I think the reason Peggy was able to remember the childhood language is because it was stored to Peg’s procedural memory before severance. Peggy could remember the language without remembering how she acquired it, or ever having used it before. The way Irv knows how to drive a car without remembering ever actually doing it. While doodling one day, Peggy realised the doodles she was creating had meaning to her, and if they meant something to her without her knowing how she learned them, it must be something she had learned before she was severed, therefore her outie must know it too. I do think art and sleep can provide a bridge between the severed personalities. This seems clear from outie Irv’s paintings and forcing his innie fall asleep at work by staying awake himself. He is trying to get innie Irv to see the testing floor elevator through art and sleep. Mark doesn’t remember the face of his dead wife sitting opposite him in the wellness session, but by accessing his subconscious through artistic expression, he forms from clay the tree that killed her.
I’ve told everyone i know but folks been like ehhhhh idk maybe I’ll check it out. If this show was on netflix this thing would be the new squid game!!!!
Apple TV + is stepping up its game...such a nice idea by the marketing team to reveal these letters and Handbook. Makes it like a game outside of episodes, fun!
I’m upset that people aren’t talking about the Lexington Letter. It really gave me goosebumps. Reminds me of the old LOST lore. Apple didn’t drop enough breadcrumbs.
You mentioned LOST. I haven't watched the show LOST because the writers never had an ending in mind and meandered as if the writers themselves were lost. I am watching Severance with my full trust that the writer knows the way.
Just watched the whole season yesterday and was completely blown away! What an amazing original idea! Adding to the story with the Lexington letter is on par with some omega mart lore sh!t. Excellent stuff!
Lumon makes the procedure sound as though the "innie", is like a robot, just doing a job with no feelings or emotions. If they told the truth, that they were essentially creating a slave for which there is never any escape, people might not be quite so eager to undergo the procedure.
There was a really good reddit thread about this last night. Its was surprising as viewers of the show how many people said they would still go through with severance.
@@filmsretold1 Really, I'll see if I can find that. Personally, I would never, ever do it. The first thing that came to my mind was that my other half would be stuck there forever.
The numbers... let's explore! Theory : The numbers are linked to emotions and memory wiping. We are told that happy or sad feelings or even anger are indicated from the number clusters. The innies are devoid of memories so perhaps the numbers represent memory blocks of the brain i.e. neurons. They are physically moving the memories to a bin i.e. dumping memories or emotions from both their own and others in the program when memories come to the surface and need to be removed. This keeps the innie clear of the outside world as they act as their own memory wiper and for others. This could also tie into the bomb explosion. If the company can do a switch between the innie and outie (as we have seen with Dylan) then they can probably make the programmed innie part operate in the real world. In that scenario a programmed innie can be used to commit crimes and acts of terrorism on behalf of Lumon and have the memory of it wiped afterwards. We have seen the other department create what looks like instructions for combat and the historical paintings of violence. This technology could be used to block out difficult life events, like the lady who went through child birth but it could also be very valuable as a military weapon. Imagine having soldiers that have this implant going off to war and following orders that leave no memory of the horrors of war or PTSD. The soldier could be sold the promise of leading a normal life without the traumatic memories of battle and be reset after conflict to fight again.
Hmm. With the mention of the truck explosion, it made me think the people in MDR might be akin to drone operators for at least one of their functions. When they sort the "scary numbers" for instance, what they're doing in indicating a specific target is located at certain coordinates, then a drone (for example) is dispatched to destroy the target. This keeps the drone operator from knowing what they're destroying and more so what they're doing at all. No moral qualms, no classified information, etc. involved.
all the severed are emotional types or dealing with emotional issues it seems, and therefore good candidates for the 'emotional intelligence' needed in refining
very interesting. would a memory wipe need severance as we know it done beforehand I wonder or would they be able to be the same person up with the same history until they end their assignment and then get wiped? and would it mean that self is dead or just that they the same person forget the war.... is just forgetting resulting in a death of a self in the way innies experience?
The show is just so fascinating, although I’m interested to see what direction they take in s2. It feels quick to immediately jump into the “main characters take on Lumon to save the world” arc, but at the same time it’s hard to see Lumon just taking all of MDR back after their last stunt. I think they have room to operate, though. It’s important to remember that when s2 begins, they’re going to be their outtie selves again answering for what their innie selves did (they better pick up from the finale scenes). Still, I think the only one that made serious waves as an innie on the outside world was Helly, and her pompous outtie could easily explain it away and say that her innie is “confused and lost” etc. I’m going to go back and watch the Petey scenes again. I think those got glossed over once he died and the day to day at Lumon was amplified. I’m gonna venture a guess some of the stuff he was saying, drawing, or doing is going to rear it’s head again.
One thing that surprises me is the way Peg and other "outies" think of their "innies" as separate people. Why wouldn't they just think of them as themselves living a part of their life that they don't remember? Then again, I guess it is kind of like they are different people.
There’s an aspect to the nature of their being that is different. Yes, it’s them, but basically reborn. And raised in a foreign environment with new influences, new people, new rules around them. The natural progression of the innie’s life could definitely create a separate personality despite the one body/mind.
Interesting point. Either it's set in the 80's or Topeka is backwards and dated? Milchik looks like a guy from that period (afro and side burns). They use old TV sets and monitors in the office. The interior design and aesthetics of the Lumon building including the graphics on the Lumon handbook all look 80's. The show's period has always been at the back of my mind, I've never really explored it until now.
@@huntergreene9781 it’s very strange. Security guard by the elevator to the svrd floor has a flat screen monitor. Outies have cell phones and marks driver license says he was born in 78. Establishing shots of the Lumon building reveal that it’s just trees all the way to the horizon. No other towns or anything. There is a graveyard next to Marks housing complex. I’ve also been wondering what the significance of the painting in Cobels office is. It looks like some sort of catastrophic event.
I’ve seen somebody say that they use older style model technology is to 1) keep the workers dormant so they won’t have access to modern technology (the innies are essentially babies.) And 2) so their systems won’t be easily hackable due to the old technology
100% creepy when i saw the name of the editor Jim Milchick... and it came to my mind that in the drama it was not Jim Milchick but Seth(is that spelled correctly?i don't know) When was this email from Peg written? Before the timeline in season 1, or during, or after?Just see the final episode and feel so overwhelmed and so damn confused with horror...
I remember in the scene where helly was trying to smuggle those notes out to check if the detector is real, milchick going after her doesnt really seem to prove it works because if i remember correctly milchick saw or knew she was going to try it, and i think she also ran. Besides in this letter peggy mentioned when they smuggle the book the note was in english, so clearly it didnt work. I really like this peggy story, which tv shows have a short spin off. I mean instead of having this, release like 1-4 episode spin off for this alone. I would like to see that moment when dooley found out about the last puglish note, to that last day when the innie decided to smuggle that book and left 10 minutes after checking in and was ready to be gone forever. That would be such a tear jerker moment. Also wonder if she had helped while she was trying to figure it out. So far I've always thought the data their refining is the data in their own chip, and the reason its all about feeling the numbers, is to get enough data to know what set of numbers(code) is able to elicit what specific emotions in them, and by doing so giving the company data to control the severed person's emotion too. Maybe for something like mind control, the eagan seems like they want to have this dystopian future where they are god, where people live in peace and harmony but without any kind of free will, people are allowed to live what they want but as soon as they deviate and risk disrupting the eagan's perfect world theyll use the chip to make them compel, or something like that. However this truck incidence convinced me that its probably processing some data that affects the outside world. Like dylan and irv apparently have discussed. They somehow simplified everything to just numbers so they could do it by intuition, which makes a lot of sense, they could be so much more effective because then not only things like moral, but also all the concepts of a difficult work or difficult problem is not going to factor in when working. Essentially they become like a machine. But what doesn't quite add up for me is how there are so many emotions involved including positive ones. If they were basically enslaving them and having them work like a robot, to simply process some kind of work, it seems like it would make more sense, if the company say give them a brief with each project of which cluster of numbers they need to look out for. Like maybe if it still involves a lot of different types of emotion, every project has one like for this project, find the numbers that make you happy. But instead with every project they sort it to all the various emotions.
This quote from Season 1, Episode 3, In Perpetuity explains how all four tempers must be tamed. Kier Eagan: I know that death is near upon me, because people have begun to ask what I see as my life's great achievement. They wish to know how they should remember me as I rot. In my life, I have identified four components, which I call tempers, from which are derived every human soul. Woe. Frolic. Dread. Malice. Each man's character is defined by the precise ratio that resides in him. I walked into the cave of my own mind, and there I tamed them. Should you tame the tempers as I did mine, then the world shall become but your appendage. It is this great and consecrated power that I hope to pass on to all of you, my children.
It didn’t work because when she used the elevators to get the note back to Peg the detection machine was down for upgrades which is why when she returned down it was a quick 10 minutes later
Peggy is still alive, we will se her in the future seasons, she is being held in the basement live marks wife Gemma, a lot of answers in the Lexington letter and the M.O is to cause a “car accident”, comatose you & slow your heart to 1-5bpm and steal your body after the funeral
as it is a slow burn, might take a bit to get into, especially if you were looking for a non-serious killing time show. but its very very interesting. very curious how they will continue on from this season but there is definitely a lot of things to develop and if done right, can become a top top show
“Quitting would only mean killing her.” What I don’t understand is that hypothetically, as long as the outtie submitted a video of resignation granted the request for resignation, would Lumen not just take the L and remove the chip, allowing the person to return to their previous state as a regular person with all memories intact, let’s say excluding their time at Luman? In this letter, is Peggy saying that killing her innie would just be due to the fact that she would have no more memories of the time spent at work? It would only “kill” her innie is a metaphorical sense - killing those memories. Same physical person, just no longer sending your body off to uncertainty each day. With all the back and forth notes, innie Peggy could simply submit a resignation video for outtie Peggy telling her to grant it, and no more problem, right? Or am I missing something here? Edit: Just finished with the rest of the Lexington letter. Yeah so just simply quitting seems like a pretty plausible solution, so I take it the real problem is Lumen coming after you once you do quit. Which IRL would be cleared up by lawyers. Wow literally everyone who quits Lumen ends up dead due to mysterious circumstances? Sounds like an open and shut case.
One thing I wonder about (of many!) is how not experiencing sleep affects the innies. Their bodies and the shared parts of their brain benefit from their outies’ sleep, but what about the severed part of their brain? One of the functions of sleep is memory consolidation and “sorting”. It’s thought that during sleep, the brain filters memories, shifts new memories to more permanent storage, or discards them. Without this our memories may be messy, jumbled, or lost. Maybe when the outie sleeps, this process happens to the innie part of their brain too, even though they are not aware of it? I guess so. I can’t imagine never experiencing sleep, it’s such a distressing idea, to be continually awake. The innies also never engage in self-care: never dress themselves, brush their teeth, shower. Their outies do all that for them. I guess using the bathroom and eating and drinking is it :/
I think the sleep factor is explained in multiple facets. One, it’s one body. So when the outtie sleeps for 8 hours, there’s no immediate need for the innie to sleep. Two, I’m guessing the innies learn pretty quick that sleeping on the job isn’t advisable, and it’s not like Lumon is offering nap times. They do, however, touch on it with Irv. There seems to be a connect between sleep and accessing outside memories. Outtie Irv is actively depriving himself of sleep to try and get innie Irv to sleep at work and possibly see the paintings of the testing floor. These are the scenes when Irv sees the jet black ooze dropping down.
This is like peteypedia from Watchmen. As Cool as it is and as much as I love this kind of stuff, Lostpedia was a second home for me when LOST was on. However, I'm still against supplemental materials being basically mandatory to understanding the story. I just think you should get everything you need to understand the story from the show. That said, I'm totally loving the show.
I wasn't aware of it, but knew it was going to be important for sure. It really changes the entire way you think about the show, especially if Lexington is as nefarious as suggested.
@@thomasfrerk6002 In the description there is a MEGA link. Click on that to view the Letter in PDF form. You can view it right from there, or download it and view it locally.
I think some of the most compelling stories come from associated value from pain. Pain being the catalyst for evolution of the story in this universe. So, when shows start offering material like this it can be a blessing, a curse, or both. The show Raised by Wolves sort of does this with the show's podcast. Raised by Wolves has become so convoluted that you just about have to rely on information from the podcast to make sense of that show. This material in the video doesn't really give us anything new but reintegrates what we've been given from the show with new material. This makes sense and what I consider to be the proper way to do this. I find the show intriguing and this video very professional. Bravo to this RUclipsr.
This unpacks a lot of info and it's blowing my mind. Where to even start?! The Fundamentalist mom...like a Kier Fundamentalist? Did she have connections and singled out that woman? Are they scalping regular work force employees and subliminally convincing these people that they should work at Lumen? Is that what the debate amongst the dinner table and at the protests was going on about as far as the free will issue goes? It makes me wonder if these people are targeted by Lumen before they even apply and it's not really a choice. Suck them in at their most vulnerable moment with good compensation and get them in the door? They most definitely set up her accident, the truck accident and Ms. Casey's...although I think that's a special case. I'm really suspecting that her and Mark are being watched because they probably knew something or were trying to expose Lumen. If I were taking a shot in the dark, Ms. Casey was probably researching something Lumen related and got too close and that's how her accident happened. They got Mark in as a way to keep her in check and probably brainwashed her severely, I really don't think she's allowed outside. It all just makes too much sense knowing their background. Also, the numbers thing. Lumen has reach with Govt. officials, not just the police but also a Senator...they are probably allowed to take out competition and whistleblowers because the sheer concept of what they have benefits the Govt. in more than one way...but the Govt. might also be filled with other Kier Fundamentalists as well. Like, they let them get away with literal murder and terrorism because eventually this Sevy will be rolled out to Gen Pop. Now that I think of it, what's stopping them from kidnapping Govt. Officials and putting a chip in so they aren't aware of what they are doing to help aid the company. There's a definite mind control of the mass population thing brewing, especially when you factor the heavy debate around the whole thing. Society in this universe seems a little weird to start. The other odd thing...the last few emails. One person was thinking it'd be good to share the story, the other seemed almost too keen to disregard it. The media has their hands in the Lumen pie as well, that person knew the writer died shortly after and his worry was a lawsuit. Lumen has some weight that's for sure, they must be one of those mega corps as well as a religious cult of some kind from what I'm gathering.
I don't know how Ms. Casey ended up there, but Mark definitely didn't know anything about Lumon. He went to work there because he couldn't get over the death of his wife. And Ms. Casey never goes outside. First, she would remember who she is, and second, people who recognize her. She's supposed to be dead.
@@8698gil that's not 100% true for the sheer fact Ms. Cobel is under cover ONLY next door to Mark, searches all his mail, does random B&E's survailing inside his home & gets close to his sister & nephew after inny Mark & Ms. Casey (his supposed deceased wife) see eachother inside when Milchek says to Cobel this is good the chip really works they don't recognize each other at all. Cobel still going above & beyond survailing outty Mark after confirming the chip works proves she isn't undercover to test the chip if Mark is the only Lumon employees with a spouse or close family member as a co-worker. Which all leads up to Mark unnaturally joining Lumon, even though we heard him explain how he chose to be severed. In a series about mind altering chips, he very well could have been coerced into this decision as: ¹ his wife may not be dead, ² if there truly was a car accident it was never fully explained; ²ª Mark being the main character under surveillance w/his wife secretly alive as an inny- Lumon may of set-up the accident to coerce Mark into severing continuing planting different ways to market Lumon to him & also planting different reminders of the accident as guilt as they're masters at marketing & manipulation, ²b Mark was driving the car when his wife "died" & he was knocked out where Lumon was able to take his wife create the allaby that she died & he lost consciousness wherr they used some brain washing technology for him join Lumon.
so if Helly R is an Eagan & I think she could be why isn't she known as Helly E? Maybe the R is meant to make it more difficult for us to connect her to the Eagan family. Thank you for this letter & the video.
@@subanakatz4943 OK, yeah. She's definitely a Eagan. I think the R in her name was meant to throw us as viewers off, or she's married with two last names. Although if she was married you would think her husband would have been at the party when she gave her speech.
@@filmsretold1 that's an interesting point that she could be married. We don't know much about her life outside of Lumon, in fact I don't remember any info about her life outside of the business. Yesterday I went back & rewatched the first few episodes. I'm sure I've missed a few details. Anyway after Petey showed up & spent a few days in Mark's basement, Mark tells him he's not going to reintegrate like he did. He said Severance helped him by letting him forget about his wife's death for several hours each day. Petey said Mark still carries the pain with him, he just doesn't know where it is. Shortly after that, Petey has a memory or a dream or something where he & Mark are at their desks at Lumon wearing business clothes. Then one scene shows Petey talking & the basement stairs are behind him like he's still in Mark's basememt. Another scene shows Petey sitting in front of a wall of insulation like in the basement. Then there is a scene where the background is the office at Lumon but instead of wearing a suit, Petey is wearing the red robe he wore in Mark's basement. I think that's what Petey meant when he told Mark that the pain goes with him but doesn't know where it is. It's like they have some memories but the timing of the memories are mixed up so that they make less sense.
Milchik is the editor and Lumen has a character named Milchik either they are the same person with different names like Mrs Selvig uses or a family member.
I'm pretty sure they are different people. The Lexington letter takes place in Topeka, Kansas. The show seems to take place in a fictional state of PE, which seems to be somewhere on the east coast. Jim Milchick also mentions he knows someone high up in Lumon, this is most likely referring to the Seth Milchick we know from the show.
Theres 4 different emotions/categories the numbers can illicit but 5 bins they sort the numbers into. In other words, each of the five bins has 4 categories of emotions
@@yersontry These events could have taken place at the same time as the show. What if there are dozens of MDR departments? There could be countless additional teams working on the same task without ever coming in contact with one another, especially if they're each on a different floor with a separate elevator.
I'm pretty sure that the code detectors aren't real at all. Remember, the last message was given on the back of a fast food receipt, which would have typed English letters and Arabic numerals on it, two things that an American code detector would definitely be able to detect. Every time a letter is found, it's through security personnel or cameras, not any kind of code detectors.
great job, enjoyed hearing it read in a woman's voice too ... nice element of a mirroring backstory, and nice to integrate tv medium with an added part of written fiction,,, cool
The Lexington Letter provides some additional clues about the black substance Irving found beneath his fingernails in the second episode. Page 15 of the Orientation Booklet instructs all Refiners to wash their hands at least ten times a day, before and after eating, before and after using the facilities and when coming in contact with a coworker. That’s a lot of hand washing. Under the detailed instructions for hand washing, refiners are specifically instructed to examine under their nails and “remove any unwanted grime or debris.” I guess they are free to keep any grime or debris that are wanted. I think all Refiners are at risk of collecting grime and debris under their fingernails as part of their work. Grime is dirt ingrained on the surface of something. Debris is scattered pieces of waste or remains. Does manipulating events in the outside world leave a physical residue?
The only thing that bothered me about this - I'm from Kansas, btw - is that she called her university "Kansas State". I've never heard it called that, it's K-State to every walking human who's ever spoken of it, and "Kansas State University" is just its official name. That one line broke my immersion in an otherwise-awesome story 😭
Whoever wrote this (I mean really wrote it) never lived in a place where it gets cold. If your bus went in the ditch the day before because of a patch of ice, it's doubtful that you'd have to worry about the ice cream in the trunk, today (because it's still at or below freezing outside). I don't think that's some kind of clue.
This is extra content Apple released with Episode 5 of the show. It was originally released on Apple books, but I know a lot of people didn't have a apple account to view it so I made this video.
@@paulabroussard1824 I found out about this through reddit. To my knowledge there is no other material yet, but the writer has mentioned he wants to do more. We probably won't see anything until season 2 is closer though.
I think the reason Peggy was able to remember the childhood language is because it was stored to Peg’s procedural memory before severance. Peggy could remember the language without remembering how she acquired it, or ever having used it before. The way Irv knows how to drive a car without remembering ever actually doing it. While doodling one day, Peggy realised the doodles she was creating had meaning to her, and if they meant something to her without her knowing how she learned them, it must be something she had learned before she was severed, therefore her outie must know it too. I do think art and sleep can provide a bridge between the severed personalities. This seems clear from outie Irv’s paintings and forcing his innie fall asleep at work by staying awake himself. He is trying to get innie Irv to see the testing floor elevator through art and sleep. Mark doesn’t remember the face of his dead wife sitting opposite him in the wellness session, but by accessing his subconscious through artistic expression, he forms from clay the tree that killed her.
brooo this is wild, more people that are watching severance need to see this, it’s kind of huge lol
Spread the word. So many people I work with had no idea the show even existed, let alone the Lexington letter, until I was talking about it.
Yea! I had no idea this was even released until I stumbled across this random video.
I’ve told everyone i know but folks been like ehhhhh idk maybe I’ll check it out. If this show was on netflix this thing would be the new squid game!!!!
@@DJ-ll9hv luckily Apple seems to be a lot better about renewing shows than Netflix.
Squid game was overrated man. Chill out.
Apple TV + is stepping up its game...such a nice idea by the marketing team to reveal these letters and Handbook. Makes it like a game outside of episodes, fun!
Where can I find the handbook? Is there a link somewhere?
@@theangrykitten there's a link in the video description
the handbook is at the end of the file, after the mails
I’m upset that people aren’t talking about the Lexington Letter. It really gave me goosebumps. Reminds me of the old LOST lore. Apple didn’t drop enough breadcrumbs.
Yep gave me a good chill down the spine. Im eating this fcking show up lol best tv I’ve watched in years
Spread the word. So many people I work with had no idea the show even existed, let alone the Lexington letter, until I was talking about it.
Exactly this was horribly marketed. All the had to do was a 20 sec clip about it before an episode
You mentioned LOST. I haven't watched the show LOST because the writers never had an ending in mind and meandered as if the writers themselves were lost. I am watching Severance with my full trust that the writer knows the way.
@@BooBooGlue1 I have it on good authority that the writers know exactly how the show will end.
Pure horror, but eerily brilliant in the same breathe. This show is beyond awesome.
Just watched the whole season yesterday and was completely blown away! What an amazing original idea! Adding to the story with the Lexington letter is on par with some omega mart lore sh!t. Excellent stuff!
first I was scared by the letter, then I was scared by the text to speech sounding more like a person than the actual VO
Lumon makes the procedure sound as though the "innie", is like a robot, just doing a job with no feelings or emotions. If they told the truth, that they were essentially creating a slave for which there is never any escape, people might not be quite so eager to undergo the procedure.
There was a really good reddit thread about this last night. Its was surprising as viewers of the show how many people said they would still go through with severance.
@@filmsretold1 Really, I'll see if I can find that. Personally, I would never, ever do it. The first thing that came to my mind was that my other half would be stuck there forever.
When does a corporation ever tell the truth in the beginning to employees??? Lol
Duh
And who would accept if they knew the truth?
The numbers... let's explore! Theory : The numbers are linked to emotions and memory wiping. We are told that happy or sad feelings or even anger are indicated from the number clusters. The innies are devoid of memories so perhaps the numbers represent memory blocks of the brain i.e. neurons. They are physically moving the memories to a bin i.e. dumping memories or emotions from both their own and others in the program when memories come to the surface and need to be removed. This keeps the innie clear of the outside world as they act as their own memory wiper and for others. This could also tie into the bomb explosion. If the company can do a switch between the innie and outie (as we have seen with Dylan) then they can probably make the programmed innie part operate in the real world. In that scenario a programmed innie can be used to commit crimes and acts of terrorism on behalf of Lumon and have the memory of it wiped afterwards. We have seen the other department create what looks like instructions for combat and the historical paintings of violence. This technology could be used to block out difficult life events, like the lady who went through child birth but it could also be very valuable as a military weapon. Imagine having soldiers that have this implant going off to war and following orders that leave no memory of the horrors of war or PTSD. The soldier could be sold the promise of leading a normal life without the traumatic memories of battle and be reset after conflict to fight again.
Basically like Bloodshot but with this show, more intelligence involved lol.
Hmm. With the mention of the truck explosion, it made me think the people in MDR might be akin to drone operators for at least one of their functions. When they sort the "scary numbers" for instance, what they're doing in indicating a specific target is located at certain coordinates, then a drone (for example) is dispatched to destroy the target. This keeps the drone operator from knowing what they're destroying and more so what they're doing at all. No moral qualms, no classified information, etc. involved.
It's an end of humanity. Neuralink
all the severed are emotional types or dealing with emotional issues it seems, and therefore good candidates for the 'emotional intelligence' needed in refining
very interesting. would a memory wipe need severance as we know it done beforehand I wonder or would they be able to be the same person up with the same history until they end their assignment and then get wiped? and would it mean that self is dead or just that they the same person forget the war.... is just forgetting resulting in a death of a self in the way innies experience?
The show is just so fascinating, although I’m interested to see what direction they take in s2. It feels quick to immediately jump into the “main characters take on Lumon to save the world” arc, but at the same time it’s hard to see Lumon just taking all of MDR back after their last stunt.
I think they have room to operate, though. It’s important to remember that when s2 begins, they’re going to be their outtie selves again answering for what their innie selves did (they better pick up from the finale scenes). Still, I think the only one that made serious waves as an innie on the outside world was Helly, and her pompous outtie could easily explain it away and say that her innie is “confused and lost” etc.
I’m going to go back and watch the Petey scenes again. I think those got glossed over once he died and the day to day at Lumon was amplified. I’m gonna venture a guess some of the stuff he was saying, drawing, or doing is going to rear it’s head again.
So Peg was writing to her outie in 2017, as that's the last time November 3rd fell on a Friday.
A+ on your detective skills.
One thing that surprises me is the way Peg and other "outies" think of their "innies" as separate people. Why wouldn't they just think of them as themselves living a part of their life that they don't remember? Then again, I guess it is kind of like they are different people.
I believe one of the selling points of severance is the idea that they would be different people as innies.
series raises tons of great ethical and timely questions for our society
same I would think I"m just forgetting part of my day. not that I'm a completely different person
There’s an aspect to the nature of their being that is different. Yes, it’s them, but basically reborn. And raised in a foreign environment with new influences, new people, new rules around them. The natural progression of the innie’s life could definitely create a separate personality despite the one body/mind.
Severance really revived my love for ARGs!
Why are all of the cars in the lumon parking lot mid 1980s models? All of them.
Interesting point. Either it's set in the 80's or Topeka is backwards and dated?
Milchik looks like a guy from that period (afro and side burns). They use old TV sets and monitors in the office. The interior design and aesthetics of the Lumon building including the graphics on the Lumon handbook all look 80's. The show's period has always been at the back of my mind, I've never really explored it until now.
@@huntergreene9781 it’s very strange.
Security guard by the elevator to the svrd floor has a flat screen monitor. Outies have cell phones and marks driver license says he was born in 78.
Establishing shots of the Lumon building reveal that it’s just trees all the way to the horizon. No other towns or anything. There is a graveyard next to Marks housing complex.
I’ve also been wondering what the significance of the painting in Cobels office is. It looks like some sort of catastrophic event.
@@mdr6775 has anyone brought up the head on the shelf behind Cobel's desk?
@@fernandopoo8211 I did notice that and I’m betting it’s Kier. Have not seen anyone mention it.
I’ve seen somebody say that they use older style model technology is to 1) keep the workers dormant so they won’t have access to modern technology (the innies are essentially babies.) And 2) so their systems won’t be easily hackable due to the old technology
100% creepy when i saw the name of the editor Jim Milchick... and it came to my mind that in the drama it was not Jim Milchick but Seth(is that spelled correctly?i don't know) When was this email from Peg written? Before the timeline in season 1, or during, or after?Just see the final episode and feel so overwhelmed and so damn confused with horror...
THANK you. I would not have been able to see this I love the show and am really excited to see more
Starting to think apple the company is projecting here lol
I remember in the scene where helly was trying to smuggle those notes out to check if the detector is real, milchick going after her doesnt really seem to prove it works because if i remember correctly milchick saw or knew she was going to try it, and i think she also ran. Besides in this letter peggy mentioned when they smuggle the book the note was in english, so clearly it didnt work.
I really like this peggy story, which tv shows have a short spin off. I mean instead of having this, release like 1-4 episode spin off for this alone. I would like to see that moment when dooley found out about the last puglish note, to that last day when the innie decided to smuggle that book and left 10 minutes after checking in and was ready to be gone forever. That would be such a tear jerker moment. Also wonder if she had helped while she was trying to figure it out.
So far I've always thought the data their refining is the data in their own chip, and the reason its all about feeling the numbers, is to get enough data to know what set of numbers(code) is able to elicit what specific emotions in them, and by doing so giving the company data to control the severed person's emotion too. Maybe for something like mind control, the eagan seems like they want to have this dystopian future where they are god, where people live in peace and harmony but without any kind of free will, people are allowed to live what they want but as soon as they deviate and risk disrupting the eagan's perfect world theyll use the chip to make them compel, or something like that.
However this truck incidence convinced me that its probably processing some data that affects the outside world. Like dylan and irv apparently have discussed. They somehow simplified everything to just numbers so they could do it by intuition, which makes a lot of sense, they could be so much more effective because then not only things like moral, but also all the concepts of a difficult work or difficult problem is not going to factor in when working. Essentially they become like a machine. But what doesn't quite add up for me is how there are so many emotions involved including positive ones. If they were basically enslaving them and having them work like a robot, to simply process some kind of work, it seems like it would make more sense, if the company say give them a brief with each project of which cluster of numbers they need to look out for. Like maybe if it still involves a lot of different types of emotion, every project has one like for this project, find the numbers that make you happy. But instead with every project they sort it to all the various emotions.
The elevators were under maintenance when she smuggled that book out. thats how she got it out.
This quote from Season 1, Episode 3, In Perpetuity explains how all four tempers must be tamed.
Kier Eagan: I know that death is near upon me, because people have begun to ask what I see as my life's great achievement. They wish to know how they should remember me as I rot. In my life, I have identified four components, which I call tempers, from which are derived every human soul. Woe. Frolic. Dread. Malice. Each man's character is defined by the precise ratio that resides in him. I walked into the cave of my own mind, and there I tamed them. Should you tame the tempers as I did mine, then the world shall become but your appendage. It is this great and consecrated power that I hope to pass on to all of you, my children.
It didn’t work because when she used the elevators to get the note back to Peg the detection machine was down for upgrades which is why when she returned down it was a quick 10 minutes later
Omg this is frightening! Thank you for uploading this.
You're welcome!!
Peggy is still alive, we will se her in the future seasons, she is being held in the basement live marks wife Gemma, a lot of answers in the Lexington letter and the M.O is to cause a “car accident”, comatose you & slow your heart to 1-5bpm and steal your body after the funeral
Thank you for this
My pleasure!
as it is a slow burn, might take a bit to get into, especially if you were looking for a non-serious killing time show. but its very very interesting. very curious how they will continue on from this season but there is definitely a lot of things to develop and if done right, can become a top top show
“Quitting would only mean killing her.”
What I don’t understand is that hypothetically, as long as the outtie submitted a video of resignation granted the request for resignation, would Lumen not just take the L and remove the chip, allowing the person to return to their previous state as a regular person with all memories intact, let’s say excluding their time at Luman? In this letter, is Peggy saying that killing her innie would just be due to the fact that she would have no more memories of the time spent at work? It would only “kill” her innie is a metaphorical sense - killing those memories. Same physical person, just no longer sending your body off to uncertainty each day. With all the back and forth notes, innie Peggy could simply submit a resignation video for outtie Peggy telling her to grant it, and no more problem, right? Or am I missing something here?
Edit: Just finished with the rest of the Lexington letter. Yeah so just simply quitting seems like a pretty plausible solution, so I take it the real problem is Lumen coming after you once you do quit. Which IRL would be cleared up by lawyers. Wow literally everyone who quits Lumen ends up dead due to mysterious circumstances? Sounds like an open and shut case.
innie Peg said the “code scanners are being upgraded *and they are down today*”
Wet hair? Sounds like some water boarding going on in the break room trying to decipher her messages to her outtie.
One thing I wonder about (of many!) is how not experiencing sleep affects the innies. Their bodies and the shared parts of their brain benefit from their outies’ sleep, but what about the severed part of their brain? One of the functions of sleep is memory consolidation and “sorting”. It’s thought that during sleep, the brain filters memories, shifts new memories to more permanent storage, or discards them. Without this our memories may be messy, jumbled, or lost. Maybe when the outie sleeps, this process happens to the innie part of their brain too, even though they are not aware of it? I guess so. I can’t imagine never experiencing sleep, it’s such a distressing idea, to be continually awake. The innies also never engage in self-care: never dress themselves, brush their teeth, shower. Their outies do all that for them. I guess using the bathroom and eating and drinking is it :/
I think the sleep factor is explained in multiple facets. One, it’s one body. So when the outtie sleeps for 8 hours, there’s no immediate need for the innie to sleep. Two, I’m guessing the innies learn pretty quick that sleeping on the job isn’t advisable, and it’s not like Lumon is offering nap times.
They do, however, touch on it with Irv. There seems to be a connect between sleep and accessing outside memories. Outtie Irv is actively depriving himself of sleep to try and get innie Irv to sleep at work and possibly see the paintings of the testing floor. These are the scenes when Irv sees the jet black ooze dropping down.
This is like peteypedia from Watchmen.
As Cool as it is and as much as I love this kind of stuff, Lostpedia was a second home for me when LOST was on.
However, I'm still against supplemental materials being basically mandatory to understanding the story.
I just think you should get everything you need to understand the story from the show. That said, I'm totally loving the show.
That's exactly why I made this video because I knew there were a lot of people who didn't even know this existed.
I wasn't aware of it, but knew it was going to be important for sure.
It really changes the entire way you think about the show, especially if Lexington is as nefarious as suggested.
Me being one where is this letter is Apple extra?!
@@thomasfrerk6002 In the description there is a MEGA link. Click on that to view the Letter in PDF form. You can view it right from there, or download it and view it locally.
Thanks for sharing. Love the show, liked and subscribed.
I think some of the most compelling stories come from associated value from pain. Pain being the catalyst for evolution of the story in this universe. So, when shows start offering material like this it can be a blessing, a curse, or both. The show Raised by Wolves sort of does this with the show's podcast. Raised by Wolves has become so convoluted that you just about have to rely on information from the podcast to make sense of that show. This material in the video doesn't really give us anything new but reintegrates what we've been given from the show with new material. This makes sense and what I consider to be the proper way to do this. I find the show intriguing and this video very professional. Bravo to this RUclipsr.
Has anyone tried calling the phone number in the letter?
I remember when I saw Milchik at the end of the email. I wonder what’s the relation to Seth Milchik
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Not a problem. I have more videos coming soon.
This unpacks a lot of info and it's blowing my mind. Where to even start?!
The Fundamentalist mom...like a Kier Fundamentalist? Did she have connections and singled out that woman? Are they scalping regular work force employees and subliminally convincing these people that they should work at Lumen? Is that what the debate amongst the dinner table and at the protests was going on about as far as the free will issue goes? It makes me wonder if these people are targeted by Lumen before they even apply and it's not really a choice. Suck them in at their most vulnerable moment with good compensation and get them in the door?
They most definitely set up her accident, the truck accident and Ms. Casey's...although I think that's a special case. I'm really suspecting that her and Mark are being watched because they probably knew something or were trying to expose Lumen. If I were taking a shot in the dark, Ms. Casey was probably researching something Lumen related and got too close and that's how her accident happened. They got Mark in as a way to keep her in check and probably brainwashed her severely, I really don't think she's allowed outside. It all just makes too much sense knowing their background.
Also, the numbers thing. Lumen has reach with Govt. officials, not just the police but also a Senator...they are probably allowed to take out competition and whistleblowers because the sheer concept of what they have benefits the Govt. in more than one way...but the Govt. might also be filled with other Kier Fundamentalists as well. Like, they let them get away with literal murder and terrorism because eventually this Sevy will be rolled out to Gen Pop. Now that I think of it, what's stopping them from kidnapping Govt. Officials and putting a chip in so they aren't aware of what they are doing to help aid the company.
There's a definite mind control of the mass population thing brewing, especially when you factor the heavy debate around the whole thing. Society in this universe seems a little weird to start.
The other odd thing...the last few emails. One person was thinking it'd be good to share the story, the other seemed almost too keen to disregard it. The media has their hands in the Lumen pie as well, that person knew the writer died shortly after and his worry was a lawsuit. Lumen has some weight that's for sure, they must be one of those mega corps as well as a religious cult of some kind from what I'm gathering.
Read the name of the editor in the last email who was trying to dismiss the story. There is some relation to Lumon.
I don't know how Ms. Casey ended up there, but Mark definitely didn't know anything about Lumon. He went to work there because he couldn't get over the death of his wife. And Ms. Casey never goes outside. First, she would remember who she is, and second, people who recognize her. She's supposed to be dead.
@@8698gil that's not 100% true for the sheer fact Ms. Cobel is under cover ONLY next door to Mark, searches all his mail, does random B&E's survailing inside his home & gets close to his sister & nephew after inny Mark & Ms. Casey (his supposed deceased wife) see eachother inside when Milchek says to Cobel this is good the chip really works they don't recognize each other at all. Cobel still going above & beyond survailing outty Mark after confirming the chip works proves she isn't undercover to test the chip if Mark is the only Lumon employees with a spouse or close family member as a co-worker. Which all leads up to Mark unnaturally joining Lumon, even though we heard him explain how he chose to be severed. In a series about mind altering chips, he very well could have been coerced into this decision as: ¹ his wife may not be dead, ² if there truly was a car accident it was never fully explained; ²ª Mark being the main character under surveillance w/his wife secretly alive as an inny- Lumon may of set-up the accident to coerce Mark into severing continuing planting different ways to market Lumon to him & also planting different reminders of the accident as guilt as they're masters at marketing & manipulation, ²b Mark was driving the car when his wife "died" & he was knocked out where Lumon was able to take his wife create the allaby that she died & he lost consciousness wherr they used some brain washing technology for him join Lumon.
so if Helly R is an Eagan & I think she could be why isn't she known as Helly E? Maybe the R is meant to make it more difficult for us to connect her to the Eagan family. Thank you for this letter & the video.
Have you not seen all the episodes yet? I dont want to spoil it for you if you haven't.
@@filmsretold1 yes, I have seen all of the episodes & can't wait for more!
@@subanakatz4943 OK, yeah. She's definitely a Eagan. I think the R in her name was meant to throw us as viewers off, or she's married with two last names. Although if she was married you would think her husband would have been at the party when she gave her speech.
@@filmsretold1 that's an interesting point that she could be married. We don't know much about her life outside of Lumon, in fact I don't remember any info about her life outside of the business.
Yesterday I went back & rewatched the first few episodes. I'm sure I've missed a few details. Anyway after Petey showed up & spent a few days in Mark's basement, Mark tells him he's not going to reintegrate like he did. He said Severance helped him by letting him forget about his wife's death for several hours each day. Petey said Mark still carries the pain with him, he just doesn't know where it is. Shortly after that, Petey has a memory or a dream or something where he & Mark are at their desks at Lumon wearing business clothes. Then one scene shows Petey talking & the basement stairs are behind him like he's still in Mark's basememt. Another scene shows Petey sitting in front of a wall of insulation like in the basement. Then there is a scene where the background is the office at Lumon but instead of wearing a suit, Petey is wearing the red robe he wore in Mark's basement. I think that's what Petey meant when he told Mark that the pain goes with him but doesn't know where it is. It's like they have some memories but the timing of the memories are mixed up so that they make less sense.
Is Noam Chomsky's Letters from Lexington: Reflections of Propaganda related to the Lexington Letter?
Milchik is the editor and Lumen has a character named Milchik either they are the same person with different names like Mrs Selvig uses or a family member.
I'm pretty sure they are different people. The Lexington letter takes place in Topeka, Kansas. The show seems to take place in a fictional state of PE, which seems to be somewhere on the east coast. Jim Milchick also mentions he knows someone high up in Lumon, this is most likely referring to the Seth Milchick we know from the show.
Too much of a coincidence….
@@filmsretold1 I think he’s a relative of our Milchik
THERE'S AN ARG ATTACHED TO THIS SHOW??? OMG I've died and this is heaven.
Are there any ARG sites tied into the show? I want MORE haha
Someone posted a website they made that allows you to refine data on reddit a few weeks back. Unfortunately I dont remember the name of it.
@@filmsretold1 Aww. I'd love to feel some numbers.
There are five bins but the book explains the emotion for only four hmmmmm
Theres 4 different emotions/categories the numbers can illicit but 5 bins they sort the numbers into. In other words, each of the five bins has 4 categories of emotions
I feel that the "puglish" would have been detected due to patterns that would occur like in a cryptoquote puzzle.
In my mind, I think this events took place before the events on the TV show.
Maybe, they "updated" the code detectors after Peggy's incident.
@@yersontry These events could have taken place at the same time as the show. What if there are dozens of MDR departments? There could be countless additional teams working on the same task without ever coming in contact with one another, especially if they're each on a different floor with a separate elevator.
I'm pretty sure that the code detectors aren't real at all. Remember, the last message was given on the back of a fast food receipt, which would have typed English letters and Arabic numerals on it, two things that an American code detector would definitely be able to detect. Every time a letter is found, it's through security personnel or cameras, not any kind of code detectors.
So this is some sub story to severance?
It was extra content Apple put out on their book store right around the time episode 5 came out.
Didnt Hello say her favorite color is teal? Curious coincidence...
great job, enjoyed hearing it read in a woman's voice too ... nice element of a mirroring backstory, and nice to integrate tv medium with an added part of written fiction,,, cool
so i think lumon is the main producer of everything...all essentials?
Seems like it. I mean they even have their own branded food in the vending machines.
omg,,,, thats like..,,, straight up telling us what MDR do, right?
The Lexington Letter provides some additional clues about the black substance Irving found beneath his fingernails in the second episode.
Page 15 of the Orientation Booklet instructs all Refiners to wash their hands at least ten times a day, before and after eating, before and after using the facilities and when coming in contact with a coworker. That’s a lot of hand washing. Under the detailed instructions for hand washing, refiners are specifically instructed to examine under their nails and “remove any unwanted grime or debris.” I guess they are free to keep any grime or debris that are wanted.
I think all Refiners are at risk of collecting grime and debris under their fingernails as part of their work. Grime is dirt ingrained on the surface of something. Debris is scattered pieces of waste or remains. Does manipulating events in the outside world leave a physical residue?
I think u were on to something but then u lost me
Where can we find the handbook you’re referring to, please?
It’s black paint.
@@TamIntegration, I, too, watched the episode that just aired yesterday evening.
@@theangrykitten it’s after the mail in the Lexington letter
were is part 2
Coming today hopefully. Sorry I'm taking so long. I had a couple other projects going on simultaneously.
Any chance you could post the "book" from Apple somewhere? They shouldn't care. It's marketing material for the show.
I could have sworn I added it in the description, but you right its not there. I just added the official source. Thanks for pointing that out.
@@filmsretold1 Ah, thank you! Is the original all images, too? Not searchable text?
@@blakefenix4480 I'm not really sure to be honest. I dont have an apple device to read the original, that's why I made this video. For people like me.
So a substitution cipher works to bypass the code detectors? The ‘code’ detectors can’t detect the most common kind of code? Really?
Thank you
This is canon right?
Yes
Are young goats also referred to as kids?...coincidence..I think not!
The only thing that bothered me about this - I'm from Kansas, btw - is that she called her university "Kansas State". I've never heard it called that, it's K-State to every walking human who's ever spoken of it, and "Kansas State University" is just its official name. That one line broke my immersion in an otherwise-awesome story 😭
Thanks for the video! NB: plural of theory is theories 🙏
Whoever wrote this (I mean really wrote it) never lived in a place where it gets cold. If your bus went in the ditch the day before because of a patch of ice, it's doubtful that you'd have to worry about the ice cream in the trunk, today (because it's still at or below freezing outside). I don't think that's some kind of clue.
I never trust anyone whose phone number starts with 555. Working at Lumon is great!
The plural of theory is "theories."
Thanks I kept forgetting to fix it.
Holy shit
Creepy as fuck
Beyond the core story that Peggy tells, some of the other things she says are kinda odd? It reminds me of Cobel’s bizarre mannerisms
Wait, what is this?
This is extra content Apple released with Episode 5 of the show. It was originally released on Apple books, but I know a lot of people didn't have a apple account to view it so I made this video.
@@filmsretold1 Did they notify viewers it was going to be released, or should we be looking in all kinds of other places for surprise information?
@@paulabroussard1824 I found out about this through reddit. To my knowledge there is no other material yet, but the writer has mentioned he wants to do more. We probably won't see anything until season 2 is closer though.
A bit of an ARG eh?
I hate melon 🍈. I love watermelon though. I wonder if melon bar is because melon is mild but sweet with an indistinguishable and unmemorable flavor.
Bro I can’t understand half of what your saying. It’s not all one big run on sentence