With just one episode remaining in Severance Season 2, the Macrodata Refinement team is crumbling precisely as Lumon Industries intended. Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) has become so entangled in his relationship with his outie’s wife Gretchen (Merritt Wever) that he’s effectively cut ties with his colleagues. Irving (John Turturro) has been forcibly removed after exposing Helena Eagan’s (Britt Lower) deception during the outdoor retreat. Meanwhile, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) finds himself on an increasingly isolated path as his reintegration process continues, attempting to recover memories of his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman). Beyond advancing these character arcs, the penultimate episode, titled “The After Hours,” cleverly pays homage to The Twilight Zone, a series that has clearly influenced Severance since its inception. Unsurprisingly, Severance Season 2, Episode 9 is named after a memorable 1960 episode of the classic anthology show.
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WARNING: Spoilers below for Severance Season 2, Episode 9
“The After Hours” first aired on June 10, 1960, as episode 34 of The Twilight Zone Season 1. The story follows Marsha White (Anne Francis), a woman shopping for a gold thimble at a department store. When she arrives, she notices an empty elevator while others are crowded. The elevator operator directs her to the ninth floor — the specialties department — though the floor indicator shows only eight floors exist. Upon exiting on the mysteriously empty ninth floor, she encounters a saleswoman who knows her name and shows her the only item available: a gold thimble.
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After purchasing the thimble, Marsha notices it’s scratched and dented. When she complains to management, they insist there is no ninth floor and no employee matching the saleswoman’s description. While resting in an office, Marsha is shocked to discover that the “saleswoman” is actually a mannequin on display. Accidentally locked inside the store after closing, she begins hearing voices calling her name and notices the mannequins making subtle movements around her. She flees into an elevator that takes her back to the ninth floor. There, the now-animated mannequins gently reveal a shocking truth: Marsha herself is a mannequin. The figures at this department store take turns, one at a time, living among humans for one month. Marsha had enjoyed her time in the outside world so much that she forgot her true identity and returned a day late.
In Severance Season 2, Episode 9, the connection to The Twilight Zone is established through several deliberate references. When Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) takes Devon Scout-Hale (Jen Tullock) to the birthing cabin with Mark hidden in her truck, she tells the security guard that Devon is “Marsha White” who works on the “ninth floor” in the “Specialties Department” – direct references to the Twilight Zone character and setting. As if that wasn’t on the nose enough, the code phrase Cobel uses to get access to the cabin is “I’m looking for a gold thimble,” which is another direct nod to the Twilight Zone episode. These aren’t subtle Easter eggs but explicit signposts directing viewers to consider the thematic parallels between the two stories.
How Severance Themes Connect It to The Twilight Zone’s “The After Hours” Episode
Beyond surface-level references, Severance and “The After Hours” share profound thematic similarities. In The Twilight Zone episode, mannequins are confined to the department store but granted brief periods where they can experience the outside world. This directly parallels the innies of Severance, who are similarly trapped within Lumon’s sterile walls with no knowledge or experience of the world beyond. Just as Marsha White forgot her mannequin identity during her month among humans, Season 2 has repeatedly shown innies as they glimpse possibilities beyond their severed existence. After the MDR uprising that concluded Season 1, each character has grappled with the painful contrast between the freedom they briefly tasted and the confinement they’ve returned to.
Dylan’s storyline most explicitly mirrors this theme. Through his supervised visits with Gretchen, he’s been given a tantalizing taste of family life that ultimately cannot last. In Episode 9, Dylan confronts the harsh reality that he is, like The Twilight Zone’s mannequins, merely a creation designed to serve a corporate purpose. Unable to keep living like this, Dylan fires himself. That heartbreaking decision means his outie will continue living with Gretchen and their children, while Innie Dylan effectively ceases to exist.
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Beyond the MDR team, Episode 9 of Severance Season 2 shows how even the management class of the Severed Floor is forced to realize they too are cogs in a soul-crushing machine. After being repeatedly humiliated by Mr. Drummond during his performance reviews, Milchick finally stands up for himself with a defiant “Devour feculence” — or more bluntly, “eat s-it.” This act of rebellion represents a mannequin refusing to stay in its assigned position, challenging the system that treats individuals as mere objects. Similarly, Miss Huang’s departure from the Severed Floor opened her eyes to how disposable she truly is for the company. As a child being molded through the Wintertide program, she’s essentially a mannequin-in-training, being prepared for a predetermined position within Lumon’s corporate structure – a structure that ultimately ignores her desires and aspirations.
In short, The Twilight Zone‘s “The After Hours” and Severance both use confined commercial spaces as metaphors for corporate control and the commodification of human existence. By going the extra mile to show these connections, Severance underlines its reverence for The Twilight Zone, giving the classic TV show the due credit for inspiring Apple TV+’s hit series.
Severance Season 2 streams new episodes every Thursday on Apple TV+.
Did you know The Twilight Zone‘s “The After Hours” before Severance? What other thematic connections between the two series did you catch on? Share your ideas in the comments!
