Warning: This article contains spoilers forSeverance, including the season 1 finale.
Dan Erickson knows you might be a little frustrated with him.
Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), end up at Lumon?
Adam Scott as Mark in ‘Severance’.Apple TV+
Why is Irving’s outie painting pictures of the terrifying entrance to the “Testing Floor”?
Seriously, what the actual f— is up with those baby goats?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: That’s quite the cliffhanger you leave us on in the finale.
Patricia Arquette in ‘Severance’.Apple TV +
Why did you decide to conclude the season at that particular endpoint?
I was like, “Okay, people are gonna be mad!”
Yeah, I’m getting new locks on my doors for sure.
Mark (Adam Scott) and Helly (Britt Lower) have a moment on ‘Severance’.Apple TV+
That was always a question.
Do we want to know what the numbers are?
Do we want to know how whatever happened to Gemma happened to Gemma?"
Innies unite! Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, and Britt Lower on ‘Severance’.Atsushi Nishijima/Apple TV+
But that’s not always the best way to construct a drama and to get people continually invested.
Where did that idea come from, and what was the thinking behind it?
I honestly think it started as a joke.
Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey on ‘Severance’.Apple TV+
And this idea of commodifying sex like, of course they would find a way to use that.
[Pause] “The moral of the orgy” is also a good episode title.
[Laughs]
You mentioned the moment between Mark and Helly.
Walk us through the decision to have them embrace their feelings and kiss before they leave the office.
It’s like, we have two attractive people, so of course they have to end up together.
And the humanness of that in this stark, emotionless place ended up being too good not to explore.
I’d like to discuss where we leave each character in the finale, starting with Helly.
But it felt like the logical escalation of this nightmare she’s been having this entire season.
Every horrific, nightmarish, dehumanizing thing that has happened to her was by her own design.
So once that idea came up, we just had to do it.
Is there any hope for them?
Well, I mean, they’re both still alive, so there’s always hope.
I don’t know that this has to be the end of their story.
How does that revelation affect him?
Patricia Arquetteput it most astutely during a conversation we were having backstage at one point.
I think that’s the essence of the shift that Dylan goes through.
What’s she going through in those moments?
I wonder what would have happened in her basement if Mark hadn’t knocked on the door.
Am I more Mrs. Selvig than Cobel?
I’ve always thought Selvig was the mask, but maybe not."
But then, yes, the moment that she sees a way back into Lumon, it’s immediate.
Sometimes that’s a process that takes years to break out of, and sometimes you never do.
So I really liked that moment for her.
This has been her whole life, and she can’t break away.
Is Mark going to be reluctant?
Like, “I’m on my healing arc.
I was making progress, and now all of a sudden, it’s thrown for a loop.”
We wanted it to affect both of their arcs but not completely derail them.
How much of season 2 do you already have mapped out?
And what are you interested in exploring with the show in the second season?
I just can’t wait, because these actors are all obviously so good.
In season 2, we’re really going to expand and get into all of that.
But then there’ll be plenty of office stuff too.
There may even be another melon bar.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The full first season ofSeveranceis now streaming on Apple TV+.
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