Does Cold Harbor connect Mark S. to Ms. Casey in Severance season 2?

The first episode of the highly-anticipated Severance season 2 premiered on January 17, 2025, on Apple TV+. It is directed by Ben Stiller and written by Dan Erickson, the show's creator and showrunner.

The plot follows Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan's innies five months after they bypassed the severance protocol in the season 1 finale. The group returns to Lumon in season 2's premiere episode in search of answers. By the episode's end, Mark S. is seen working on the Cold Harbor file, which is linked to Lumon's wellness counselor, Ms. Casey.

The official synopsis of Severance season 2 episode 1, as per Apple TV, reads:

"Mark returns to work under different circumstances. Secrets from the Outie world come to light."

Disclaimer: This article is speculative in nature and solely expresses the author's opinion.

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Cold Harbor is seen in the final moments of Severance season 2 episode 1

Severance season 2 episode 1 ends with the innie Mark and his co-workers getting back to their desks and sorting numbers into bins on their computer screens. Mark S. is shown working on an MDR file titled Cold Harbor, which has been 68% completed. What's intriguing is that the image is followed by another screen showcasing Ms. Casey's face and information.

In the season 1 finale, the innie Mark learns that his outie was married to a woman named Gemma before she passed away in a car crash. He had opted for the severance program as a way to cope with the loss of his wife. Soon after, he discovers that Ms. Casey, the wellness counselor from work, is Gemma's innie.

Gemma/Ms. Casey's screen depicts her vital signs, like heart rate, body temperature, and a symbol likely denoting a severance chip. While the top left corner shows the words 'Cold Harbor,' the bottom of the screen features a line of bins, similar to the ones found on Mark's screen.

The scene implies that Mark's work on the file is somehow connected to Gemma's physical health. But, Severance season 2 episode 1 does not offer any clear answers about what Cold Harbor means and how it ties to Gemma/Ms. Casey and Mark S.

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Exploring possible theories about Cold Harbor's connection to Lumon employees

Ms. Casey as seen in the Apple TV+ series Severance (Image via Facebook/@Apple TV)

Fans of the critically acclaimed series have come up with several theories explaining Cold Harbor's connection with Mark S. and Ms. Casey.

In the first season, the MDR team is seen trying to figure out the true nature of their work. Sorting random numbers into bins may have seemed insignificant initially, but it's now clear that the simple task has serious implications. Several online theories suggest that the department's work may be related to cryogenics or cloning technology.

The character arc of Gemma/Ms. Casey supports the cloning theory since she was in a car accident, and Ms. Casey may be her clone created by Lumon (after faking her death). It explains why she appears more robotic than the other innies. She also does not seem to have an outie, lending further credence to this theory.

According to another theory, Ms. Casey may be a prototype of something Lumon is developing for sinister reasons. In season 1 episode 8, she was retired and sent to the testing floor, indicating that she may be used as some kind of guinea pig for further experiments. Moreover, it's possible that MDR workers are helping fine-tune these prototypes through their work.

It seems that Gemma's case is labeled as Cold Harbor, which is a real district in Virginia's Hanover County. Mark may have been assigned her case since he knows her best. He is sorting numbers based on his personal emotions (happiness, fear, playfulness, and evil) and it could very likely be used to impact Ms. Casey's temperament and personality.

In Severance season 1, Mark's innie was working on MDR files named Allentown and Tumwater (also real U.S. locations). Does that mean he was working on similar prototypes related to other people in his outie's life? The same could also be true of his co-workers Irving, Dylan, and Helly.

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What is the mystery behind the numbers seen in Severance season 2?

As per a different theory, the numbers sorted into bins are related to human emotions as they are collected based on the worker's individual feelings. Moreover, each of the bins is further divided into four categories - WO, DR, FC, and MA. These likely correlate to Kier Eagan's four 'tempers' - Woe, Dread, Frolic, and Malice - as mentioned in Severance season 1.

Eagan considered the "precise ratio" of these tempers as the essence of a man's character. Dan Erickson has also revealed in the past that Kier Eagan's vision is the driving force behind the company's actions. During his interview with Variety on February 18, 2022, he said:

"It all comes back to Kier Eagan, who is the founder of the company, and basically this idea that everything they’re doing is to fulfill this vision that he had, that he wanted to enact. It all comes back to this weird quasi-religious, quasi-cult like reverence that everyone has for the late founder of the company."

Another possible explanation could be that Mark's department is performing machine learning by working on files like Cold Harbor. By sorting numbers into different emotions, they could be helping refine the severance chips to make severed individuals more compliant and ideal workers for Lumon.

Whatever the case, Mark S. and his friends will hopefully get closer to solving the mystery behind Lumon's secret activities in Severance season 2 episode 2.

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Stay tuned for more updates on Severance season 2 and other similar shows on Apple TV+.