“Severance” On Apple TV+
- Thread starter Gimpdiggity
- Start date
LOL Ok, here it is, behind spoiler tags:
So there you go...thoughts?
First, reconsider what we already know...
As we learned from the finale episode of Season 1, we now know that the Eagan mission is to convert the world to Kier's religion. And we also know that Jame Eagan (current CEO) is planning to use his Severance chips to that end. Not just to help the world achieve work/life balance, but to help them all see Kier's path. This is not speculation; Jame confessed to it all in the bathroom.
Also, we know that Harmony Cobel was engaged in a series of tests with Mark Scout, to see if his Severance chip was impervious to leaks of personality from innie to outie or vice versa. Her need to do this was probably triggered by Petey's absence and the fact that Reghabi was out there, potentially causing trouble. We got confirmation of this from various points of evidence: stealing Gemma's candle, having Ms. Casey light it during Mark's wellness session, prodding into his personal life, camomile cookies, etc. Judging from many of Harmony's leading questions, she's looking for holes or gaps in the chip: she is trying to trigger his memories. Mr. Milchick confirms as much when he says in Episode 9, something like: "Well that's it, we know that the chips really work," after watching the candle have no effect on Mark. This indicates that Harmony's actions were part of her mission: To find cracks in the chip, and, failing to do so, validate that the chip works perfectly. Her die-hard commitment to Kier's legacy (which we were led to doubt a few times) solidifies this. So I'm reporting all of the above as facts, not speculation.
We also factually know that Macrodata Refiners experience different emotions as they filter and sort the numbers. Since the show has given us no evidence to suggest that ESP is a thing in this world, we MUST arrive at the conclusion that the emotions they're feeling are being triggered (or transmitted) by their brain chips. Therefore logically, the chips are for MORE than just severing work from personal life.
Okay, so....what is Macrodata Refinement doing?
Speculation time...
Judging from the last couple episodes, there seems to be no greater mission for Lumon than the Severance chips. They're lobbying congress about them, keeping quiet about alternate uses (forgetting a childbirth), etc. So any speculation about cleaning up the oceans from "eels and s***", or organized crime, or government spy work, or any money-based ventures like eliminating competition, etc., are all red herrings, distracting us by making us speculate OUTWARD, and hiding the fact that it's all about what's going on inside. Lumon and the Eagans are not about money...they're about conversion to Kier's beliefs. So your typical corporate greed motivations are out the window. And when we look INWARD within the company, the purpose of Macrodata Refinement seems so simple.
If the chips are all-important, then the Macrodata Refiners' jobs are all about interacting with the chips. Period. This is in service to the bigger mission of putting Lumon in control of people's minds, and, once enough people have converted to Kier, controlling the world.
I think there are two possibilities of the "how" here, both equally insidious:
So, what about the goats?
No idea...religious sacrifices maybe? Maybe that's why the goat's keeper was very mournfully shouting, "They're not ready!" Probably a red herring to the bigger picture to throw us off the track of what is really a simple explanation for what Macrodata Refinement does all day.
As we learned from the finale episode of Season 1, we now know that the Eagan mission is to convert the world to Kier's religion. And we also know that Jame Eagan (current CEO) is planning to use his Severance chips to that end. Not just to help the world achieve work/life balance, but to help them all see Kier's path. This is not speculation; Jame confessed to it all in the bathroom.
Also, we know that Harmony Cobel was engaged in a series of tests with Mark Scout, to see if his Severance chip was impervious to leaks of personality from innie to outie or vice versa. Her need to do this was probably triggered by Petey's absence and the fact that Reghabi was out there, potentially causing trouble. We got confirmation of this from various points of evidence: stealing Gemma's candle, having Ms. Casey light it during Mark's wellness session, prodding into his personal life, camomile cookies, etc. Judging from many of Harmony's leading questions, she's looking for holes or gaps in the chip: she is trying to trigger his memories. Mr. Milchick confirms as much when he says in Episode 9, something like: "Well that's it, we know that the chips really work," after watching the candle have no effect on Mark. This indicates that Harmony's actions were part of her mission: To find cracks in the chip, and, failing to do so, validate that the chip works perfectly. Her die-hard commitment to Kier's legacy (which we were led to doubt a few times) solidifies this. So I'm reporting all of the above as facts, not speculation.
We also factually know that Macrodata Refiners experience different emotions as they filter and sort the numbers. Since the show has given us no evidence to suggest that ESP is a thing in this world, we MUST arrive at the conclusion that the emotions they're feeling are being triggered (or transmitted) by their brain chips. Therefore logically, the chips are for MORE than just severing work from personal life.
Okay, so....what is Macrodata Refinement doing?
Speculation time...
Judging from the last couple episodes, there seems to be no greater mission for Lumon than the Severance chips. They're lobbying congress about them, keeping quiet about alternate uses (forgetting a childbirth), etc. So any speculation about cleaning up the oceans from "eels and s***", or organized crime, or government spy work, or any money-based ventures like eliminating competition, etc., are all red herrings, distracting us by making us speculate OUTWARD, and hiding the fact that it's all about what's going on inside. Lumon and the Eagans are not about money...they're about conversion to Kier's beliefs. So your typical corporate greed motivations are out the window. And when we look INWARD within the company, the purpose of Macrodata Refinement seems so simple.
If the chips are all-important, then the Macrodata Refiners' jobs are all about interacting with the chips. Period. This is in service to the bigger mission of putting Lumon in control of people's minds, and, once enough people have converted to Kier, controlling the world.
I think there are two possibilities of the "how" here, both equally insidious:
- The Refiners' emotions are being mapped. The software triggers certain emotions based on certain stimuli in order to confirm various scenarios it's putting out. It sends some coded number to the chip, the chip triggers some emotion (or not), and the software now has a clearer picture of their brain pathways, but as they pertain to their emotions. Click a button on a remote, and I can make you happy. Or afraid. Control someone's emotions and you control their beliefs.
- The Refiners are being programmed. More specifically, their job of organizing numbers is a process of re-wiring their brains (brainwashing) to make them more "suggestible" to the Eagan mission via emotional manipulation, and possibly provide Lumon with the map to accomplishing this on a wider scale.
So, what about the goats?
No idea...religious sacrifices maybe? Maybe that's why the goat's keeper was very mournfully shouting, "They're not ready!" Probably a red herring to the bigger picture to throw us off the track of what is really a simple explanation for what Macrodata Refinement does all day.
So there you go...thoughts?
Very well thought out.
I do agree they there has to be a larger purpose to what appears to be an extremely mundane job that is tied to Kier’s larger plan.
I do agree they there has to be a larger purpose to what appears to be an extremely mundane job that is tied to Kier’s larger plan.
