Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2’s finale.
Severanceseason 2 revealed what Lumon’s MDR numbers truly meant for Mark, which could have retroactively raised a big Petey twist from season 1.Severanceseason 2’s endingwas filled with massive reveals that have big implications on the show’s Innies, Outies, and relationships. Not only was the true nature ofSeverance’s Cold Harbor fileunveiled that would have seen Gemma lose her life, but other mysteries that have been prevalent since season 1, episode 1 were also addressed.
One such mystery is the truepurpose ofSeverance’s Macrodata Refinement numbers. Since season 1, episode 1,Severance’s cast of charactershave spent their time inside Lumon’s offices combing through numbers on a screen that illicit intense emotional responses. These numbers are then “refined” into different boxes, with several projects being given to Mark as MDR chief. After countless theories both extreme and mundane,Severanceseason 2’s finale finally revealed exactly what the numbers mean, potentially having a big retroactive effect on a forgotten season 1 character: Petey.
Mark’s MDR Numbers Were Linked To Gemma’s Lumon Experiences
Image via Apple TV+
As first teased in the final shot ofSeveranceseason 2, episode 1’s ending, the MDR numbers that Mark has been refining for two seasons are connected to Gemma. The first hint at this was the aforementioned shot, which flickered between Mark’s refinement work and Gemma on Lumon’s Testing Floor.Severanceseason 2, episode 7 then revealed exactly what Lumon has been doing to Gemma by showing her entering several differently themed and named rooms, each one containing a different Innie via her severance chip.
What Lumon Has Really Been Doing To Gemma/Ms. Casey In Severance
Severance season 2, episode 7 revealed vital elements of Gemma/Ms. Casey’s backstory, including what Lumon has been doing to her the entire time.
InSeveranceseason 2, episode 10, Ms. Cobel spoke to Mark’s Innie and explained how all of this is linked. As it turns out, Mark’s various MDR files were named after the different rooms Gemma entered. Mark’s work on those files was essentially him combing through Gemma’s mind and refining her versions ofSeverance’s Four Tempers of Kier, hence the conflicting emotional reactions he had to the numbers as he did so.
Melancholy, sadness
Joy, frivolousness
Fear, anxiety
Rage, intent to harm
Ram
Each time Mark worked on a new MDR file, he was working through Gemma’s Tempers and building a new Innie.This Innie would correlate to the room of the same name on Lumon’s Testing Floor, withSeveranceseason 2’s finale revealing that Mark created 25 different personalities for Gemma during his time at Lumon. Although these reveals are massive regarding what the future holds for Mark, Gemma, and their relationship, they could also affect more ofSeverance’s characters retroactively.
Mark Was Vital To Building Gemma’s Innies As The MDR Department Chief
Only Mark Could Complete Lumon’s Experiments For Gemma
In order to explain howSeveranceseason 2’s MDR reveals could retroactively impact Petey, it is worth exploring a vital part of Mark and Gemma’s situation.Severanceseason 2 made it clear that Mark was the only person who could complete Cold Harbor. The various representatives of Lumon, be it Milchick, Drummond, Cobel, or Helena Eagan, made it clear that Mark had to be at work. If he was not, Cold Harbor would be stalled and the experiments Lumon was conducting on Gemma would not progress.
The reveal that the numbers have a distinct connection with Gemma’s mind and that only Mark can properly oversee them reveals how integral he was to Lumon’s dark plans…
The reason for this could have been explained by simply stating that Mark is MDR’s chief refiner. However, the reveal that the numbers have a distinct connection with Gemma’s mind and that only Mark can properly oversee them reveals how integral he was to Lumon’s dark plans. With this in mind, the connection toSeveranceseason 1’s Peteyreveals itself, potentially bringing with it a dark retcon of his past and his own relationships.
Severance Season 2’s MDR Reveal Adds A Dark Past For Petey
Petey Was Once The Chief Of MDR
With all of this information about Lumon’s MDR department now revealed, it can be retroactively applied to Petey. Petey played a minor part inSeveranceseason 1 as the former chief of MDR who mysteriously disappeared, leading to Mark becoming the head of the department and Helly’s debut. Petey then appeared to Outie Mark and explained that he had been Reintegrated and was actively working to uncover Lumon’s sinister plans now that his memories as an Innie were coming back to him. After only a few episodes, however, Petey died due to the strain that the Reintegration placed on his mind.
How Reintegration Works In Severance
Reintegration is a complicated procedure in Severance, with season 2 further outlining how it works and blends the minds of Innies and Outies.
Knowing what we do now about MDR’s true nature, a backstory for Petey can be built. As alluded to, Petey was the chief of MDR before Mark and was refining files of his own.This likely means that Lumon had one of Petey’s loved ones confined to the Testing Floor and was building Innies for them, but that their plan was foiled.
Petey’s ex-wife and daughter were shown at his funeral inSeveranceseason 1, likely meaning it was someone else whom Lumon kidnapped for his MDR work.
Petey’s Reintegration resulted in him leaving Lumon and subsequently dying. As such, Lumon’s experiments on the Testing Floor were likely thwarted unintentionally given that they needed the MDR chief to complete them, just as they did with Mark and Cold Harbor. Whether this will ever be addressed in future seasons ofSeveranceremains to be seen, but it tracks with what is known of Mark and Gemma’s situation and explains why Cold Harbor was so important, given that Petey’s equivalent had failed previously.
Who Is The Next Department Chief?
Combining the knowledge of Mark’s MDR work with Gemma and Petey’s potential work of the same ilk with his own loved one, the question turns to what this could mean for otherSeverancecharacters. Admittedly, how things will play out inSeveranceseason 3’s storyis incredibly unclear at present; Mark and Helly are on the run in Lumon’s offices, the MDR workers have rebelled more outwardly than ever before, Gemma is free, and Lumon’s most important project is seemingly destroyed. However, it is possible that Lumon forces its workers into obedience via even more authoritarian means.
If this is the case, it is unclear what Mark’s purpose would be now that Cold Harbor has been rendered inert. This, combined with Petey’s potential failure to deliver, could lead them to look to someone else to finally complete their long-held plans: Dylan. Dylan is next in line to be MDR chief and Lumon could begin forcing him to work on files that have the same effect they did on Gemma on someone he loves, potentially Gretchen.
If Lumon forces Dylan to work and manages to keep him and Mark separate throughoutSeveranceseason 3, Gretchen could be in as much danger as Gemma was…
After all, no one on the severed floor other than Mark and Helly knows the true nature of the MDR numbers. If Lumon forces Dylan to work and manages to keep him and Mark separate throughoutSeveranceseason 3, Gretchen could be in as much danger as Gemma was. Overall, the possibilities are endless for what the MDR reveals could mean forSeverance, both in the future and in the show’s past where workers like Petey are concerned.
