WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 7!AsSeveranceseason 2, episode 7 takes the story back through Gemma’s experiences on Lumon’s testing floor and her preceding relationship with Mark, the show makes a shockingreveal about what the computers are really doing at the Microdata Refinement department. Throughout the series, one of the biggestSeverancemysteries has beenwhat MDR’s numbers really mean, and what the real purpose of their work on the computers has been for all this time. While there are still plenty more questions that need answers,Severanceseason 2, episode 7 adds another twist about how MDR’s work connects to the testing floor.
At one point in “Chikhai Bardo,”Severancebriefly revisits the episode whenGemma’s Innie, Ms. Casey, was sent to MDR for the day to watch over Helly. After focusing on Mark at his desk, the camera travels through his computer and down a series of wires to another set of computers on the testing floor, which each have live footage ofSeverance’s characters in MDR from the perspective of their screens. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, butSeverancefinally confirms that MDR’s Innies are all constantly being watched via their computers, deepening the mystery around Lumon’s bottom-floor conspiracies.
Severance Reveals The Testing Floor Has “Watchers” For Each MDR Employee Via Their Computers
The Testing Floor Has People Dedicated To Monitoring Each MDR Employee’s Computer Activity
Severanceseason 2, episode 7 confirms there’s a dedicated “watcher” for each employee inLumon’s Macrodata Refinement department. When the show cuts to the testing floor to show Drummond and Dr. Mauer observing the footage of Mark working on his computer,Severancealso highlights that there are four people at four different desks, each respectively assigned tomonitor the live footage and backend number-sorting work of Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving on the floor above. However, after Irving’s firing, it seems the “watchers” are down to only three for the time being.
Why The Innies Each Have Dedicated Watchers In Severance (& Are They Severed Too?)
The Watchers Are Observing Highly Confidental Lumon Work
Not only doesSeveranceseason 2, episode 7 confirm that MDR’s Innies each have respective “watchers,” but the outing also reveals that the department’s files correspond to a different room that Gemma is sent to on the testing floor. Each room has a different purpose or simulated environment, and it seems that Gemma has a different Innie for each one. Since the “watchers” have access to the backend of the work done on MDR’s files via their computers, it seemslikely that they’re also responsible for sending the “refinements” to their respective testing floor rooms.
Dylan’s New Gretchen Twist Means Every MDR Employee Is Now Facing The Same Terrible Problem In Severance Season 2
Thanks to a development in Dylan and Gretchen’s relationship, every major character in Severance season 2 is enduring the same difficult problem.
Since Drummond and Dr. Mauer are too busy to constantly observeSeverance’s main characterson the severed floor,these watchers also update them on any unusual, distracted, or notable activity that they can see through the computers. For instance, Mark’s watcher is the one updating the higher-ups on why Mark’s work on Cold Harbor is stalling. Since the watchers aren’t formally introduced inSeveranceseason 2, episode 7, it’s unclear whether they’re also severed, but it would make sense if they were given the confidential material they’re tasked with observing at Lumon.
