WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 1!Alongside some familiar faces back at Lumon,Severanceseason 2 introduces the new employee Miss Huang, whose age and role further deepen the mysteries about the company. When Mark’s Innie first returns to Lumon, he finds that Ms. Cobel has been fired and replaced bySeverance’s returning characterSeth Milchick, with a few new faces also greeting him in the Macrodata Refinement Department. In addition to Helly, Dylan, and Irving’s brief replacements in MDR (Gwendolyn, David, and Mark W.),Mark is introduced to the young Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), a new supervisor on the severed floor.
When Miss Huang arrives inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1, she brings a red ball to the kitchenette, which she uses to get the newMacrodata Refinement Department staffto learn more about each other. During this game,Miss Huang is frequently asked about her age and “why she’s a child,”to which she bluntly responds, “Because of when I was born.” Considering Miss Huang looks young enough that she should realistically be in school rather than working at Lumon, her role inSeveranceseason 2 adds another unsettling layer to Lumon’s peculiar policies and hiring strategies.
Miss Huang Is Milchick’s Replacement In Severance Season 2
Miss Huang Is The New Deputy Manager Of The Severed Floor
With Patricia Arquette’s Harmony Cobel having been fired from Lumon afterSeveranceseason 1’s ending, the company has replaced her and promoted Mr. Milchick to the severed floor manager position. That left an opening for Milchick’s old role, withMiss Huang then being hired as the new deputy manager of the severed floor. Like Milchick did back inSeveranceseason 1, Miss Huang will be responsible for much of the day-to-day oversight, activities planning, and interactions with the severed employees.
Also among the new characters inSeveranceseason 2 is Gwendoline Christie’s Lorne, another Lumon employee.
Miss Huang taking over as the deputy manager inSeveranceseason 2 also means thatshe’ll be forced to obey the commands and duties assigned by Milchick, regardless of whether she agrees with him. InSeveranceseason 1, Cobel and Milchick often disagreed about how to manage the severed employees, such as when Cobel would continue to placeMark and Ms. Casey/Gemmain the same room together, but, as the deputy, the latter still had to carry out her orders.
Severance: Harmony Cobel’s Role At Lumon Industries & Mrs. Selvig Identity Explained
Patricia Arquette’s Severance character, Harmony Cobel, is crucial to the story of the Apple TV+ series, as is her Mrs. Selvig identity.
InSeveranceseason 2, episode 1, Miss Huang reveals that it’s her first day on the job as the new deputy manager. Therefore, it’s unclear who was in charge of that role during the four-month gap betweenSeveranceseason 1’s ending and Mark’s return to the Macrodata Refinement Department. MDR isn’t the only severeddepartment at Lumon Industriesthat would need management, such as Optics and Design, soit’s curious as to why Lumon chose for Miss Huang’s first day to coincide with Mark S.’s first day back.
Miss Huang Looks To Only Be About 14-15 Years Old In Severance
Sarah Bock Was Only About 16 When Severance Season 2 Started Filming
Unsurprisingly, the characters who meet Miss Huang inSeveranceseason 2, episode 1 are immediately taken aback by her age. Miss Huang’s age isn’t directly given inSeverance’s season 2 premiere, buther demeanor and appearance suggest that she’s a young teenager, perhaps only about 14 or 15 years old. She’s certainly the youngest employee who has been seen atLumon Industries inSeveranceto date; most of the employees’ ages so far seem to have fallen between people in their mid-30s and their late-70s, the latter of which being around when Burt G. retired inSeveranceseason 1.
According toIMDb,Miss Huang’s actress Sarah Bock was born in August 2006. WhileSeveranceseason 2’s filmingbegan in October 2022, the production process was occasionally shut down by the writers and actors strikes between May 2023 and January 2024. Consequently, filming didn’t end until April 2024. It’s unclear exactly how old Bock was when filming all of her scenes, but she would have been 16 when filming started and 17 when it ended. Regardless, given her actor’s age and the attention paid to the character’s age, Miss Huang can’t be older than about 16.
Is Miss Huang Severed? Why Lumon Can Have Children As Employees
Miss Huang Is Likely Part Of A Youth Initiative For Lumon
While it’s certainly strange and bleak that Lumon is hiring children to work in their offices full-time in supervisor positions, it’s unlikely that Miss Huang underwentSeverance’s titular procedure. Neither Harmony Cobel nor Seth Milchick are severed, as Lumon wanted non-severed employees to be in charge of overseeing the activities and management of the Innies. As such,Miss Huang can’t be severed, as she’s now taking on a crucial part in trying to “perfect” severance and avoid further uprisings from Innies.
If the administration team is also severed, then there’s a bigger risk of pushback and defiance that would trickle down to every level. Plus, there’s little that Lumon could immediately do on the severed floor if something went wrong with all their severance chips.Those who are managing the severed employees have to already be indoctrinated by Lumon’s mission and idealsbefore taking on the job, as they’re the ones who have to be strict on the Innies and convince them that Lumon is benevolent and only serving in the interest of the greater good.
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Still, it’s not clear why a child would want to work as the new deputy manager of the severed floor, or even why Lumon would want someone so young in that position. Since Miss Huang should realistically be in school during those hours rather than at work, it’s likely that her role is part of a new youth initiative with Lumon.Perhaps Miss Huang’s parents have important positions with Lumon, or had signed her up for this Lumon initiative while foregoing a normal education.
If Miss Huang is placed in Lumon-sanctioned schooling, then the company could excuse her role as the deputy manager of the severed floor as an educational experience. Her hiring could also be a way for Lumon to prove that careers with the company can start earlier than society expects people to work, which allowsSeverance’s Eagan familyand otherLumon executives to indoctrinate and shape the next generation into fervent supporters of their mission – whether severed or not.
Regardless of what Lumon’s true intentions are with Miss Huang, her powerful role is incredibly bleak.
If Miss Huang proves to be a “success story,” then Lumon will be able to convince more parents to make their teens start working at the company rather than pursue higher education or careers elsewhere. WhenHelly woke up as Helena EaganinSeverance’s season 1 finale, she found out that the company intended to expand severance into all aspects of life and to all people, andMiss Huang’s role may be part of Lumon’s plan to get more teens involved with the company. Regardless of what Lumon’s true intentions are with Miss Huang, her powerful role is incredibly bleak.
The Real Meaning Behind Miss Huang Being A Child In Severance Season 2
Miss Huang May Be A Child, But Her Position Of Power Is Terrifying
Another reason for Miss Huang being hired on the severed floor due to her age deals withLumon trying new strategies to avoid pushback from Innies. If a child is the one overseeingSeverance’s Innies, then they might feel less intimidated by and more trusting of the deputy manager than if the person were an adult. Miss Huang would seem much more innocent to the Innies, and they’d be less likely to believe that she has bad intentions or seeks to manipulate the severed team.
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Additionally, Miss Huang being a child gives Lumon more leverage against the claims that they’re tormenting and subjugating Innies.The general population wouldn’t be as eager to believe that a child could be responsible for tormenting a group of grown adults or violating their rights. It allows Lumon to still enact the same oppressive policies with a better shield against backlash, perhaps pushing more of the blame of unhappiness onto the Innies themselves rather than the administration. Furthermore, her age might makeSeverance’s Innies less afraid of her – when, in reality, they should be even more terrified.
Cast
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
