Severance Season 2 Episode 9 Features An Emotional Callback That's Deeper Than You Thought

What's for dinner, kids? Major spoilers follow for the latest episode of "Severance."

Season 2 of "Severance" is barreling full-tilt towards another explosive finale that'll be sure to have tongues wagging, but make no mistake: This show has always been about the journey, not the destination. The brilliant, flashback-heavy episode 7 proved beyond a doubt how slow-playing the relationship between Mark Scout (Adam Scott) and Gemma (Dichen Lachman), much of which was purposefully withheld from us for most of two seasons now, paid dividends by waiting for the perfect moment to unleash the full scope of their story on audiences. Similarly, an episode like last week's "Sweet Vitriol" only could've worked (despite our personal reservations) after spending as much time as we have with Patricia Arquette's (semi) villainous Harmony Cobel.

Now, we're finally seeing one of the series' most emotional subplots — the tragic romance between Irving B. (John Turturro) and Burt G. (Christopher Walken) — pay off in a big way, with a callback containing far more layers than you may have realized. The penultimate episode of season 2, titled "The After Hours," initially unfolds on an ominous note. While meeting with her creepy father Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry), Helena (Britt Lower) notes that "We're seeing to Mr. Bailiff," indicating that the unwelcome investigation into Lumon Industries' activities by Irving's outie will not go unpunished. Once the "goon" sent to deal with him turns out to be none other than Burt Goodman, it becomes easy to imagine that this doomed relationship might be headed for a very dark conclusion.

Thankfully, "Severance" knows exactly how to tug on our heartstrings. Irving and Burt's outies ultimately come to as sad an ending as their innies did ... albeit with proper closure this time around, calling back to a very specific moment back in the sixth episode of its debut season. What's more, this reference also seems to confirm a rather intriguing theory we had all along.

The best kind of references and callbacks tend to be the ones that don't even feel like it in the moment, but immediately gain richer layers as soon as we realize what they were all along. The climax of episode 9 pulls this off with aplomb and, in all likelihood, sets the stage for a million and half fan-edits cutting between two intentionally similar moments between Irving and Burt. Remember back in season 1, when Irving B. leads Mark S. and the rest of Macrodata Refinement on an exploration mission into the rival department known as Optics & Design? Although this laid the groundwork for the mystery cards that would get resolved in season 2, the real emotional heft of this arc came from the sweet love story between Irving and Burt. In episode 6, titled "Hide and Seek," Burt shows his affections by taking Irving to a secret room filled with plants. The two nearly consummate their feelings for each other with a kiss, but the inexperienced Irving holds back at the last moment and sadly admits, "I'm just not ready."

Does that sound familiar? It should, because season 2 brings us full circle to that moment in the most heart-wrenching way. Seemingly headed to his death (with Burt adding salt to the wound as the one driving him there), Irving instead arrives at a train station where the now-contrite Burt offers him a chance to escape. The two are given yet another quiet moment to face each other and acknowledge their feelings for one another, though this time Irving's outie proclaims "I'm ready" over and over again while Burt's the one to apologetically hold back. The scene couldn't be a more deliberate callback to their moment alone in the plant room, in yet another example of how the line of demarcation between innies and outies might be a little more blurred than we once thought.

In fact, that's also why this hard-hitting reference might be even deeper than we realized.

What other show could naturally provide multiple goodbyes for the same character in completely unexpected ways? Probably the same one that could also sneak in a possible clue piling more evidence on a longstanding theory regarding a fan-favorite character in the middle of a heartfelt moment. "Severance," as always, is an experience that contains multitudes.

So did season 2 just confirm what we think it confirmed? /Film's own Pauli Poisuo once wrote about the theory that Irving has actually undergone the reintegration process long before Mark Scout ever attempted it under Asal Reghabi's (Karen Aldridge)'s careful supervision. That would certainly answer quite a few unanswered questions, like why Irving's outie knows about the secret hallway hidden within Lumon recreated in his paintings or why he's apparently mounting some sort of exposé into Lumon's activities. It would also resolve one loose thread introduced in this latest episode, as well. Namely: How does Irving seemingly remember his innie's previous interaction with Burt's innie? Yes, there's always the possibility that the recurring usage of that "I'm ready/I'm just not ready" line of dialogue is simply meant as a thematic flourish and not a juxtaposition he's consciously aware of on any level whatsoever. But, hear us out, what if this is yet even more fuel to the fire that he's experiencing memories flashes the same way Mark did as his two severed halves come together into a whole?

If true, then perhaps that haunting image of Irving's outie (and his lovely dog) riding off into the sunset aboard that train isn't the permanent goodbye that it certainly feels like. Irving and his investigation into Lumon could easily be written out of the show now that his relationship with Burt has been given closure, bittersweet though it may be. Alternatively, however, maybe there's more to be explored here. If Burt's now on the run, couldn't he pop up again either in the finale or sometime in season 3 to help Mark and the rest of their friends in their rebellion against Lumon Industries?

Buckle up, folks, because the "Severance" season 2 finale hits Apple TV+ on Friday, March 21, 2025.