Severance on Apple TV + is a show that managed to do something new in the sci-fi genre and collectively blow the minds of the audience. This show adopted the idea of ‘work-life balance’ and gave it a sinister twist. The show revolves around a company named Lumon and an employee named Mark. The show tells us that the arc Mark’s story follows is rooted in the death of his wife, however, the show introduces us to Ms. Casey, the wellness counselor at Mark’s company, and there has been a reveal that has changed Mark’s complete arc for Severance Season 2. So, who is Mark’s wife and how is she connected to Ms. Casey?
Is Mark’s Wife Alive in Severance?
In essence, the employees who work at Lumon willingly undergo a procedure called Severance. A chip is installed in their brains that splits them into two different personalities, one that exists while they are at work and one outside the workplace. The employees have no recollection of what they do at work as soon as they step out of the office and the same is the case as soon as they step into work, that is, they have no recollection of their personal life.
At the very beginning of the show, we are told that Mark chose to undergo Severance and join Lumon because he had lost his wife Gemma in a car crash. It has been two years since her passing and Mark is still in grief. He chose to get severed so that he could get away from the pain he had been going through.
Mark’s Wife Is Not Dead and Is Trapped at Lumon as Ms. Casey
In episode 7 of Severance Season 1 titled “Defiant Jazz,” it is revealed that Ms. Casey is Gemma but since Mark does not remember anything from his work, he has no recollection that his wife is alive. In the final episode, when Mark and his friends at Macro Data Refinement found out that their innie persona could be activated in the outside world using a procedure called Overtime Contingency Protocol, they made a plan to do it and let their loved ones in the outside world know what was happening at Lumon.
Mark’s innie persona was activated at his sister’s house and just before his outie came back, he saw a picture of his wedding with Gemma and ran to his sister screaming “she’s alive”. This is where the season came to an end leaving us probably one of the biggest cliffhangers ever.
Now, what we don’t know is how Gemma is still alive. However, there are certain theories revolving around it. Some theories state that she could be a clone of Gemma created as a part of some experiment while some theories say that Gemma did not die in the crash but was retrieved by Lumon as a part of some experiment with Severance.
The only fact that Gemma is still alive raises the question of how many more presumed dead people Lumon might be keeping captive and the outside world has no idea about it. Well, looks like we will have to wait till Severance Season 2 is released to find out what happens next and once it is out, stay tuned with us for further updates!
Mark’s wife was in a car accident and was presumed to be dead. However, in later episodes, it turns out that she has been severed by Lumon and works there are a wellness counselor under the name of Miss Casey.
Dichen Lachman plays the role of Gemma in Severance and will be seen in Severance Season 2 as well.
Mark’s innie finds out that his wife is alive in the Severance episode of Severance
Aparna Ukil
