Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2’s episode 7.Severanceseason 2’s episode 7 is not only jam-packed with several revelations about Gemma’s fate but also includes one subtle detail that confirms a divisive Woe’s Hollow theory. Almost throughout season 1, theApple TV+ sci-fi showkept its storyline fairly straightforward. It drew a clear distinction between the innie and outie lives before walking through the mind-bending Overtime Contingency twist in its finale. In season 2, however,Severancehas been introducing one twist after another, prompting viewers to theorize and speculate about all underlying story developments.
Although a lot has happened so far,Severance season 2’s episode 7proves to be one of the most fascinating installments in the franchise. The reason being that, after keeping viewers in the dark about Gemma’s fate and the truth about the testing floor, the episode finally hints at what Lumon might be doing to her. While walking through Gemma’s struggles and day-to-day routines at Lumon, season 2’s episode 7 also seems to hint that a popular theory about the ORTBO experience from episode 4 might hold some credibility.
Severance Season 2’s ORTBO Was In A Simulation – Theory Explained
Many Things About The MDR Workers' ORTBO Experience Seem Strange
Severanceseason 2’s episode 4was one of the most gripping installments in the series because it featured a completely new setting. The innies suddenly found themselves experiencing ORTBO (Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurrence), a strange and mysterious event that even allows them to roam free in an isolated outside setting. After watching episode 4,many viewers could not help but wonder whether the ORTBO experience was real or a part of a simulation. Many intriguing clues and details even supported this theory.
For instance, the severed characters rarely show any signs of feeling cold. Even though they are surrounded by snow-clad mountains and seemingly face near-freezing temperatures, they seem unbothered by the extreme weather. Irving even ends up sleeping outside at night, claiming that he nearly froze to death. However, he, too, shows no signs of physical distress. All innies also awaken at different times in the ORTBO. Mark already seems conscious before Irving finds himself in the vast landscape of the ORTBO’s setting.
Even the CRT television and VCR set that Milchick uses to communicate with the MDR workers suddenly appears on the cliff and does not even seem to have a power output.
Their sequential arrival seems similar to how they enter the Lumon buildingone by one through the elevator, making it hard not to wonder if they might still be in their office building. If the ORTBO unfolded in a real-world location, Lumon would have had to take the outies' permission and take them to the outside setting before switching them to their innies. It seems strange that all innies unanimously agreed to this. Not to mention, since the outies are not allowed to interact with one another, Lumon would have had to take each of them separately to the location.
Every Override Protocol In Severance Explained
While Severance has confirmed how a few override protocols work, there seems to be an air of ambiguity surrounding several others in the sci-fi show.
From a practical standpoint, none of this seems to make sense. Even the CRT television and VCR set that Milchick uses to communicate with the MDR workers suddenly appears on the cliff and does not even seem to have a power output. Lumon would also have to trigger the Overtime Contingency to be able to make the workers retain their innie personas in the outside world. Since Helena was posing as Helly, she would be the only person without the OTC. Yet, Milchick demanded that the Glasgow block be removed when Irv attacked her instead of asking for her OTC to be switched on.
One Severance Season 2 Episode 7 Scene Hints Lumon Possesses Simulation Technology
The Turbulent Flight Room Seems A Little Too Realistic
Severanceseason 2’s episode 7 finally reveals what lies on the testing floor. The restricted Lumon floor has a series of rooms, sharing their names with the files Mark is working on. As soon as Gemma enters one of the rooms, she transitions into a unique innie and is forced to experience a traumatic event. One room seems particularly strange because it puts Gemma in a realistic flight simulation. Soon after entering the room, she finds herself on a turbulent flight on the verge of crashing.
Gemma visits a total of six rooms throughout her day on thetesting floor inSeveranceseason 2’s episode 7: “The Billings room, the Lucknow room, St. Pierre, Cairns, Zurich, and The Wellington room.”
Her experience in the room seems so immersive that it becomes hard not to wonder if it is a full-fledged simulation.The room seems to prove that Lumon is capable of creating realistic simulations, seemingly confirming the ORTBO simulation theory. However, sinceSeverancehas often managed to surprise viewers with its compelling twists and turns, one cannot draw any affirmative conclusions. Something about the flight simulation room and the ORTBO setting still does not seem right.
The Simulation Theory Fails To Explain One Major Woe’s Hollow Story Detail
Why Would Milchick Care About Helena’s Fate In A Simulation?
If the innies were in a simulated reality during the ORTBO, it seems strange that Milchick cared so much about Helena’s fate when Irving tried to drown her. A possible explanation for this could be that,since Helena is an Eagan, Milchick did not want her to have any unpleasant experiences in the simulated hyperreality at the cost of maintaining the secrecy of her mission. With so many contradicting clues surrounding the true nature of the ORTBO, it remains one of the biggest mysteries inSeveranceseason 2, especially after the Gemma scene from episode 7.
Severance
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
