The newest episode of Severance, "Woe's Hollow," ended with a revelation fans had been expecting ever since the season started: Helly R (Britt Lower), our favorite "Innie" rebel, wasn't really Helly R, but rather Helly's "Outie" Helena Eager posing as Helly in an attempt to get close to our other characters and spur them on towards the completion of some mystery project. Helena was found out in the most dramatic of ways, with Irving B. (John Turturro) dunking her head in icy water until Lumon manager Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) brought Helly back.
Like I said, a lot of fans had figured out that Helly wasn't really Helly. Ben Stiller, who directed "Woe's Hollow," didn't know how many people would cotton on. "I was surprised at how on it people were, and how much debate it inspired," he told Variety. "In terms of the story and in the editing, it was about finding those moments where, if you go back and watch it, it becomes more clear. But there were a lot of people who saw the twist the first time around, which is OK. It’s not something that necessarily has to be a secret from the audience. For the story, we had to figure out when the characters would figure it out. And if some of the audience is ahead of them, that’s OK. Maybe Irving is ahead of the audience, but Mark’s not ahead of them."
The episode ends with Mr. Milchick "terminating" Irving for what he did to Helena, which essentially means killing him. "I’m hoping that what audiences won’t see coming as much is that they get the satisfaction of learning that Helly was Helena, but the next moment Irving is gone," Stiller said. "He pays the price for figuring it out, and I hope that’s affecting to the audience. I also think it’s earned, because he was trying to drown Helena Eagan. That, I’m hoping, is the fun surprise for people who did figure out it was Helena. They’re vindicated, but then the next second there’s a gut punch — we just lost Irving."
Mark and Helly and Helena
Let's circle back to Mark S. (Adam Scott), arguably the main character of the show. Like Stiller said, he very much did not figure out what was going on with Helly beforehand, which is surprising since he's been falling for her. Or maybe that was the problem. "Because of his feelings for Helly and his connection to her, and maybe not having the most objective point of view, it made sense to me that he might not see that," Stiller said.
Before the truth came out, Helena and Mark actually slept together, which raises lots of uncomfortable questions about autonomy. In some ways, the Innies are very naive and vulnerable; although Mark and the others are trying to push the boundaries, by and large all they know about the outside world is what Lumon Industries has told them. Helena, on the other hand, has lived a full life. “It’s a strange thing, because in a way both characters [Mark and Helly] have been used,” Severance creator Dan Erickson told TV Line. “Mark thought he was with one person when he was actually sort of with a different person. And then for Helly, it’s a very troubling thing to know that something like that happened without you mentally being there.”
Meanwhile, Helena is doing the using, which will affect her too. "What’s interesting is in this episode, Helena connects with Mark in a very intimate way — they make love," Stiller said. "She feels something, I’m sure. It’s changed her as much as it’s going to change everybody else when they realize it was her."
What happens next on Severance?
The events of "Woe's Hollow" set up some big changes for the rest of the season. For one thing, this is the first time we've seen the real Helly back since the end of season 1, and she has a lot to catch up on. "That was a storytelling challenge, to figure out how to get her up to speed, and how Mark and Dylan would react to her after this happened," Stiller said. "What would be the lasting effects of this betrayal from Helena, and how does that seep into how the characters feel about Helly? And Erickson teases that these events will "definitely...change the dynamic":
"For the innie characters, they felt like they were sort of starting to move back towards a more peaceful status quo. Mark was pursuing this relationship, as was Dylan on his side [with outie wife Gretchen]… and all of a sudden now everything that we thought was true from the last four episodes was sort of based on a lie. So, it’s really pretty devastating to all the characters."
Severance fans are a smart lot and may have figured out how things are going to go already; they love looking for clues. And "Woe's Hollow" dropped some interesting bits of lore sure to fascinate fans for a while, like all the new details about Kier Eagan, the founder of Lumon who is treated by modern employees as a kind of messiah. "It all goes back to the idea behind this religion with Kier, which we haven’t really revealed yet," Stiller said. "These ideas will be paid off further down the line."
That said, Stiller cautioned fans that not every line and movement on the show is a clue about What It All Means. "Based on the level of scrutiny that fans have, the reality is that there is not necessarily a clue in every single thing that people are looking for a clue in," he said. "But there might be clues in a lot of the aesthetic choices in the show that do relate to the story. We have thought this thing out, but I’m being totally honest when I say it’s impossible that every single little thing that people see has a meaning. I’m not going to say we’re geniuses and every single thing [has meaning], like this doorknob or whatever. But it is something we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. And there is a reason why the show looks the way it does, and hopefully that’ll pay off for people."
Somehow I doubt this will stop fans from looking for clues, and god bless 'em. New episodes of Severance air Fridays on Apple TV+.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.