Apple TV+We get to see just how unhinged Fields is in Severance Season 2 Episode 6 when Irving pops round to Burt’s for dinner. But there’s one confession that is more chilling than the rest – and it has everything to do with Lumon.
Irving’s Innie might be dead, but his Outie is still alive and kicking, and he’s somehow found his way back to Burt. In Season 2 Episode 5, Burt’s Outie approaches Irving, seemingly to get answers on why he came knocking during the Overtime Contingency Protocol.
According to Burt, he didn’t retire after all – he was fired due to an “unsanctioned, erotic entanglement” with another Lumon employee. It’s safe to say Burt’s religious husband, Fields, wasn’t too happy about Irving turning up at their house.
In Severance’s latest episode, ‘Attila’, we get a proper introduction to Fields, who reveals why Burt ended up on the severed floor. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Fields’ confession shows just how powerful Lumon is
Apple TV+Fields tells Irving that he wanted Burt to get severed so at least his Innie would go to heaven and he wouldn’t have to spend eternity alone. While this in itself is an unhinged concept, what’s most sinister is that they first heard about Lumon at a church sermon.
We already know Lumon has offices across the globe and produces everything from drugs, biotech, and medical equipment to cosmetics, personal care products, and more. We also know Lumon has powerful connections to government officials, law enforcement, and the press.
But the fact that the organization’s influence extends into places of worship suggests a deeper level of societal control, embedding and even promoting its ideology in faith and morality itself.
The conversation comes up as Fields, Burt, and Irving eat dinner. Irving asks Burt how he came to be at the company, to which he replies that he was guided by “Jesus… Christ.”
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Burt explains that he and Fields had been attending a Lutheran church for some years, which in itself offers an interesting parallel to the severed process.
The Lutheran Reformation was defined by a dramatic split from the Roman Catholic Church, with Martin Luther’s followers breaking away over theological and institutional differences.
Creative CommonsJust as Lutherans and Catholics became divided into separate factions, Lumon’s severed employees exist as two entirely distinct selves. We shouldn’t be surprised – no small detail is wasted in Severance.
Burt admits he was a bit of a “scoundrel” in his younger years, so one Sunday, Fields asked him if he thought he’s going to heaven. “I pretend to think about it but I know the answer is no,” he says.
Fields replied at the time, “What am I supposed to do up there for eternity all by myself?”
So they hopped on the train to church and, funnily enough, the sermon that day was about severance. And the pastor said, “The church’s stance is that Innies are complete individuals, with souls that can be judged separately from their Outie.”
“We’re not zealots, I swear,” says Fields. “But we figured that if it were true, it may be a way for part of Burt to… oh, you know.”
Not only does this demonstrate the power Lumon has, but it’s also a pretty messed up thing for Fields to believe in. As Burt himself says, while his Innie would get to go to heaven, his Outie – the one sitting right there at the dinner table – would “burn.” Not exactly #couplegoals.
Severance Season 2 Episode 6 has Lexington Letter reference
Apple TV+Fields’ confession also has a connection to a quote from The Lexington Letter, an e-book written by the creators of Severance that details a separate story of a severed employee, which expands on the Apple TV+ show’s lore.
The story follows a severed Lumon employee named Margaret “Peg” Kincaid, who secretly smuggles messages to her Outie. Although the characters are separate to the ones we know in the series, the creators confirmed it is canon.
In Peg’s letter, addressed to the press, she reveals that before joining Lumon, she had been working as a bus driver for school runs. One day, after an accident, she waited for the emergency services to show up.
At that moment in time, as she sat in the freezing cold alone, she remembers thinking “f**k this job,” and says she “may have said it out loud.” Suddenly, a recruitment ad for severance came on the radio.
“Right at that moment, as if it had heard me, this ad came on the radio,” she wrote, which is exactly what Fields says while describing the severance sermon.
Apple TV+Before revealing what the pastor said, Fields interjects to say it was “as if he’d been listening to our conversation.”
Coincidence? Maybe. But this eerie connection between their thoughts and Lumon’s messaging could hint at something more insidious.
Whether through surveillance, psychological conditioning, or something even deeper, Lumon appears to have an uncanny ability to reach people at their most vulnerable moments, guiding them toward severance as if it were destiny rather than a choice.
Make sure you know when the next episode drops with our guide to the Severance Season 2 release schedule, and you can also read about Cold Harbor, the Glasgow Block, and when Severance takes place.
If you want to refresh your memory, we have recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5, and if that weren’t enough, here’s five shows like Severance you should watch.
