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[Jeff Lebowski]

What a great episode. And wow what a cliffhanger!

[falafel]

Spoiler for Episode 8:

Good questions Re: Ms Casey. Is she mostly on the outside just coming to the severed floor for short shifts? Or do they keep her somewhere in house? And what would that look like? Is her Outtie kept on site against her will, or was this a way she chose to disappear? (The book had what might be a pretty big hint about this but I'll leave it out). When Mrs. Selvig asked Mark's sister if Mark thought he was seeing his wife sometimes, I initially thought that meant Miss Casey had an Outtie. But since we've seen some memories cross over the procedure (Irving's painting, Mark's clay tree) Mrs. Selvig may have been wondering if seeing her on the severed floor was crossing into Mark's Outtie's memories.

But maybe Irv provides clues to Ms Casey's existence? Now we've seen that Irving's Outtie obsessively paints the same hallway that Ms Casey went down. The testing floor. Was Irving abducted and severed in the same way (assuming Ms Casey was)? Can we assume that maybe Ms.Casey lives in some Lumon owned, barely occupied townhouse complex like he does? He doesn't seem to have much of a life, just obsessively painting the same scene and not getting sleep. Does she suffer the same fate somewhere?

Re: Helly, I definitely think she's a Lumon VIP, maybe even an Eagan. This episode pretty much sealed the deal on that with the evidence you've mentioned.

What's up with Mrs. Cobel? Why does she seem to be rooting for Mark and Ms Casey to recognize each other? Remember Millchick saying "It's a good thing they don't recognize each other, it means the chip is working." It feels like Mrs. Cobel, though obviously wholly devoted to the cult based on the shrines she has in her home, has been struggling in her faith over the severance procedure itself. She seems to take pride in knowing that the procedure has been reversed at least once. And when she would talk with Doug Graner before he was killed, they seemed to share a mutual satisfaction in understanding this info better than (or in spite of) the Board. Until this episode, I'd assumed her spying on Mark and his Sister were Lumon approved. Now we know she'd gone rogue. What's her motivation? To return Lumon to it's purer form?

Re: Ricken. He is the greatest evidence that the outside world is not the world we inhabit and that perhaps there are alternate severances. While his book would certainly feel intellectual to innies who've only ever read the handbook, it's the equivalent of Derek Zoolander quotes in our world. So again, what has happened in the outside world that he gets paid to write that? And can pack a reading?

Man so many more thoughts and questions. The waffle party!! The cat o'nine tails with the virtues written on it. The weird masks. I was reading something that said the masks relate back to the painting Burt and Irving looked at when they first met. I'll have to go back and review.

Best show on tv. If you're not watching, get on it.

Great points.

Another thought I had:

Spoiler for Mark:

I was thinking about Ms. Casey/Gemma and Mark, and why Lumon would have staged Gemma's death. Especially when they seem only to be using Ms. Casey on a very part time role. Then I thought that maybe Lumon killed Gemma to induce Mark to join Lumon, and that must mean that Mark is somehow integral to what they are doing there in MDR. They needed him to join and so they engineered an incredibly painful event so he would want to sever. This was confirmed, I think, when Mrs. Selvig is talking to Mark at Ricken's book reading and he mentions he is thinking of quitting Lumon because he doesn't need severance anymore. She looks alarmed. They need him to remain there for some reason.

[SteelBlue]

Spoiler for Something I found on rewatching:

I've been rewatching the early episodes with co-workers at lunch. We watched Episode 3 yesterday and I can't believe I missed this. You guys probably didn't. But just in case: Petey is in Mark's basement trying to convince him to re-integrate and the last point that he uses to convince him is "look, I found a whole department. One they don't tell us about. One where you don't get to leave." Mark replies "well, don't none of us get to leave?" Petey says "No, I mean you really don't get to leave. As in, they're down there right now." Mark says "well, what? Like chained up or something?" Then before Petey can answer he has one of his spells where he becomes paranoid and thinks he's back in the office and says "I'm not going to talk about this anymore right now, I'm not sure if the monitors are bugged."

I completely missed that detail on the first watch. Pretty significant hint early on.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Great points.

Another thought I had:

Spoiler for Mark:

I was thinking about Ms. Casey/Gemma and Mark, and why Lumon would have staged Gemma's death. Especially when they seem only to be using Ms. Casey on a very part time role. Then I thought that maybe Lumon killed Gemma to induce Mark to join Lumon, and that must mean that Mark is somehow integral to what they are doing there in MDR. They needed him to join and so they engineered an incredibly painful event so he would want to sever. This was confirmed, I think, when Mrs. Selvig is talking to Mark at Ricken's book reading and he mentions he is thinking of quitting Lumon because he doesn't need severance anymore. She looks alarmed. They need him to remain there for some reason.

Uh....

Spoiler for Selvig:

Did you miss the part where she got fired? And trashed her shrine to Lumon? And told Mark that he should quit?

I predict that she helps him take Lumon down.

[Jeff Lebowski]

An idea I have been pondering:

Spoiler for why?:

I have always wondered what is the point of the whole thing? Put people in a big office and have them play a meaningless number game on retro computers? So this morning I was thinking about it, and I wonder if the severance procedure creates some kind of new gift or ability that they don’t have otherwise. Maybe there really is something about the numbers that they can detect as a result of the severance. Something that Lumon can use to make money. Stock investments? Futures markets? Prospecting? Help evading something?

[falafel]

Uh....

Spoiler for Selvig:

Did you miss the part where she got fired? And trashed her shrine to Lumon? And told Mark that he should quit?

I predict that she helps him take Lumon down.

Spoiler for well:

I didn’t forget that she was fired and destroyed her shrine. I don’t remember her telling mark to quit though. When did that happen? That’s not a bad thought that she helps him take it down.

But I think my point still stands that Lumon lured Mark into Severance by faking his wife’s death. Maybe Selvig’s face was a recognition of the damage that it. would do to Lumon if Mark left, even if she isn’t on Team Lumon anymore.

[Lost Student]

Spoiler for well:

I didn’t forget that she was fired and destroyed her shrine. I don’t remember her telling mark to quit though. When did that happen? That’s not a bad thought that she helps him take it down.

But I think my point still stands that Lumon lured Mark into Severance by faking his wife’s death. Maybe Selvig’s face was a recognition of the damage that it. would do to Lumon if Mark left, even if she isn’t on Team Lumon anymore.

Spoiler for spoiler :

At the reading, right after he said he's thinking about quitting, she whispers in his ear (something like) "get away from them"

[SteelBlue]

Don't forget, even though it says 4/8 on the app, Severance drops at around 6PM PST today! Season finale.

Also, there was big news yesterday:

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[Jeff Lebowski]

Don't forget, even though it says 4/8 on the app, Severance drops at around 6PM PST today! Season finale.

We can't wait. That cliffhanger was an all-timer.

Also, there was big news yesterday:

Embedded Tweet

Ha. Of course they are.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Stick the landing and this season will be one of the all time great seasons for any show. Perhaps, I'm suffering from recency bias, but it has been damn near flawless so far.

[SteelBlue]

Stick the landing and this season will be one of the all time great seasons for any show. Perhaps, I'm suffering from recency bias, but it has been damn near flawless so far.

I feel exactly the same way. Through 8 episodes it has held its own with all the greats.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I feel exactly the same way. Through 8 episodes it has held its own with all the greats.

Incredibly creative and intricate plot. This is exceptional writing.

[SteelBlue]

That was a perfect season of television.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The finale was outstanding.

[MartyFunkhouser]

The finale was outstanding.

It really was.