Severance predictions: what's in store for Lumon?

Severance is Apple TV's hottest new series, starring Parks and Recreation's Adam Scott in the leading role as Mark Scout, a Lumon employee. But it's unlike your standard office-based drama, as no one really knows what's going on inside the organization, including the employees themselves.

It's an intriguing concept, and the title 'Severance' refers to a medical procedure in which Lumon employees agree to have their memories severed so they're unable to retain work memories outside of the building, and they can't remember their personal lives whilst at work. 

As a result, it's a disorientating experience and the two states of consciousness are referred to as 'innies and 'outies' respectively. We only know as much as the main characters so far, meaning for the past five episodes we've been completely baffled!

In an interview with What to Watch, leading man Adam Scott spoke about his character and said: "It was important to us that it felt like one guy, not two characters, it's different sides of the same person. They are in very different circumstances and their minds are quite different. But neither at the beginning wants to change. 

"They're both settled. But the apple cart being tossed over is uncomfortable for both sides of Mark and they set off on journeys. On its surface, it's a workplace comedy when you enter the story, but there's something else lurking underneath, and cracking open the mystery is a lot of fun!"

Because there is so much mystery surrounding Severance, there are many rumors around what's actually going on at Lumon and whether or not some of our beloved characters have something to hide.

There are also some clear rivalries between departments, and it seems the higher-ups (known simply as 'the board') don't want them to mingle for reasons as yet unknown, even trying to scare them into thinking they're out to get each other.

With this in mind, here are just some of the predictions we have about Lumon and its employees, and what we might see coming up...

We'll start to learn more about newcomer Helly's outie

It was revealed that Helly (Britt Lower) chose to have the severance procedure of her own free will, and has denied her innie's request to resign from the company, reminding her that she's the one in charge of both of them.

This has created a conflict between both of Helly's conscience states, as the outie insists she remains working for Lumon, whereas the innie has done everything in her power to try and get out, including a shocking scene where she tries to hang herself inside the company elevator.

Helly's very much alive, however, and her innie grows increasingly more frustrated with the fact she has chosen to stay a Lumon employee and seemingly has no regard for how the other version of herself feels. 

But why is Helly's outie behaving this way? There's a chance she could know more about Lumon than she's letting on, or that she has somehow been blackmailed into keeping her role. Either that or she simply doesn't care about her innie at all, as she doesn't have to experience life at work and can instead prioritize her personal life.

Because there's so much mystery surrounding Helly's outie, we're predicting she'll be a major character in upcoming episodes, as fans are keen to learn more about who she really is... 

Irving's budding relationship with Burt will be exposed

Severance viewers know that innies are inside Lumon for one reason only: to work. They're not meant to establish complex relationships, and as they have no knowledge of their personal lives, they don't even know if there's anyone on the outside waiting for them at home.

Keeping this in mind, workplace romances are a serious no-go but we're starting to see flickers of desire between Irving (John Turturro) and Burt (Christopher Walken) that could end in disaster for both men. They have bonded over their love of art and design, and not only is it a workplace romance, but it's also a cross-department one too which only adds to the drama.

What's more, the ending of episode 5 saw them uniting the two departments, declaring them all 'friends' which clearly isn't about to go down well for the board members hellbent on keeping them apart... for reasons unknown.

This forbidden relationship could be a catalyst for something bigger, so if the board knows the truth about Irving and Burt, they'll no doubt be keen to shut it down as soon as possible. But just how far will Lumon go to keep them apart?

We'll finally learn the truth about those numbers

Every Severance fan knows that the numbers the Lumon innies work with every day clearly have some significance, but what on earth do they mean? It's a question that's captivated us since day one, as Helly starts to become better at identifying 'scary numbers' and getting rid of them, as instructed by Mark.

Putting numbers in a box is a tedious job, but it's something that's obviously important to the company. Right now no one knows what they mean, not even the employees themselves, so we're hoping we'll find out something by the end of season one. Please, give us something!

Given the fact employees are severed before they can work for Lumon, clearly, this is a very confidential thing and not meant to be revealed to the outside world which implies they're dealing with something serious or even shady. They're clearly no stranger to ethically questionable decisions, so we wouldn't be surprised if the numbers have a much darker meaning.

Harmony Cobel will reveal her true colors

Perhaps the most compelling Severance character is Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), who was revealed to be the outie next-door neighbor of Mark, going by the name of Mrs. Selvig when she's outside the office. 

She's unique in the sense that she does not appear to have been severed and can retain her memories, but we're not quite sure how to feel about her just yet. It does seem like her allegiance is with Lumon, but could this be a front? 

We've already seen some tensions between Harmony and the board, who only speak to her via intercom and we have not yet seen in person. It's unclear how they feel about each other, and Harmony's very reserved and closed off, so there's a chance there's a hidden side to her we haven't seen yet.

At face value it seems she's trying to spy on Mark and make sure he's complying with Lumon rules, but because we know nothing about Harmony's personal life it's difficult to fully make up our minds about how we really feel about her. She has this Mrs. Selvig persona, but it's unclear how much of this is real or fabricated.

Is she really dedicated to Lumon, or is she trying to bring it down from the inside? So far anything is possible, and we're keen to learn more about this mysterious character...

New epsiodes of Severance air every Friday on Apple TV.