Severance is a complex tale of corporate conspiracy, scary scientific advancements, and the sheer boredom of working a desk job. In the show, an ominous company named Lumon experiments with a technology that splits employees’ memories between their work lives and home lives.
The two sides of a severed person’s personality are colloquially referred to as their “innie” and “outie.” The outie clocks into work at Lumon each morning, at which point the innie takes over. The outie doesn’t remember anything about what transpires during the work day. The innie, by contrast, is never able to leave the windowless “severed floor” of Lumon or see the light of day.
The practice obviously raises several ethical questions: Are innies separate people with their own desires and rights? What happens to a severed person’s “innie” when they leave Lumon for good? Does the innie die?
Read More: How the Team Behind Severance Made the Second Season Worth the Wait
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