Severance is a series that lends itself naturally to fan theories. The very premise of the show is built upon a lack of information: the severed “Innies” not knowing about their Outies, the Outies not knowing what truly goes on within Lumon, and nobody knowing what Lumon’s true plan is. It’s the perfect “mystery box” show for a new age, and that is only heightened in Season 2.
Season 2 picks up right after Season 1 ended — at least for Mark S. There, he realizes he’s now being touted as a folk hero and a whistleblower, and after a temporary reassignment he’s reunited with his old coworkers. But someone in the office isn’t acting the same — and it could put the Innies’ plan in complete jeopardy.
In the Season 2 premiere, when all of the Innies talk about what their lives were like on the outside, they all recount what they saw in the Season 1 finale — except Helly. Helly describes a sad life in an apartment but promises she did tell someone about Lumon: a gardener outside her building. “A night gardener?” Irving questions. “I think so. I mean, maybe he has a different job during the day,” Helly responds.
Severance fans know this is a lie: outside of Lumon’s severed floor, she’s Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumon Industries CEO Jame Eagan. Clearly, she doesn’t want her coworkers to know about her true nature as a nepo baby, but why? The main theory is that this Helly isn’t Helly at all but Helena, sent down as a spy to get to know just what the Innies are planning next.
There’s a lot of evidence to this theory: Helly is the one who convinces Mark it’s safe to talk about what they did on the outside, and she seems very awkward around him despite their passionate kiss at the end of Season 1. But the ultimate smoking gun is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. When we see all the employees turning on their computers, it takes Helly a few attempts to find the switch. If she’s done this job countless times now, then it should be muscle memory.
A plot twist like this makes perfect sense for Severance: it’s a show built entirely on alter egos, and Helena/Helly in particular is a great example of how those alter egos can lie on opposite sides of a fight. What better way to highlight that theme in a sophomore season than to pull a Parent Trap? We’ll have to wait and see if this theory is correct, but if it is, then Mark, Irv, and Dylan have a bigger problem on their hands: bringing back Innie Helena, trapped inside her psyche.
