Ms Casey is Gemma’s Innie, right?… right? Well, after Severance Season 2 Episode 1 dropped on Apple TV+, a mind-blowing new fan theory suggests otherwise.
Ever since the final episodes of Severance Season 1, we’ve known the supposed truth: Mark’s supposedly dead wife Gemma is not only alive but working for Lumon as Ms Casey.
Mark’s Innie found this out in the finale, leading to the best TV cliffhanger in recent memory: he ran to his sister Devon with their wedding photo in hand, shouting, “She’s alive.”
Although we don’t get all the answers in the Severance Season 2 premiere, there is a rather telling reveal right at the end. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Cold Harbor sparks new Ms Casey theory for Severance Season 2
After the Cold Harbor reveal at the end of Severance Season 2 Episode 1, a new subtheory has emerged: Ms Casey isn’t Gemma’s Innie but rather an AI copy of Gemma coded by Mark’s Innie.
As you will have no doubt spotted, right at the end of the episode, we see Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan get back to work, having decided to stay at Lumon to try and find Ms Casey.
The camera closes in on Mark’s computer screen, and just after sending some numbers into one of the five virtual trashcans, there’s a brief flash of the project he’s working on. It’s called Cold Harbor and has an image of Ms Casey, alongside a series of digits.
Beneath the picture, there are the five bins, with progress rates for each of the categories and their subcategories: WO, DR, FC, and MA (clearly a reference to Kier’s Four Tempers, Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice).
The theory goes that Mark’s Innie’s Freshman Fluke, whereby he mysteriously finished his first file in a single day, could be why Ms Casey ended up on the Severed Floor.
He was able to code her so quickly because of how well he knows her, and so Gemma’s copy (Ms Casey) was sent out for testing.
Taking to Reddit, one fan wrote, “Based on the ending of Season 2 Episode 1, I think that MDR employees are being used to codify the consciousness of loved ones. Possibly their ‘affinity’ for their loved ones is strong enough to make them consistently hit quota and be a good team.
“This would make sense why refiners like Dylan and Mark are exceptional (possibly Irving too) as they feel strongly about their loved ones.
“Mark’s freshman fluke that earned him his 3D cube was probably a significant milestone in the advancement of such technology, which allowed a cloned Ms. Casey to come out of the testing room floor for studying her social interactions, specifically directly with Mark.”
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They went on to say that through testing, they may be able to refine the science and find a way to ensure Eagans can live forever.
“Where I differ: I don’t think Ms. Casey is Mark’s true wife but a copy of her built around Mark’s progress with his MDR files. That’s why she is kind of strange and ‘off’,” they continued.
“Mark’s work isn’t complete and she is sent back to the testing room floor for ‘refining’.”
Dylan’s Outie Family Visitation could be a testing program
What’s more, some believe Dylan’s promise of the Outie Family Visitation suite could be another testing procedure.
“I wonder if the ‘Family Reunion Room’ enticed to Dylan will similarly be another experiment to refine clones of Dylan’s own family based on his progress, which in turn keeps him motivated to unknowingly keep refining his cloned family,” they added.
Another agreed, “Oooh, I like your theory better actually. That would make sense of why Ms Casey is a little bit strange. It also makes sense of the family room. For Dylan it would be a perk, for Lumen it’s a testing room.”
There’s one caveat with this theory, however: Mark’s actor Adam Scott debunked the clone theory ahead of the Severance Season 2 theory. But that’s not to say a different version of it cannot be true.
Notably, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Ms Casey isn’t actually Gemma’s Innie, especially given her strange behavior and turn of phrase.
It’s also not outrageous to consider that Milchick has ulterior motives when it comes to Dylan’s new perk, especially as he convinces him to keep it secret from his fellow refiners.
For now, all we can do is speculate (which is all part of the fun). As another fan pointed out, “I can’t wait for the rug pull. It’s going to make my stomach drop, I just KNOW it’s coming.”
Severance Season 2 Episode 1 is streaming on Apple TV+ now. You can also read about what happened to Mark’s team, the huge cameo you probably missed, and other great Apple TV+ shows to stream this month.
