Apple TV+Between its scenes of Gemma and Mark, Severance Season 2 Episode 7 just introduced a creepy, pivotal new character: Dr Mauer.
Let’s get one thing clear: the true villains of Severance are the Kier family and Lumon Industries, or rather, the cult-like fealty they demand and their insidious influence on all walks of life. For example, when we see Gemma filling out a fertility clinic form, it has Lumon’s logo; they’re everywhere.
That said, there have been some nasty so-and-sos along the way; for example, Doug Graner, the Lumon enforcer from Season 1. You could describe Harmony Cobel and Mr Milchick as villains too (not to mention Helena Eagan), but they’re not necessarily beyond redemption.
However, Episode 7 just unveiled one of the show’s most unsettling characters to date.
Who is Dr Mauer?
Apple TV+Dr Mauer, played by Robby Benson, appears to be the head of the Testing Floor in Severance.
He was teased in Episode 5, whistling ‘The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald’ after picking up dentistry equipment from O&D. We get our first proper look at him near the beginning of Episode 7, when Gemma walks into the Wellington room – where her Innie is always at the dentist.
It quickly becomes clear that Dr Mauer is the only other person Gemma’s Innies see when she walks into one of the Testing Floor’s rooms. However, he wears an assortment of different costumes and disguises to differentiate his personas (presumably to avoid the risk of any crossover memories).
He appears throughout the episode, both in his normal form as Dr Mauer and in several of the rooms (in one of them, he’s an air steward, and in another, he’s her husband on Christmas day). When he speaks to Gemma’s Outie (who’s trapped inside Lumon), he’s keen to know what she remembers about her day on the floor; if she’s drawn to one room more than another, and if she’s feeling any pain or after-effects.
Dr Mauer is already a terrifying Severance villain
Apple TV+We still don’t know a lot about Dr Mauer (including his first name), but he’s clearly instrumental to Lumon’s efforts – especially when it comes to Cold Harbor.
After Gemma catches sight of Cold Harbor’s door, she asks Dr Mauer what will happen when she’s been in all of the rooms. “You’ll see the world again, and the world will see you,” he tells her.
He’s also developed an unsettling attachment to Gemma. In one scene, he tells Mr Drummond: “She’s easy to like. She’s fond of me too, of course.”
When she’s in the Christmas room, he forces her to say, “I love you” back to him. Near the end, he lies to her about Mark when she asks to go home. “Your husband remarried last year. And he has a daughter now… you’ve been gone a long time, Gemma. He’s moved on. Maybe you’ve moved on too… in one of the rooms, what do you think?” he says.
“Maybe you felt things behind those doors you never felt with Mark? Maybe I’ve seen it.”
If that wasn’t icky enough, it’s also clear he targeted Gemma long before she ended up at Lumon. In the fertility clinic flashback, he can be seen glancing at Gemma as he walks past.
Where you’ve seen Robby Benson before
Robby Benson has appeared in American Dreams, Hallmark’s A Feeling of Home, and Exosquad, as well as a long list of movies through the ’80s and ’90s. However, he’s best known for his voice performance in a classic Disney movie: Beauty and the Beast, where he played… the Beast (and the Prince).
Benson has reprised the role in multiple Disney projects, including the House of Mouse TV show in the early 2000s and 2023’s Once Upon a Studio.
Make sure you know when the next episode drops with our guide to the Severance Season 2 release schedule, and check out our guides on Asal Reghabi, the Glasgow Block, and the Lexington Letter. There’s another big theory you should read up on too: Helly might be pregnant.
