Severance season two is finally here and we cannot be silent about it. That we got two extra months of new episodes is definitely one of the best things a very bad 2025 has delivered so far, and things started off with a bang in the premiere. We got to spend all kinds of time in the innies on the broken floor of Lumon and saw some fascinating new mysteries unfold.
Last month, we talked to the showrunner Dan Erickson about the episode because we know you want she wanted to know what he said about certain things. Here are the spoilers we originally cut our full interview.
Germain Lussier, io9: I was surprised when Helly lied about what she saw as her outtie and then kind of acted out with so many questions about who this person was, what they wanted, etc. How big a part was that season and where did the idea come from?
Dan Erickson: Well, it's a pretty big part of it. Something that we talked about in that scene is, will each character be honest and how honest will they be? We talked about “Will Helly tell the truth?” or “Will he keep it?” I think even if nothing else happens, Helly will be a little embarrassed by what she learned. So there must be a reason why each character would want to be dishonest with others. Mark too. I think there's a question of whether he wants Helly to know what he's learned, or if he feels like he needs to take the time to admit it and bring it up to her? So we had that conversation for each of the three characters who made it to the top.
io9: Another big surprise was Miss Huang, who was the most interesting, quirky character. What can you tell me about him?
Erickson: Yes, there is always something interesting about the idea of having a child in that role and there is a big question why? Why does Lumon do that? what is it What are the larger implications of this? But I think his presence really throws off the characters. I mean, they're certainly weirded out by her presence because of the fact that she's this child [and] she has this disarming quality to her where it's hard to hate a child, you know? But at the same time, she is filling that management role and she is also, at least experientially, older than them because each of the innies has only had, at most, two years of life and even that's only eight hours a day. So it's a very unique power dynamic that you can only really have on this show. And we were lucky to find an actor who could really play the smiling corporate thing and then all of a sudden it goes away and you see this weird darkness underneath him. And so in a way he is Lumon incarnate. He was both of those things at once.
io9: Another amazing twist this season is the “outtie family visitation suite.” How important is this season and, again, where did that idea come from?
Erickson: The thing about Lumon and part of their badass brilliance is that they will incentivize what matters most to you. And for Dylan in the first season, he's very happy with this kind of artificially created sense of pencil erasers and finger traps and these little prizes that represent success. The moment he found out he had a family, it was just a finger trap. Suddenly, it completely shaped his sense of importance in life. And what will Lumon do? They will incentivize that. They will tell him that you will see your wife if you finish your work and choose the line because that is the most important thing to him. He is willing to do this even at the expense of his family at work. And that is the predicament he is experiencing.
The first episode of Severance season two is now on Apple TV+. New episodes drop every Friday.
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