This Article incorporates spoilers for Severance Season 2.
Severance is a collection shrouded in thriller, with every passing episode typically elevating extra questions than solutions whereas nonetheless managing to be extremely satisfying. Still, in a collection swimming in untold secrets and techniques, there’s one query that we preserve coming again to: WTF is the cope with the goats?
Said goats made their triumphant return on this week’s episode as Mark S. (Adam Scott) and Helly (Britt Lower) make their manner by the hallways of Lumon’s severed flooring attempting to get solutions on Mark’s previously believed to be lifeless spouse, Gemma (Dichen Lachman). On their quest, they discover themselves in a goat room with a small horde of goat herders who appear utterly misplaced in a Lumon facility and in addition someway appear to outnumber the very goats of their cost.
So, you understand, once more we have now extra questions than solutions.
Because of this, we determined to open the query broad to our workers: what the heck do you assume is occurring with the goats?
Amelia Emberwing, Streaming Editor: The most demonic factor I’ve ever finished (OK, probably the most demonic factor I’ve finished this 12 months…) is ask of us to suit these theories right into a paragraph, and now right here I’m: hoisted by my very own petard. This week’s episode won’t have given us any new solutions, however it did shift my focus from the goats to the goat individuals. I’m with a lot of the world in that I imagine the goats are tied to the longevity of Kier Eagan in a technique or one other, however what the heck is occurring with Gwendoline Christie’s character Lorne and her group of nomads? Does her outie surprise why she leaves her work in an workplace constructing on daily basis smelling of goats and with straw in her hair? And what is that this pouch state of affairs all about?
Michael Peyton, Director of Events and Partnerships: Since the start of the collection, the precise work of the Macrodata Refinement Team has been shrouded in thriller. What precisely are they doing by transferring these numbers into all of these little digital containers? Fan theories abound that it has one thing to do with protecting members of the Eagan household, notably Helena’s father Jame, alive – probably with the final word objective of reincarnating Lumon founder and quasi-deity (within the Severance world a minimum of) Kier Eagan. The goat room (particularly the truth that the room appears to be stuffed with child goats) performs proper into it. It’s fully doable that the workforce in that room is conducting scientific experiments aiming to protect the lives of goats long gone their pure lifespan, cloning goats, and even (someway) bringing deceased goats again from the lifeless in service of their final objective of “bringing again” their chief, Kier.
Ryan McCaffrey, Senior Executive Editor of Previews: I’m going to maintain this one easy and never get too carried away with what I believe the reason might be for what’s a type of outlandish moments from Season 1. My idea is that there’s one thing within the goats once they mature to a sure age – keep in mind, the goat herder in that room stated, “They’re not prepared but!” – that’s wanted for the severance process. And Lumon does need to make severance a a lot greater and extra frequent factor than what we’re seeing within the present to this point. So whether or not it’s that their DNA someway goes into the severance chips or one thing else, I’m betting it has to do with scaling up the severance process on a world degree.
Leanne Butkovic, Editorial Project Manager: I believe it has one thing to do with some type of genetically engineered breeding within the pursuit of the indefinite longevity of consciousness (an organization with a “Perpetuity Wing” isn’t precisely refined) and/or constructing a superbly docile and complacent workforce with the perfect ratios of Kier’s Four Tempers. In Lumon’s imaginative and prescient of late stage capitalism, dying is not a great excuse to not come into work. This is related as a result of I believe the goats are related, however a Season 1 idea I preferred loads posits that the MDR workforce’s function in bucketing seemingly meaningless numbers is definitely fairly consequential to Lumon’s objectives. The numbers characterize patterns of character traits – provided that sure nodules have particular emotions within the eye of the microdata refiner – which might be funneled into 5 bins every containing shorthand for the tempers: Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice. Lumon has the know-how to sever a mind’s consciousness; absolutely, they may develop it additional to mould optimized human personalities from categorized knowledge. To that finish, I really feel just like the experiment of making excellent goats has lastly reached a degree of semi-stability to maneuver onto people, and the brand new baby supervisor Ms. Huang is the beta launch. Maybe that is going a bridge too far, however wouldn’t you agree that she seems suspiciously like what might need been the daughter of Mark and his spouse Gemma/Ms. Casey if they’d a child? (Didn’t Dolly the sheep age unusually fast?)
Dan Stapleton, Director of Reviews: I don’t assume what we’re seeing from the innies’ perspective is actuality. The numbers on the computer systems aren’t truly numbers and the goats aren’t truly goats. Anyone with the mind implant know-how wanted to sever an individual’s recollections would plausibly have the know-how to change their notion in order that they aren’t conscious of what they’re actually doing, which could possibly be one thing tremendous tousled. What that’s, I dare not enterprise to guess.
Scott Collura, Associate Director of Features: DO THEY HAVE POUCHES. That’s what the one and solely Gwendoline Christie (and her coworkers) need to learn about Mark and Helly once they discover a new goat room on this week’s episode of Severance. As the obvious head of her division – Mammalians Nurturable, in fact – Christie’s character has loads on her thoughts it appears, not the least of which is the query of whether or not or not the pair from Macrodata Refinement is there to kill her. (With their pouches perhaps?) But whereas extra questions are raised than answered by the go to to this expanded goat room, one factor is now clear: The goats are being tended to for one thing apart from typical animal husbandry. Are they integral to the severance course of? Does severance contain pouches? How can Christie’s character make sure that Mark and Helly don’t have pouches? They solely confirmed her a part of their bellies! And come to consider it, does Christie have a pouch? Do Christie’s rough-around-the-edges colleagues sleep in goat pouches!? How huge are goat pouches? Wait, what… goats don’t have pouches?
Never thoughts.
Erik Adams, Entertainment Reviews Editor: When it involves my TV puzzle containers, I’m far more Leftovers than Lost: My choice is to let the thriller be, so I’d be completely happy if we by no means get a straight reply concerning the goats. But I did get the sensation from this week’s episode that the goat room could possibly be some type of probationary purgatory between normal (utilizing that time period very loosely right here) work on the severed flooring and retirement – the break room, however the break lasts loads longer. The hostility of Christie’s character, the commonly feral look and attitudes of her co-workers – this says to me that Lumon has a manner of coping with innies who aren’t a great tradition match (barf) however aren’t but able to return to a one hundred pc outie existence.
Obviously, we need to hear your theories too! Drop ’em within the feedback.
