Severance Finale Ending Cliffhanger Explained

Severance has become a big breakout hit of 2022 – and with good reason. The new Apple TV+ series is a workplace drama with a sci-fi twist, following a group of people who work for a company (Lumon) that has a particularly strange workplace confidentiality policy: literally splitting their consciousness between the work/life balance. Over the course of Severance Season 1, the team from “Macrodata Refinement” started to realize that their at-work selves (“innies”) weren’t as fulfilled or happy as their out-of-work selves (“outies”) believed. The Season 1 finale saw the team launch a desperate plan to break free.

And Severance’s finale left fans dangling on a massive cliffhanger… 

(SPOILERS FOLLOW!) In the Severance finale “The We We Are” the Macrodata Refinement team’s ambitious breakout plan succeeds: Devon stays at work to activate the “overtime contingency” that allows Lumon to activate workers at-work personas even while they are in the outside world. By activating overtime on their own whims, the Macrodata Refinement team esseintially go “undercover” as their outside world selves – only to find out how shockingly in the dark their “innies” have been the whole time. 

Here’s a full explanation of what the Severance Finale reveals about each main character – and where that cliffhanger ending leaves them:  

Mark S. (Adam Scott): Mark “wakes up” to find himself at the self-help book reading party of his brother-in-law Ricken (Micahel Chernus). That party has all of Mark’s closest friends around – who are complete strangers to her work self. Mark confesses to his sister Devon (Jen Tullock) that he is his work self, and that severance has not been great for him. Mark also finally makes the discovery that his “neighbor” Mrs. Selvig is actually his work boss Harmony Cobel, who has infiltrated his personal life (even babysitting his newborn niece) to keep tabs on Mark. The cliffhanger ending sees  work-Mark discover that the wife he’s been grieving all along (whose death made him choose severance), is actually still alive and has been working with him all along: Lumon’s wellness counselor Ms. Casey. Mark manages to shout that reveal to his sister an instant before Lumon turns off the overtime contingency and returns “outie” Mark to his proper place. 

Helly R. (Britt Lower): Helly was the one who spearheaded the revolution within the Macrodata Refinement department – going so far as to try an kill herself to escape Lumon. However, the overtime contingency reveals that Helly “R” is actually Helena Eagan, the descendant of Kier Eagan founder of Lumon. Helena subjected herself to severance as a means of documenting the process first-hand in order to prove its effectiveness, and dispel socio-political opposition to it. When “Helly” wakes up via the overtime contingency, she finds herself in the precarious position of having to give a big speech as “Helena” to Lumon’s board and executive team. Helena learns about her own history talking with her father, Jame Eagan backstage, and is nearly stopped when Harmony Cobel arrives and discerns that “Helly” is pretending to be “Helena.” During the final cliffhanger, Helly launches into her revolutionary speech denouncing severance – thought it is left to much ambiguity whether or not the crowd believes it. 

Irving B. (John Turturro): dutiful Irving was the least likely member of Microdata’s revolution, but became its biggest supporter after Lumon retired his at-work love interest, Burt G. (Christopher Walken). When overtime wakes Irving he’s in his home obsessively painting images of Lumon’s entry/exit elevator, as usual. Irving turns out to be very different than the prim-and-proper fellow at work, sporting a leather jacket, muscle car, and military background. Irving finds evidence that his “outtie” has been doing an extensive investigation to locate Burt G. in the outside world, proving that love somehow can transcend severance. When the cliffhanger ending comes, Irving drives and finds Burt’s home – only to see he’s seemingly happily domesticated, living with another man. The sight drives Irving wild, and the last we see is him banging on Burt’s door, demanding an audience with a man he loves – but who might not even remember him. 

Outside of the main characters, Harmony Corbel realizes what Macrodata has done before anyone else at Lumon – but since she’s been suspended for nearly letting Helna kill herself, it’s unclear if any executives will actually listen to her. Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman), the Lumon supervisor who oversees Macrodata Refinement answers Harmony’s call to get to the control office and stop Microdata team member Dylan (Zach Cherry) from activating overtime. Milchick does as asked, and last seen he and Dylan were struggling on the floor of the control room, with an ominous question as to how Dylan will be punished for his rebellion. 

Severance is streaming on Apple TV+.