“Severance” season 2 spoilers observe.
The mysteries of Lumon Industries proceed in “Severance” season 2, and episode 1 has some attention-grabbing clues as to the true scale of the shadowy firm. The season premiere takes place solely contained in the workplace. Meaning we’ll nonetheless have to attend to get some solutions on what is going on on outdoors of Lumon, however new questions are already rising.
The corporate has undergone some modifications within the five-plus months because the finish of season 1, with loads of lip service being paid to the standard of life for innies. When Mark (Adam Scott) returns to the workplace, his former crew at Macrodata Refinement (MDR) has been changed by three new faces, all introduced in from different Lumon branches. This offers a way of the corporate’s attain, in addition to the disparity between branches. The staff examine notes about their previous branches’ respective Perpetuity Wings, bringing to mild how a lot better-funded sure Lumon areas are. One of many workers, Dario R. (Stefano Carannante), additionally appears to have been stationed in Italy earlier than, given his first language.
Later within the episode, after the unique MDR crew returns, Mr. Milchik (Tramell Tillman) brings them to a newly refurbished break room. He reveals them an animated video that particulars the occasions of season 1 and the following reforms. In a single a part of the video, it is said that Lumon operates in 206 international locations, making it a lot bigger than viewers might have beforehand thought.
Lumon operates in over 200 international locations
If Lumon operates in 206 international locations, that raises different questions. Presently, the United Nations solely acknowledges 195 international locations. Nevertheless, that quantity grows a bit on different lists, primarily based on which areas are acknowledged as sovereign states. For instance, the Olympics acknowledge precisely 206 totally different committees from world wide, which incorporates international locations not acknowledged by the U.N. like Kosovo and Taiwan.
In different phrases, Lumon is both recognizing this bigger view of unbiased states and working in each attainable nation on Earth, or the near-future world of “Severance” has seen some political upheaval and redrawing of borderlines. Both manner, there’s quite a bit to get interested by. In the identical educational video, it is reiterated that Lumon was based in 1870. That leaves a century and a half for world growth, however we nonetheless do not know what Lumon truly does. It is stated within the present that it is a biotech firm, which is partially apparent from the severance process itself and the hints at unnaturally lengthy life seen within the Eagan household.
The precise phrasing concerning the 206 international locations is “from which Lumon operates.” That does not essentially imply that there are branches in each nation, but it surely definitely sounds prefer it. The constructing the place the present takes place is known as Department 501. Nevertheless, that does not essentially make sense. What sort of enterprise would require bodily areas in tons of of nations only for individuals to take a seat in an workplace in entrance of a pc? The workplace we see within the present is hardly packed stuffed with workers, so it additionally does not appear to be a labor drive difficulty.
Lumon’s dimension helps clarify how highly effective it’s
One factor that does make extra sense after studying how large Lumon is internationally is why protests in opposition to the severance process have been largely unsuccessful. In season 1, we see that there is a widespread motion attempting to ban severance legally. Whereas a home firm can definitely have the facility to stall legislative motion via prolonged lobbying, Lumon’s standing as a worldwide drive in biotech would give it infinitely extra affect over not simply the U.S. authorities, however governments world wide.
Till we all know extra about what Lumon truly does, it is exhausting to guess what precise worth it might be contributing to the rich and highly effective of the world. However on condition that the corporate is successfully creating slave labor forces in each nation on Earth, there’s ample room to think about why the oldsters in control of issues may need to let Lumon proceed with its work.
The larger query is how a lot of the corporate’s cult-like non secular lore surrounding its founder, Kier Eagan, is proven to the surface world. Whereas worldwide firms can accumulate immense energy and affect beneath world capitalism, the entire tradition round Lumon is definitively unusual, in a manner that you just’d suppose would make extra individuals cautious. We’ll have to attend for extra earlier than all of the items (hopefully) begin to match collectively. That is simply how reveals like “Severance” work.
Lumon could also be shrinking, not rising
One different clue that bears mentioning about Lumon’s dimension is that Mark W. says he was moved over to the Kier department after his personal was shut down. This might have merely been a matter of poor productiveness — he does point out to Mark S. that his MDR crew by no means as soon as made quota — but it surely may be a touch that the corporate is not doing so properly after its current bout of dangerous press.
Whereas laws banning the severance process clearly hasn’t materialized, Mr. Milchick makes it clear that the MDR crew’s season 1 escape stirred up a ton of stories. Which may have been sufficient to immediate some closures and consolidations, particularly when you think about that the totally different firms Lumon operates in would all have totally different rules.
If Lumon is hurting, there might be much more strain on characters like Milchik to lock issues down. Hopefully, extra secrets and techniques about what Lumon is actually as much as will likely be revealed quickly.