Apple TV+No detail goes unnoticed when it comes to Severance, and the upcoming Season 2 Episode 7 may be hiding a clue in plain sight with its title: ‘Chikhai Bardo’. Notably, it’s sparked a theory about Mark’s wife Gemma.
One of the biggest mysteries in Severance is what actually happened to Gemma, aka Ms Casey. The only reason Mark started working at Lumon is because he was approached after her death, saying every day without her feels like a year.
In Season 2 of the Apple TV+ series, both Mark’s Innie and Outie know that Gemma is alive, although only his Lumon persona knows she’s actually Ms Casey. Now, he’s trying to figure out how to get to her in the Exports Hall.
Another mystery is why she’s intrinsically linked to Cold Harbor. While Gemma hasn’t been the focus of the last couple of episodes of Severance Season 2, she may be a central figure of Episode 7, if the title is anything to go by.
Severance Season 2 Episode 7 title is Buddhist “moment of death”
Apple TV+In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, ‘Chikhai Bardo’ is one of six states of consciousness associated with the phases of life and death. It refers to the transitional state that occurs at the moment of death, when an individual experiences the clarity of the mind before rebirth or liberation.
Its connection to Severance could hint at Gemma’s own liminal existence – caught between life and death, or between two identities. Perhaps Season 2 Episode 7 will show us how she became Ms Casey, or it might portray the next stage in her development as she returns to the severed floor as a new version of herself.
For clarity, here are the six bardos, as depicted in Tibetan Buddhism:
- First bardo (Shinay) – “the bardo of this life” is the waking state, representing ordinary consciousness during life
- Second bardo (Milam) – “the bardo of dreaming” is the state of dreams, where the mind creates its own reality
- Third bardo (Samten) – “the bardo of meditation” is the state reached through deep meditation, where one can experience profound awareness
- Fourth bardo (Chikhai) – “the bardo of the moment of death” is the transition at death, where the individual’s acceptance or denial can influence their journey through the next bardos
- Fifth bardo (Chonyid) – “the bardo of visions” is a stage after death where one experiences various visions, which leads to enlightenment or unconsciousness, depending on their training
- Sixth bardo (Sidpai) – “the bardo of becoming” is the transition toward rebirth, where karmic forces determine the next life
Taking to the show’s subreddit, one wrote, “The name of the next episode is ‘Chikhai Bardo’, which is a Buddhist term for the fourth of six Bardos… This Bardo is the first of death, experienced immediately after physically dying: when the consciousness separates from the body.
Apple TV+“This is when one either sees the clear light of reality and merges with this light to achieve enlightenment, liberation, and escape from the cycle of rebirth, or (due to fear or attachment) fails to recognize it, and continues to go through other further states of dying.”
Speculating about what this could mean, one replied, “It’s so interesting this could mean multiple things for the context of the episode.
“Mark is in between his past life as a separate Outie and Innie, and in a way is in the process of his current identity ‘dying’ as he moves on through reintegration, eventually being reincarnated as the combination of his two selves.
“It could also represent Gemma and her current state, being dead to the outside world but not actually dead, perhaps she is partially brain dead, no matter what she is definitely in some sort of purgatory-like existence.”
Another interesting link between the title and Gemma is the fact that actress Dichen Lachman is half-Tibetan. As said by another Redditor, “I do personally think this is about Gemma.”
A third added, “Usually the titles apply to more than one character. I also think there is a revelation coming about how Gemma fell into Lumon’s hands and it will feature an unexpected twist. Either she was coerced to become a test subject at Lumon or she is actually collaborating with the test wing.”
Find out when Episode 7 drops with our guide to the Severance Season 2 release schedule. If you want to refresh your memory, we have recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, and Episode 6.
