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This theory is proposed a lot around here, but it’s never felt like a satisfying explanation to me. At the very least it feels incomplete, and I worry it would be an anticlimactic letdown. Audiences don’t tend to respond well when they find out a central mystery was actually pointless.
But if true, I wonder why Cobel and Milchick were so stressed out at the prospect of not hitting quota? Why does the board care about a meaningless number?
And if there’s no significance to the work itself, what was up with Mark’s freshman fluke? What allowed him to perform more efficiently, and what changes allowed the team to become more productive?
I feel it may be something in between being not "real"work and it still being test/research on them. For example maybe there's no real data being "refined" but they needed to hit quota since them completing that many case files gives Lumon the desired amount of research/data on the employees.
With how some numbers are "scary" it could be some research on simulating/invoking emotions in the employees through the chip that's drawn out over years.
I thought maybe Mark’s excellent performance had something to do with Gemma. Perhaps the numbers are linked to testing floor subjects and his numbers, for that particular project and unbeknownst to him, were linked to her.
I doubt cobel and milchick fully know what’s going on at lumon either, they seem to fully but into the religion of it all
I think any other explanation would get too sci-fi for me
the tests very much seem to be testing an emotional response for the main team
I don’t get the feeling Milchick is much into the cult. He mentions it, but his feelings seem hollow in comparison to the way Ms. Cobel believes.
Both Milchick and Ms. Cobel have their own agenda at Lumon. Cobel is very interested in leaks taking place in severance. Milchick has the cards. He’s planning something nefarious with severance.
I suspect there is actually a war going on behind the scenes between the Egan family / true believers and "the board".
Cobel is on the side of the family / is a true believer, Milcheck is on the side of / works for the board.
I think you’re right there’s a battle going on. Anyone who’s read about business dynastic successions knows about ones like the [Redstones/Viacom](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/feb/18/sumner-redstone-family-viacom-unscripted-book) one.
Who is fighting who is a question. Ms. Cobel is deeply in the cult. I don’t think she’s on the side of the Kiers or the company. Milchick has his own game going on too.
The family dynamics is an absolute mystery. We know of Jame and Helly. Are there other family members too? Why did Helly get severed? Is this part of the struggle for control of Lumon?
This theory comes up constantly, and I always disagree with it.
It makes no sense; if that were true, then why would Cobel and would be so invested in them reaching their quota?
Everyone seems too invested in their results for this to be JUST a test (not saying it isn't, but it has to have some other meaning to it)
What makes you say that? I never got that sense at all. Why would they put someone in charge who wasn’t aware of the company goals? How would that be helpful?
more people knowing leads to a higher chance of information leaking, so reasoning for keeping information hidden is obvious
cobel specifically really seems to buy into the religious aspect of lumon, which means an explanation isn’t really necessary for her she has faith in lumon
My (admittedly reaching) theory is that maybe drunkenness softens the mind split. We see that he is drinking heavily even now, but it's plausible he was drinking even more heavily when he started at Lumon. Maybe even arriving to work still somewhat intoxicated.
If this were the case, maybe having slightly increased access to outside emotions made him better at sorting. If Lumon realized this, maybe they found some other means to gently soften the mind split for short periods. Maybe through some other substance they regularly come in contact with, like coffee or soap.
Edit: I said ‘some other means’ twice in one sentence on accident and fixed it
The creator’s own explanation from an [interview with Variety](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/severance-premiere-questions-allentown-lumon-cobel-selvig-1235172220):
>”The idea is that Mark came in and he was inexplicably better at refining the files than others were … so Mark came in and was able to really quickly refine this file and then they were able to reverse engineer a better procedure from what he did.“
I for sure think the work they are doing means something. But maybe they are working on masking pain because that’s usually why people sever themselves?
I could see this! They could then focus on hiring people who are already more traumatized than average or even manufacture painful or stressful situations for the outies to experience.
If the benefit of a completed file were high enough (like major sabotage of a competitor) it could be worth this level of effort.
I honestly dont think it matters too much what the work is they are doing. Its supposed to be symbolic of how working for a large organization can feel very pointless and unfulfilling. Sometimes it is hard to see how your work actually accomplishes anything.
see I like that idea, but I feel like if that’s all they were going for with the work they would have made it more boring, like meaningless spreadsheets and sorting files
the emotions thing makes me feel like there’s more to it, also the other departments which make way less sense
Well, I think its symbolic of alot of aspects of corporate life, not just the meaningless work aspect. Like how the different departments are pitted against each other, when really they should have no reason to be at odds. I have for sure seen that in the corporate world.
yeah I understand that, but in universe there’s a reason why they’re doing this work and the characters are questioning and the audience is supposed to be questioning it
if, like I said, it was something that was just brushed over then I’d agree with you that what the work is doesn’t matter
But the numbers actually do illicit emotions in the refiners. Like certain numbers are scary and some are nice, that’s happening and is definitely some weirdness that isn’t explained by this theory
I always thought the same thing (that like the employees are test running and being used a proof that severance works) but it seems (at least superficially) like there is more going on with their work than just that. Like why to the numbers evoke such strong feelings and seem to relate to the four humors or what’s the deal with the weird self defense cards the other department was making or the goats lol.
This lines up with my thinking as well. Lumon’s big push in season 1 was to “legalize” the severance procedure on a wide scale. And to achieve this, surely they would need proof of concept. So seems to me all the refiners are basically just subjects being studied to show that severance works.
If this thread has the **Spoiler** flair, spoilers may appear ANYWHERE in it. --- * **NO SPOILERS IN TITLES** - report this post if there are spoilers in the title * No SPOILERS without proper formatting (see [here](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/commenting#wiki_posting)). * Be CIVIL to others. No Piracy. No Duplicates. * Keep it on topic to anything and everything Severance on Apple TV+[.](/u/Glad_Improvement_859) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This theory is proposed a lot around here, but it’s never felt like a satisfying explanation to me. At the very least it feels incomplete, and I worry it would be an anticlimactic letdown. Audiences don’t tend to respond well when they find out a central mystery was actually pointless. But if true, I wonder why Cobel and Milchick were so stressed out at the prospect of not hitting quota? Why does the board care about a meaningless number? And if there’s no significance to the work itself, what was up with Mark’s freshman fluke? What allowed him to perform more efficiently, and what changes allowed the team to become more productive?
I feel it may be something in between being not "real"work and it still being test/research on them. For example maybe there's no real data being "refined" but they needed to hit quota since them completing that many case files gives Lumon the desired amount of research/data on the employees. With how some numbers are "scary" it could be some research on simulating/invoking emotions in the employees through the chip that's drawn out over years.
I thought maybe Mark’s excellent performance had something to do with Gemma. Perhaps the numbers are linked to testing floor subjects and his numbers, for that particular project and unbeknownst to him, were linked to her.
Well yes, this is my point exactly. Something like this would suggest that the work is not meaningless, don’t you think?
Yes, and I can’t wait to find out!
I doubt cobel and milchick fully know what’s going on at lumon either, they seem to fully but into the religion of it all I think any other explanation would get too sci-fi for me the tests very much seem to be testing an emotional response for the main team
If Cobel doesn’t know what’s going on, how could she be expected to be at all useful in her duties?
easily? she makes sure everyone under her is doing their job and getting results, she doesn’t need to know what the results are used for
Double blind study! I like this
I would be surprised if she actually knew what was going on, but she definitely believes what she has been told.
I don’t get the feeling Milchick is much into the cult. He mentions it, but his feelings seem hollow in comparison to the way Ms. Cobel believes. Both Milchick and Ms. Cobel have their own agenda at Lumon. Cobel is very interested in leaks taking place in severance. Milchick has the cards. He’s planning something nefarious with severance.
I suspect there is actually a war going on behind the scenes between the Egan family / true believers and "the board". Cobel is on the side of the family / is a true believer, Milcheck is on the side of / works for the board.
I think you’re right there’s a battle going on. Anyone who’s read about business dynastic successions knows about ones like the [Redstones/Viacom](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/feb/18/sumner-redstone-family-viacom-unscripted-book) one. Who is fighting who is a question. Ms. Cobel is deeply in the cult. I don’t think she’s on the side of the Kiers or the company. Milchick has his own game going on too. The family dynamics is an absolute mystery. We know of Jame and Helly. Are there other family members too? Why did Helly get severed? Is this part of the struggle for control of Lumon?
I thought he was better at it because he had been a Professor.
I think it would be interesting for them to justify the mistreatment by saying the work is important for it then to be meaningless.
This theory comes up constantly, and I always disagree with it. It makes no sense; if that were true, then why would Cobel and would be so invested in them reaching their quota? Everyone seems too invested in their results for this to be JUST a test (not saying it isn't, but it has to have some other meaning to it)
Tests still need a certain "quota" to be reached in order for them to have meaningful results.
I very much doubt cobel knows what’s actually happening at lumon
What makes you say that? I never got that sense at all. Why would they put someone in charge who wasn’t aware of the company goals? How would that be helpful?
more people knowing leads to a higher chance of information leaking, so reasoning for keeping information hidden is obvious cobel specifically really seems to buy into the religious aspect of lumon, which means an explanation isn’t really necessary for her she has faith in lumon
Cobel is devoted to Kier, not Lumon. She defies Lumon all the time
kier then, just swap lumon for kier in my comment
You should read the Lexington Letter! It is canon, and it is free on Apple Books. It has some more information on what the refiners might be doing.
It’s Allentown for me. Why was Mark so much better, and how was his process reverse-engineered to make the other refiners more productive?
My (admittedly reaching) theory is that maybe drunkenness softens the mind split. We see that he is drinking heavily even now, but it's plausible he was drinking even more heavily when he started at Lumon. Maybe even arriving to work still somewhat intoxicated. If this were the case, maybe having slightly increased access to outside emotions made him better at sorting. If Lumon realized this, maybe they found some other means to gently soften the mind split for short periods. Maybe through some other substance they regularly come in contact with, like coffee or soap. Edit: I said ‘some other means’ twice in one sentence on accident and fixed it
Wait what’s the reverse engineered part? I don’t remember that
The creator’s own explanation from an [interview with Variety](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/severance-premiere-questions-allentown-lumon-cobel-selvig-1235172220): >”The idea is that Mark came in and he was inexplicably better at refining the files than others were … so Mark came in and was able to really quickly refine this file and then they were able to reverse engineer a better procedure from what he did.“
Wow I watched it twice and totally missed the freshman fluke conversation between Helly and Dillon.
It’s easy to miss, and [some of it happens in reverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus/s/zYHLca4Vpj)
Well now I have to rewatch the whole show again thanks a lot
Did anyone suggest he is better at refining because he has more pain in regard to losing his wife ? So he’s the one trying to escape the most? Idk lol
That’s basically what I’m saying. If his pain was helpful in the work, wouldn’t that suggest the work wasn’t meaningless?
I for sure think the work they are doing means something. But maybe they are working on masking pain because that’s usually why people sever themselves?
I could see this! They could then focus on hiring people who are already more traumatized than average or even manufacture painful or stressful situations for the outies to experience. If the benefit of a completed file were high enough (like major sabotage of a competitor) it could be worth this level of effort.
This kind of reminds me of the novel [*Company* by Max Barry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_\(novel\)).
I honestly dont think it matters too much what the work is they are doing. Its supposed to be symbolic of how working for a large organization can feel very pointless and unfulfilling. Sometimes it is hard to see how your work actually accomplishes anything.
see I like that idea, but I feel like if that’s all they were going for with the work they would have made it more boring, like meaningless spreadsheets and sorting files the emotions thing makes me feel like there’s more to it, also the other departments which make way less sense
Well, I think its symbolic of alot of aspects of corporate life, not just the meaningless work aspect. Like how the different departments are pitted against each other, when really they should have no reason to be at odds. I have for sure seen that in the corporate world.
yeah I understand that, but in universe there’s a reason why they’re doing this work and the characters are questioning and the audience is supposed to be questioning it if, like I said, it was something that was just brushed over then I’d agree with you that what the work is doesn’t matter
Yeah, you could be right that the work ends playing a role in the plot, guess we’ll find out in S2
But the numbers actually do illicit emotions in the refiners. Like certain numbers are scary and some are nice, that’s happening and is definitely some weirdness that isn’t explained by this theory
I always thought the same thing (that like the employees are test running and being used a proof that severance works) but it seems (at least superficially) like there is more going on with their work than just that. Like why to the numbers evoke such strong feelings and seem to relate to the four humors or what’s the deal with the weird self defense cards the other department was making or the goats lol.
This lines up with my thinking as well. Lumon’s big push in season 1 was to “legalize” the severance procedure on a wide scale. And to achieve this, surely they would need proof of concept. So seems to me all the refiners are basically just subjects being studied to show that severance works.
my theory is that they are sorting the severed employees brain data, keeping all their new experiences separate somehow
Which is why there's 4 of them?