Who sang The Windmills of Your Mind in Severance?

Modified Mar 27, 2025 07:02 GMT

Mark and Helly as seen in Severance season 2 finale (Custom cover edited by Sportskeeda, Original Image [Apple TV+])

The second installment of Severance premiered between January 17, 2025, and March 20, 2025, on Apple TV+. Dan Erickson serves as the show's creator and showrunner, while Ben Stiller is the primary director and executive producer of the dystopian thriller series. Moreover, it is produced by Aoife McArdle, Amanda Overton, and Gerry Robert Byrne.

The show's season 2 focused on Mark's attempts to rescue his wife Gemma, who is trapped inside Lumon's testing floor. The finale episode, titled Cold Harbor, ended on a cliffhanger with innie Mark and Helly racing through Lumon's hallways with The Windmills of Your Mind, sung by Mel Tormé, playing in the background.

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

"Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

The Windmills of Your Mind is used in the final sequence of Severance season 2

The Windmills of Your Mind was originally composed for the 1968 heist film The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen. Michael Legrand composed the music, while Alan and Marilyn Bergman came up with the lyrics in a stream of consciousness. It was sung by the English actor and singer, Noel Harrison.

Severance season 2 finale features the jazz singer Mel Tormé's cover of the song, released in 1969. Tormé was a two-time Grammy award-winning singer, musician, actor, and author.

Season 2 of the workplace thriller ends with Mark successfully rescuing Gemma from captivity inside Lumon's testing floor. During the mission, he switches between his innie and outie several times as he leaves and returns to the severed floor. Similarly, Gemma also switches between her outie (Gemma) and innie (Ms. Casey).

After zipping through the maze of hallways together, Mark directs Gemma to leave through the exit stairwell but decides to stay inside the severed floor himself. While Gemma screams for her husband to join her, innie Mark walks towards Helly. In the second season's final sequence, Mark and Helly run hand-in-hand down the hallways determined to stay together for as long as possible.

The madly-in-love couple is fully aware that they cannot have a future together, but decide to make the most of their time before Lumon or the outies get to them. The season draws to a close with a freeze-frame of the couple, with red and white lights blinking in the hallways. Their uncertain fate is underscored by the lyrics of The Windmills of Your Mind.

What did Ben Stiller say about the song The Windmills of Your Mind?

On March 21, 2025, Ben Stiller, who directed the finale episode, spoke to Vulture about his song selection.

"The final image of season two was always a dystopian disconnect of two people running and in love. But in this hellish prison of these hallways, where are they going to? I was looking for the juxtaposition of the craziness of that with a hopeful song," he said.

The Zoolander star mentioned that he went through several songs to score the pivotal moment, like I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher and As Tears Go By by Nancy Sinatra. He eventually selected The Windmills of Your Mind as its lyrics and melody perfectly encapsulate the trippy, dream-like vibe of the scene.

Viewers can stream all episodes of Severance seasons 1 and 2 on Apple TV+.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Ankush Das