‘Severance’ Season 2 Premiere—Helly And Miss Huang Theories, Explained

The season 2 premiere of Severance has already inspired a deluge of fan theories, as viewers speculate on the identity of the young Miss Huang, and whether or not Helly is an “outie” in disguise.

What Happened In The Season 2 Premiere Of ‘Succession’?

After pulling off a grand scheme to escape into the real world outside of Lumon, Mark (Adam Scott) finds himself back in the office, but surrounded by new coworkers.

Newly promoted Mr Milchick (Tramell Tillman) claims that 5 months have passed since the drama caused by Mark and his friends, but that the new “innies” will experience a kinder, gentler Lumon.

Bizarrely, their new Deputy Manager, Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), appears to be a child, immediately sparking questions about her identity, and whether or not she is severed.

Mark quickly rebels against the strange new order and manages to distract his new coworkers long enough to escape to Milchick’s office and contact the mysterious board, begging to see his old friends again.

Milchick appears to fire Mark after this incident, essentially the death penalty for innies, but something happens in the office that results in Mark returning, along with his beloved coworkers, Dylan (Zach Cherry), Irving (John Turturro) and Helly (Britt Lower).

The four are made to watch a corporate propaganda video (voiced by Keanu Reeves), which depicts their season 1 rebellion in a positive light, a protest that improved the company for the better.

The video brings to mind the claims made in Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, in which Fisher proposed that capitalism has the uncanny ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Hence, Lumon has reframed their groundbreaking rebellion as a grievance which has been mended by new office perks, such as the wide selection of snacks.

The charming claymation animation, however, seems uncharacteristic from a soulless corporation like Lumon—shouldn’t they be using generative AI?

Milchick informs the four that the office is a better place now, and that many of the microphones and cameras have been removed for privacy. On top of that, Milchick pledges to allow them to leave, if they choose.

They have the end of the day to decide, but considering that leaving the office results in “innie death,” it’s not much of a choice.

The group exchange stories about their “outie” experiences in the real world, with Mark revealing that his outie’s dead wife, Gemma, has an innie, Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) the previous Wellness Director of Lumon, who has since disappeared.

Helly chooses to lie, claiming that she woke up in a boring apartment and told the “night gardener” about the hidden horrors of Lumon. In reality, Helly found out that her outie is Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumon Industries CEO Jame Eagan, and gave a speech warning the public about what really goes on in the Severance Program.

Irving doesn’t want to reveal that he discovered his lost love, Burt (Christopher Walken), has reverted back to being an outie and is happily married.

Irving has seen that there’s nothing to live for out there, and just wants to leave the office and disappear. However, Dylan convinces him that this is not what Burt would want.

Meanwhile, Mark wants to figure out what happened with Ms Casey and his maybe-dead wife; Helly seems uncomfortable with the idea, but pledges to help him.

Hence, the four are reunited, and their seemingly pointless work has resumed, but more mysteries are brewing beneath the sleek, minimalist surface of Lumon.

Fans Have Theories About The ‘Severance’ Season 2 Premiere

Severance fans are used to speculating about the mysteries of the show, and immediately after the season 2 premiere, commentators were suspicious about the timeline.

However, the true identity of Helly sparked the most speculation.

Is Helly Really Helena?

On Reddit, many fans believe that Helly has been replaced by her outie, Helena, citing her strange behavior as evidence that Helena was trying to trick the others into trusting her.

Fans reckoned that Helly’s big lie, her discomfort with Mark’s plan, and fumbling to turn her computer on were all subtle signs that she wasn’t really Helly.

It could be the case that Helly has been replaced by Helena, but her behavior could also be explained by the shame and disorientation she feels after discovering that she is an Eagan.

During her conversation with Mark, Helly emphasizes that innies and outies are completely separate people, which could be interpreted as an attempt to distance herself from Helena.

Helly’s discomfort with Mark’s plan to rescue his outie’s wife could easily be chalked up to jealousy, as she revealed her romantic feelings for Mark at the end of season 1.

However, her fumbling to switch on her computer could be a clue that she is hiding something. Or perhaps, she just took a moment to find the switch, and fans are reading too much into it.

Who Is Miss Huang?

The identity of Miss Huang was another mystery that sparked speculation, with some viewers under the impression that the child is a young clone of Ms. Casey.

The mysterious room full of baby goats that Mark and Helly discovered in the first season has never been explained, and some reckon that the animals are evidence of Lumon’s experiments with cloning, with the goal to clone humans and create more workers.

Others speculated that Miss Huang could be the child of Gemma and Mark, but the timing doesn’t seem to quite match up.

Finally, some fans pointed out that Miss Huang mentioned that she previously worked as a crossing guard before joining the company. This sparked speculation that Huang may have died in a car crash, before being revived by Lumon.

After all, Gemma died in a car crash and was seemingly revived as Ms Casey, so it’s possible that Lumon has the ability to bring fresh bodies back to life, as severed workers.

Fans seem certain that the Severance Program is only the beginning and that there are more unethical, anti-worker technologies within Lumon, but it remains to be seen what they might be.

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