Apple TV+Lumon’s goal was for Gemma to pass the test of Cold Harbor, but the Severance Season 2 ending sees an unexpected candidate fulfilling Kier Eagan’s “grand agendum” instead: Mark S. Spoilers to follow…
Up until now, Cold Harbor has remained something of a mystery. We knew it was Mark’s last MDR file, we knew it was Gemma’s final room, and we knew as soon as it was done, Gemma would “die”.
In the Severance Season 2 finale, Mark does finish the file, making him “one of the most important people in history” (according to robot Kier). Gemma enters the room wearing the clothes she wore on the day she “died”. Her task is to take apart a baby’s crib – the same one Outie Mark bought her before she had a miscarriage.
Despite the trauma attached to this scene, the Gemma Innie activated in Cold Harbor feels no pain whatsoever. Dr Mauer says to Jame, “The barrier is holding. She feels nothing… it’s beautiful.” But she’s not the only one.
Severance Season 2 ending sees Mark pass the test
Apple TV+Even though Gemma’s the test subject, it’s actually Mark who passes with flying colors by choosing Helly at the end of Severance Season 2 Episode 10.
You see, his Outie activates when he heads to the testing floor and breaks Gemma out before she’s finished in the Cold Harbor room. The pair of them kiss in the elevator and head up to the severed floor, at which point their Innies activate.
Mark’s Innie is able to get Ms Casey out into the stairwell, where she turns back into Gemma. But before heading out himself, he sees Helly at the other end of the hall.
Despite Gemma screaming, crying, and begging for him to leave with her, Mark chooses to stay with Helly, and the pair run off into the unknown.
In that moment, Lumon’s experiment is proven a success (even if the ever-creepy Jame Eagan doesn’t realize it yet).
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Mark, the man whose life was once defined by grief, feels nothing about his time with Gemma. No pain. No hesitation. Just the instinct to move forward with Helly.
Taking to Reddit, one viewer spotted the significance of this scene. “Cold Harbor was about testing whether the barrier could hold and a severed person not feel anything their Outie would have felt,” they wrote.
“Of all people, it was iMark passing that test and feeling nothing for Gemma at the stairwell door in the end.”
Apple TV+Another replied, “Which tells me Mark might have been refining himself more than he refined Gemma. Time to speculate for the next 18 months.”
There’s another detail in the finale that reflects this sentiment too – when Mark rescues Gemma from Cold Harbor, she subtly yet instinctively feels he’s a safe person.
“At some point towards the end of Season 1, Ms Casey says to Mark during a wellness session that she always felt a certain sort of comfort around him (or something along those lines),” added a third.
“Mark never seemed to show anything similar (or communicate anything similar) to Ms Casey during the wellness sessions. Like the vibe of familiarity (that you see with Burt and Irv, for instance) doesn’t show for him towards Ms Casey.
“In the Cold Harbor room, she instinctively realizes after a few minutes that he is a safe person.”
Not everyone agrees with this concept, however. “I think Innie Mark probably DID have some feelings for Gemma at the end. But his feelings for Helly were a lot stronger,” wrote one.
Severance Seasons 1-2 are streaming on Apple TV+ now. Find out everything we know about Severance Season 3, check out our guide to the Lexington Letter, and take a look at the best shows like Severance.
