Eagan / Baird Retcon
- Gerhardt Eagan / Gerhardt Rethink
- Phillip Pip Eagan / Phillin Timeline
- Leonora Eagan / ??
- Jame Eagan / Jame Overthink
The main change was for the gag “Phillin Timeline,” and I’m going to allow it.
Similar to how Kier Egan was discovered to have a personal animatronic that performs comedy routines with Mr. Milchick, the robot created by EOD, known as The Visionary, is also quite slow. However, unlike the skits with Kier Egan’s bot, this one doesn’t have a laugh track.
Praise N.R.O.I.!
In “Separance,” characters repeatedly say a variation of Lumon’s mantra, “Praise Kier.” However, it’s revealed that “Kier” isn’t a person named Enroy – it’s actually an acronym for “Net Return On Investment.” This suggests that EOD isn’t a company involved in strange, secretive practices, but a typical business focused solely on profit.
As a huge fan, I’m always curious if I caught all the little details! If you think I missed anything in Severance, definitely tell me. And if you haven’t already, you absolutely need to dive into both seasons – it’s available to stream with an Apple TV subscription, and trust me, you’ll get completely lost in the world of Lumon!
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2026-01-13 01:15