Severance season 2 episode 8, “Sweet Vitriol”, has just added a new layer to the show’s many mysteries. With the action entirely focused on former Severed Floor boss Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), we’ve discovered a new piece of the increasingly complex puzzle about the origins of severance technology, and Lumon Industries’ sinister motives.

As well as discussing those episode 8 revelations, this breakdown of Severance season 2’s biggest questions looks at many of the show’s biggest ongoing headscratchers. What’s the mysterious “Cold Harbor”? What’s the deal with Mark’s presumed-dead wife, Gemma? Why does Lumon HQ have a massive room full of goats?

We don't have all the answers – we suspect we’ll have to wait a while longer for those – but we do explore each of the mysteries within the context of the show. We’ll also be updating this guide as new episodes are released and new information comes to light. Unsurprisingly, there are numerous Severance spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution if you’re yet to watch Severance season 2 episode 8, “Sweet Vitriol”.

Who created the severance procedure?

Popular wisdom has always had it that Lumon Industries CEO Jame Eagan – descendant of founder Kier Eagan and father of Helena/Helly R – created the technology that allows a mind to be severed. In Severance season 2 episode 8 “Sweet Vitriol”, however, we learn that this isn’t true.

On travelling back to her home town of Salt’s Neck (a town built and subsequently run down by Lumon), Mark Scout’s former boss Harmony Cobel locates the plans she originated for the severance procedure: “My designs! Circuit blueprint, base code, Overtime Contingency, Glasgow Block, all of it!”

But Lumon clearly doesn’t want her to get the credit she deserves. Her Aunt Sissy, something of a Lumon zealot, reminds Harmony that “Jame Eagan was the inventor”. She then attempts to burn the plans to prevent them getting out, while sinister Lumon operatives lurk outside. Harmony’s childhood acquaintance Hampton helps her to get out of town with the all-important documents.

“I was told Kier’s knowledge is for all,” Harmony says of her silence. “That if I sought credit I would be banished.”

Who is Harmony Cobel in Severance season 2?

Harmony Cobel was Seth Milchick’s predecessor as Severed Floor supervisor. She was suspended in season 1 for a number of breaches of Lumon policy: she allowed the Macrodata Refinement team to stage an uprising, interacted with Mark S’s Outie as next door neighbour Ms Selvig, and failed to report Helly R’s suicide attempt to the board.

Even so, she could been welcomed back into the Lumon family after the Overtime Contingency incident (during which Innies Mark S, Helly R and Irving B experienced the outside world) if she’d accepted Helena Eagan’s offer of a place on the new Severance Advisory Council. Instead she insists she’ll only return if she can have her old job back and be at the helm when Mark S completes Cold Harbor (more on that below). When a sceptical Helena offers her the opportunity to discuss her terms with the Board, however, Harmony – presumably spooked by the security guard at Helena’s side – drives away to her hometown, Salt’s Neck.

Severance season 2 episode 8 reveals that she grew up in the ultimate Lumon company town with her late mother, Charlotte, and Aunt Celestine (known as Sissy). While Charlotte evidently became sceptical before she passed away, Sissy is a total believer in the Eagan philosophy – a sign on her wall reveals she once received a commendation as a “Quarterly Striver”.

There’s no love lost between Harmony and Sissy, as Harmony resents the fact that she never got to say goodbye to her mother because she was at school. Sissy, for her part, is openly hostile, having already sold Harmony’s childhood possessions.

She does admit, however, that Lumon’s Mr Drummond paid her a visit, presumably looking for those severance plans. She also reminds Harmony that “Mr Eagan saw Kier in you” and mentions the “Wintertide Fellowship”, pointing out that “no apprentice was more industrious than you”.

What is the Wintertide Fellowship?

We don’t know exactly what the Wintertide Fellowship is, but it has been mentioned before. In Severance season 2 episode 6, “Atilla”, Seth Milchick tells Miss Huang that: “You cannot graduate from this fellowship until I have deemed you Wintertide material”.

Seeing that Miss Huang is a child – as Harmony would have been back in Salt’s Neck – it seems reasonable to assume that the Wintertide Fellowship is an apprenticeship programme that anyone who wishes to rise within the Lumon ranks must follow. It also suggests that Lumon likes to indoctrinate its acolytes at a chillingly young age.

Why did Helena Eagan go onto the Severed Floor in the first place?

As a descendant of Lumon Industries founder Kier Eagan and daughter of current CEO Jame, Helena Eagan is seen as “leader-in-waiting” of the company. But why would someone from its upper echelons agree to give up a significant chunk of her life to her Innie alter-ego Helly R? And why was she the one chosen to replace Petey, Mark S’s former best friend at work?

Officially, it’s a PR exercise to promote the severance procedure, but if that was really the case, surely Helena could have delegated the job to someone else? Lumon being Lumon, there must be more to the move than mere publicity.

Who’s really in charge?

Of course, Helena may not have had a choice, seeing as the faceless “Board” – speaking through Mr Drummond and PR representative Natalie Kalen – appear to be the ones pulling the strings.

After she’s nearly killed by Irving B on the Macrodata Refinement team’s ORTBO (Outdoor Retreat Team Building Occurrence) – not to mention her Innie’s earlier attempt to take her own life – Helena is extremely reluctant to go back to the Severed Floor, describing Helly R’s colleagues as “animals”.

Her objections are overruled, however, because the Board have come to the conclusion that Mark S will not work without her – and that there’s no other solution than to “give him” Helly R. At least the Board appreciates her “sacrifice”…

What is Cold Harbor in Severance season 2?

Lumon loves obtuse codenames, whether it’s the Overtime Contingency Protocol that allowed the Innies to briefly experience the outside world, or the Glasgow Block that restored Helly R’s personality on the ORTBO. Most enigmatic of all is Cold Harbor, the project that Mark S is currently working on. (The file shares its name with a battle of the US Civil War, which may be a clue or a complete red herring.)

It’s safe to assume that it’s a step up from the “Allentown” assignment Mark wrapped up in season 1. After all, Drummond claims that, “The work is mysterious and important” and that “Mark Scout’s completion of Cold Harbor will be remembered as one of the greatest moments in the history of this planet.” With stakes that high, it’s easy to see why the Board are so eager for Mark to push beyond his current status of 81% completion.

As revealed in episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo”, Cold Harbor is also the name of a room on the mysterious Testing Floor, along with Allentown, Dranesville, Geneva, Loveland, Wellington, Cairns and many more.

What happened to Gemma Scout?

Gemma’s supposed death in a car accident prompted Mark to get severed and get a job in Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement department. During the Overtime Contingency Protocol, however, Mark S learns that Gemma is actually alive on the Severed Floor as wellness counsellor Ms Casey, and she’s been disappeared by the company ever since. That said, her face appears on Mark’s computer screen when he reaches the milestone of 68% on Cold Harbor, suggesting she’s somehow connected to Lumon’s big project. “Chikhai Bardo” confirms that to be the case.

As well as revealing how Mark and Gemma met, their subsequent romance and efforts to have a baby, the episode shows that Gemma has spent an extended period of time on Lumon’s mysterious, out-of-bounds Testing Floor. While the timeline isn’t entirely clear, we now know that various severed versions of Gemma have been sent into a series of testing rooms – in one she spends two hours at the dentist, in another she experiences extreme turbulence on a plane, and a third particularly bizarre scenario sees her forced to write an interminable number of thank you cards. These tests are overseen by the mysterious Dr Mauer, who appears to be in charge of the Testing Floor. Of course, she has no recollection of him or the experiments – bar the odd ache and pain – when she steps out of the room in question. Lumon representatives also note, with interest, that the severance procedure is strong enough that husband and wife no longer recognise each other.

Along the way, Gemma is told that, “Mark will benefit from the world you’re siring. Kier will take away all his pain, just as Kier has taken away yours.” Most sinister of all, when Gemma asks to go home she’s told that Mark has remarried and now has a daughter. It’s therefore not a massive leap to assume that Lumon faked Gemma’s death in the outside world.

Why is Mark Scout so important to Lumon?

Although Mark S initially appeared to be an ordinary member of Lumon staff, the evidence now suggests he’s perceived as some kind of “chosen one” within the company.

During his own appraisal, Seth Milchick is criticised for assembling a substandard replacement Macrodata Refinement team to work with Mark, while the entire company appears geared to helping Mark complete Cold Harbor – especially as his predecessor’s progress stalled at 96%.

It’s no coincidence that Mark’s former boss Harmony Cobel (using the alias Mrs Selvig) becomes his Outie’s neighbour, before offering her services to Mark’s sister, Devon, as a lactation consultant. It’s also unlikely to be an accident when Helena spots Mark in a restaurant and pops over for a chat. And we’re guessing that Lumon made a concerted effort to recruit Mark after Gemma’s “death” – indeed, it looks like his connection to Gemma is key to refining the data she’s gathered on the testing floor. The question is, can he make it past 96%?

Whose side is Seth Milchick on?

The Severed Floor supervisor appears to be the ultimate company man but, during Milchick’s appraisal, Mr Drummond suggests that he‘s been too generous to the severed Macrodata Refinement team – in addition to the egregious crimes of availing himself of too many long words and using paper clips the wrong way round.

Does Milchick believe his “kindness” is in the company’s best interests, or does he – in his own strange way – sympathise with the MDR team? With his job now apparently on the line, it looks like he’s siding with is employers.

What will happen to Mark Scout and Mark S after full reintegration?

Reintegration didn’t end well for Petey, so amalgamating the Innie and Outie parts of Mark’s mind is clearly high risk – even though Asal Reghabi (the surgeon turned anti-severance campaigner who installed Mark’s severance chip) claims to have improved the procedure since Petey’s death.

Even if it’s a success, what will that mean for Mark? Will his Innie and Outie memories be combined in a single whole, or will he keep switching between two personalities? Asal admits to Devon that, “There may be some deficits. Hopefully nothing long term.” And that’s assuming that she can fix him at all.

Now that Devon has phoned Harmony/Ms Selvig asking for help, the creator of the severance tech may be Mark’s only hope. Judging by Asal’s hostile response to Devon contemplating the call, however, it’s unlikely she’ll still be around when Ms Cobel makes it back from Salt’s Neck.

Is there any way back for Irving B in Severance season 2?

As soon as Irving B tried to drown Helena Eagan (while she was masquerading as Helly R) on the ORTBO, his days at Lumon were numbered. Although management claim he’s on a (permanent) “elongated cruise voyage” and he’s received a funeral from his co-workers, would Lumon bring him back if they thought it best for Cold Harbor?

That said, it looks like Irving’s Outie has plenty going on, too. Could he have been a test subject on the Testing Floor like Gemma? Could memories of the experience be leaking into his subconscious, prompting his Outie to paint pictures of the elevator (and glowing red triangle) at the end of that ominous dark corridor?

Also, who is he calling on a payphone to pass on messages like, “Innie got the message” and “I think they knew what my Innie was up to”? Is Irving involved with the Whole Mind Collective fighting to end severance? The “severed employee list” Mr Drummond finds in his house suggests he’s involved in some kind of investigation into Lumon’s activities.

Does Burt know more than he’s letting on?

Burt may be trailing Irving’s Outie because “When somebody shows up on my doorstep screaming my name, I want to know why?” Perhaps there’s some cosmic connection between the two after their Innies fell in love on the Severed Floor. It really could be – as Burt claims – that his husband, Fields, wants to meet the man who had an “unsanctioned erotic entanglement” with his spouse.

Alternatively there could be something more sinister going on. There’s certainly a discrepancy in Burt and Fields’ recollections of the time they met Burt’s Lumon partner for drinks. Fields says it was 20 years ago, Burt claims 10 – though, as Irving points out, the first severed office opened 12 years ago. Who’s telling the truth?

Who were the doppelgangers on the ORTBO?

The duplicate versions of Mark S, Helly R, Dylan G and Irving B who turn up on the ORTBO are undeniably disconcerting, but who or what are they? Are they simply lookalikes (like the proprietor of Great Doors who interviews Outie Dylan for a job), or purpose-built clones?

The doppelgangers could even be androids – after all, ORTBO is an anagram of robot.

Why has Dylan G been introduced to his Outie’s wife?

It’s still unclear why – when Lumon prides itself on keeping its severed employees’ work and home lives separate – Dylan G has been introduced to Gretchen, his Outie’s wife?

Aside from their exchange of biographical information, the most notable thing about their meetings is their obvious mutual attraction. Are Lumon trying to destabilise his Outie’s home life and, if so, why?

Why are Lumon so interested in Ricken’s book?

Thanks to light-fingered Harmony, a pre-release copy of Ricken Hale’s latest self-help book, The You You Are: A Spiritual Biography of You, has found its way onto the Severed Floor. But what have Lumon management seen in the teachings of Mark’s eccentric brother-in-law that prompts them to commission an Innie-friendly version of the tome?

What is Lumon’s grand plan in Severance season 2?

That’s the big question and we’ll probably be waiting a while longer for answers. A popular theory online suggests that Lumon is looking for a way to eliminate pain. This would tally with the experiments conducted on severed versions of Gemma Scout, who had no memory of her distressing trips to the dentist or near-death experiences on planes.

The fact that Salt’s Neck was built around its ether mill would also seem to bear this out – after all, ether has historically been used as an anaesthetic.

Why does the Severed Floor need a very large room full of goats?

The room of baby goats was a big talking point in season 1, but Severance: season 2 proves that was just the tip of a furry iceberg. There’s an entire ”Mammalians Nuturable” department, populated with goats and a seemingly hostile workforce. Why are they there? And why do the staff not “abide such fripperies” as wellness?

New episodes of Severance season 2 stream on Apple TV+ every Friday.