Severance: Dan Erickson Reveals Lumon’s Mind-Bending Five-Month Lie!

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In the second season of Severance, things kick off with a deception by Mr. Milchick, a situation that the series creator Dan Erickson attributes to Lumon’s “psychological manipulations.

In the initial scenes of Season 2’s premiere, Mr. Milchick subtly alters the sequence of events, informing Mark that his actions five months prior had caused profound distress within the corporation.

He’s talking about the “Overtime Contingency” that awoke the Inner selves (Innies) of Mark, Irving, and Helly within their Outer selves (Outies) at the conclusion of Season 1.

He informs Mark, “You four have gained worldwide recognition,” hinting that they’ve become the symbol of Severance overhaul. He then shows him a heavily censored newspaper article highlighting their whistleblowing actions. However, as is often the case with Lumon, things are not always as they appear. SPOILER ALERT for Season 2…

Dan Erickson explains Lumon’s “mind games in mind games”

In Episode 2, it’s revealed that contrary to what was suggested earlier, Mark and the other Innies were only gone for a few days instead of five months. This implies that Mr. Milchick has been dishonest about their absence.

According to Dan Erickson, creator of Lumon Industries, Lumon frequently feeds the Innies with what they believe they desire to hear or see. The company’s portrayal of what employees want is often awkward and strange, but with a dark and mysterious twist. This incongruity, in my opinion, is what makes it amusing.

It strikes me as amusing that Lumon wrote an article but then removed half of what they had penned themselves. It’s like a game within a game within a game, playing with one’s mind.

In that same interview, Erickson explains why Lumon gives this particular falsehood: “The five-month timeframe seems significant to me for a few reasons. One being, it conveys an unspoken message that we’re not punishing you for what occurred, but simply wanting to inform you that five months have elapsed since then. Essentially, you’ve aged five months. There’s also an implication of missed time. ‘It wasn’t us who imposed the punishment, but the outcome of your actions has resulted in these five months passing.’

Erickson adds: “It’s quite peculiar to discover all of a sudden – ‘Whoa, I’ve apparently missed out on six months.’ Once more, they’re playing psychological tricks with psychological tricks.

At the moment, Season 2 of Severance is being broadcast on Apple TV+. For additional insights about the series, you might want to check out this guide on obtaining Ricken’s book, understanding the concept of “Mammalians Nurturable”, and discovering a spine-tingling Severance Easter egg. Or, if you’re interested in more TV and movie reviews, follow this link to visit We Love TV & Movies.

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2025-02-11 19:48