Severance – Trojan’s Horse

By starrymag | February 21, 2025

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

After the big Helena reveal at Woe’s Hollow, Mark and Dylan struggle to accept Helly R’s return to MDR. Tensions between the three continue to rise as it appears Irving’s Innie has been permanently retired, leaving a crucial void in the Severed floor’s dynamics. As the cracks in Lumon’s control begin to widen, so does the divide between the innies—just when they should be united against their one true enemy: James Eagan.

The title of Episode 5, “Trojan’s Horse,” suggests a deception—one that may run deeper than even Helena realizes. This hidden scheme could reshape the loyalties of those who follow Lumon’s rules and those who dare to break them. With their grief over the loss of a friend and their growing suspicions of one another, can Mark and the others find a way to fight back, locate Miss Casey, and free them all from whatever Cold Harbor truly is?

As we approach the season’s climax, we’re left with more questions than answers. So let’s dive into “Trojan’s Horse” and see how the innies are faring after Woe’s Hollow.

Back to Work

We open with the sound of a whistle as an unknown man, possibly a doctor (Robby Benson) pushes a cart through the hallways of Lumon, tweeting a tune as he works. After navigating the labyrinth of office corridors, he arrives at a supply room that eerily resembles a morgue. Methodically, he collects what looks like dental surgery equipment from Burt’s former coworkers, After loading up his cart, he proceeds to a place we’ve seen before—both in paintings and in Irving’s (John Turturro) tortured mind. It’s that long black hallway again, the one with the imposing dark door and the ominous red elevator light. The image that haunted Irving enough to share it a few episodes ago with Burt’s co-worker, Felicia (Claudia Robinson) now takes on a chilling new meaning. Now we know why she was questioning his dreams; that hallway is part of her daily routine. As the man makes his way down the corridor, the door opens, the elevator dings—and he disappears.

After the opening credits, we catch up with Devon (Jen Tullock), who asks Mark (Adam Scott) how “the weekend thing” went—meaning the reintegration, while pretending to be severed. As Mark takes his daily medication, he shrugs off the question, vaguely admitting he was injured at work. “My innie fell off a rope, apparently,” he tells his sister, who immediately grows concerned about the dangers of his job. He tries to calm her nerves while slurping down a thick, gelatinous liquid from his refrigerator. We have no idea what this murky, egg-drop-like slop is, but since it’s the only thing in his fridge, we can assume it has something to do with Reghabi’s reintegration process. Speaking of Reghabi (Karen Aldridge)—she’s been hiding out in Mark’s house, avoiding Lumon’s watchful eyes. Mark, wary, asks if she thinks they’re being watched. She smirks, replying, “Depends on how dumb you’ve played it.” Translation: They’re only watching if they suspect something. So, yes, they are watching.

Over at Lumon, Helena (Britt Lower) is still shaken from her near-death encounter with Irving during the ORTBO. She barely escaped when he tried to force the truth out of her, shoving her head beneath the icy waters of Woe’s Hollow. Now, under strict orders from her father, the board consisting of Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander) and Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), informs her that she must return to the Severed floor—even though her infiltration has been exposed. Natalie insists they are close to getting what they need from Mark S., but for once, the typically cool, composed Helena is anything but. She is terrified to go back. “They’re f**king animals,” she spits, referring to Mark and the others at MDR. Natalie fails to calm her nerves with, “it won’t be you,” meaning Helly will be returning. Unfortunately for James Eagan’s daughter, the risk to her life is outweighed by Mark’s importance to Cold Harbor. If Helly R. doesn’t return, Mark will be too distracted to complete the project. “The board understands your sacrifice,” Natalie assures her—proving that even the daughter of James Eagan is nothing more than a pawn in whatever twisted game Lumon is playing.

The following day, a panicked, almost feral Helly R. steps off the elevator, where she is immediately met by Miss Huang (Sarah Bock). Helly has no memory of what happened between the overtime contingency plan and waking up drowning in an icy river. Even more disturbing is this militant child, who barks orders at her but refuses to answer her desperate questions.

What happened? And what does Irving have to do with it?

She won’t get those answers just yet—because the moment she sees her two (not three) coworkers, Mark and Dylan (Zach Cherry), their reactions are immediately cold and suspicious. She has no idea that her Outie took control of her body, so, their hostility toward her is deeply confusing. Mark is distant and emotionless, while Dylan is seething. “Traitor!” That’s the word tumbling ferocioulsy from his lips. He unleashes a tirade of accusations, calling her an Eagan and blaming her for whatever happened to Irving. Helly, feeling violated by her Outie starts to unravel. The only people she can count on thinks she is a spy. How does she get them to see she is Helly R. and not the woman responsible for whatever happened to Irving. And that lingering question hangs heavy over the episode: What did happen to Irving? Is he coming back to work, or even worse, is he dead?

Their search for answers leads them straight to Milchick (Tramell Tillman)—for the verdict on their missing friend.

Mayhem in Milchick’s Office

“Irving B’s Outie has departed on an elongated cruise voyage,” Milchick informs them, and instantly Dylan hears the worst. He assumes this means Irv is dead, and he is sort of right. Irving isn’t coming back, but his Outie is still alive and unsettled by the unknown that haunts his dreams and broken heart. As for their concerns about Helena infiltrating the severed floor, Milchick is dismissive. “In her executive capacity, she was conducting valuable research.” After a brief allegorical lesson on Lumon’s version of what it means to be a “Trojan horse,’ Milchick escorts them to their new workstations. The office has been redesigned to no longer be a foursome, but a triad. Irving’s desk is gone, and even worse, he has been erased from the MDR group photo. It’s as if he never existed at all.

Dylan, always a master of applying words to their internal disgust, doesn’t hold back. “If you’re taking feedback, THIS SUCKS!” He might as well throw that in the complaint box and send it straight to the board—because Dylan has had enough. Milchick, unimpressed, threatens to revoke his privileges (family meeting room) if he doesn’t learn to watch his mouth. But Dylan doesn’t back down, and instead demands a funeral for their recently departed friend. Helly agrees, so Milchick radios Miss Huang to, “ready the bereavement kit.”

Something Is Wrong with Mark

Ever since returning from Woe’s Hollow, Mark has had a nagging cough. When he excuses himself to the bathroom, we see the reintegration process is starting to take hold. He manages to fight it off, just as Helly comes knocking.

She wants to talk, assuming she can still reach him and the connection they shared hasn’t been broken by Helena’s return. Curious about who her Outie is, Helly fires off a multitude of questions about Helena and what she is like. Mark shrugs her off and her concerns over his cough and pushes past her when she offers up details about what she saw during the Overtime Contingency Plan. He already knows too much and isn’t interested in learning more. Helly is hurt by his cold attitude towards her but Mark is hurting too. He is just as vulnerable as she is—maybe even more so. “Consent” is a word spinning through both their minds, not just from their time in Woe’s Hollow, but from the unsettling reality of what happened there. Helena ignored Helly’s consent by taking over her body. Then, using that stolen autonomy, she seduced Mark—under the guise of being Helly. Now, they’re both at a standstill with their burgeoning office romance, with no clear path forward. Mark doesn’t trust her—but is it really Helly’s fault? When she pushes Mark to explain what went down on their little trip to the woods, Mark tries to avoid bringing up what happened between them.

Rest in Peace, Irving

As Mr. Milchick and Miss Huang prepare for Irving’s funeral, the newest—and youngest—addition to the severed floor doesn’t understand why they’re going through all this trouble. “The Affection Index for Irving was in the high 60s,” Milchick explains. Processing their grief, he argues, will boost productivity. Miss Huang barely acknowledges this and instead offers her own take on soothing MDR’s pain: “You shouldn’t let them have a funeral,” she says coldly. “It makes them feel like people.” Who is this kid? And what kind of Lumon Frankenstein monster did they cook up with her?

Her apathy toward the Innies is only matched by her sharp tongue, hurling subtle threats at Milchick when he tries to put her in her place. Huang passive-aggressively reminds him that his performance review is later that day. So—who’s really in charge here? It’s a not-so-subtle threat—one that suggests she could easily throw a wrench in his success at Lumon. Is Miss Huang the eyes and ears of the board? Or is she the Trojan Horse this episode is warning us about?

Goodbye, Irv

The funeral kicks off with calypso music, as MDR is handed mugs with Irving’s face on them and given exactly nine seconds of silent reflection on a man who touched them all.

After that, Dylan steps up to deliver a Dylan-style eulogy or what Milchick refers to as, “a little sugar with the usual salt.” After the kind words are delivered, it’s time for procurement. Miss Huang enters with a watermelon carved into the likeness of Irving’s head. The whole thing is creepy and grotesque, and yet, they scarf it down in sadness because the old Irving–before Helena ruined him, would’ve loved the honor.

After the funeral everyone’s mood is sour–even Miss Huang is annoyed. She complains that she didn’t get to perform her thermin song despite practicing for the event. Milchick, eager to calm her fury, offers to let her play it for him later, and that seems to do the trick.

As for MDR, Mark is ready to get back to work, but Dylan? Not so much. He is still angry at the lack of respect for Irving– a man who dedicated his entire life to the company and is quickly being forgotten about. In a mood, he turns to Mark and asks if he told Helly about Miss Casey and what went down between him and Helena at Woe’s Hollow. Helly’s mind is blown. She’s buzzing with questions—excited, even—ready to find this woman and help Mark’s outie. She tries to convince him that they’re in this together, but Mark has moved past the idea of togetherness with Helly. To him, everything about Woe’s Hollow was a lie. But the relationship they built before Helena ruined everything, that wasn’t a lie, and somewhere deep down—Mark knows it.

Tightening the Leash

Before Milchick’s performance review, he stops Natalie outside the board’s office and attempts to discuss what he assumes are their mutual feelings about the gifted paintings he received. He tries to tap into the human part of her, and for a moment, there’s a flicker of it behind her eyes, but her forced smile makes it clear—it’s buried under a mountain of fear. She avoids discussing the doctored paintings, but the look she gives Milchick says enough: she shares his thoughts on how racist they were.

After a slight smirk from Milchick, he is escorted into the office, where Mr. Drummond informs him that this review could last seven hours or more, including a lunch break. Bit by bit, they go through every aspect of his performance—praising his clean urinalysis and perfect attendance but marking him down for using “too many big words,” and his unusual paperclip orientation methods.

However, the board’s biggest concern is his habit of losing the Innies—a great risk to both the company and the Eagan name. They also point out that the new MDR team has failed to coalesce and that treating them with kindness has not discouraged their curiosity about Lumon, Miss Casey or their Outies. Woe’s Hollow was also a major failure on Milchick’s record, but there’s one saving grace: Mark S. is close to completing his assignment.

For that the board states that Milchick “will be remembered as part of one of the greatest moments in the history of the planet.” If he wants those accolades, he would do well to remember that the workers have a greater purpose—and treat them accordingly. Humiliated, but forcing out a smile, Milchick agrees to “tighten the leash” on the severed floor.

Down on the floor, Dylan takes one last moment to say goodbye to Irving B’s watermelon head but then notices something odd—a poster in the break room that says “Hang in There.” That was one of the last things Irving said to him before he was permanently removed from their lives. It must mean something. Dylan checks behind the poster’s frame and, sure enough, finds Irving’s sketch of the dark hallway and the red elevator light. On the flip side, there’s a message in Irving’s handwriting and it looks like directions. He heads back to The office keeping quiet about what he found.

Also back at his desk is a coughing Mark, who has reached 85% completion on his Cold Harbor file. He’s getting close, but as he types away, his brain glitches—fragments of memories flash through his mind. The headache it sparks is unbearable so he makes an attempt to leave work early.

As Mark heads for the elevator six minutes before clock-out, an angry Milchick is waiting for him. Sick leave? That doesn’t really fit in with his promise to tighten the worker’s leash. The two bicker back and forth—both fully aware of the lies Lumon is forcing on them—but neither backing down. The conversation ends when Milchick delivers the killing blow: questioning if he has talked to Helly about their little romp in the tent. It’s enough to send Mark into another coughing fit.

Ricken Falls for Lumon’s Lies

While Mark struggles through his first day back reintegrated, his sister Devon is dealing with her own nightmare: Ricken (Michael Chernus) is now a Lumon fanboy. After Natalie stopped by to fluff his ego about his book, she offered him a chance to write a Lumon-inspired version for his Innie fans. Unlike his shocked wife, he couldn’t be happier about it.

As Devon reads a snippet of his newest work, she immediately calls him out on how opposite it is of everything he believes in. She’s outraged by how quickly he’s abandoned his values for a little professional validation. But Ricken is determined, and uses money as an excuse to finish the book. “Unless me selling millions of copies of my book and the life that manages to give us has lost its appeal for you,” he challenges and that pushes Devon to storm off in anger.

True Love Can not Be Forgotten

While Lumon spins everyone like a top, we finally catch up with Irving’s Outie and big shocker, he didn’t make that cruise. Instead, he stands in the same phone booth we’ve seen before, making a call: “It’s me again,” he says. “So they fired me. I think they knew what my innie was up to.” That’s when he notices a car following him. He hangs up and approaches it and inside sits Outie Burt (Christopher Walken)! The second Irving approaches Burt gets straight to the point. “Call it a quirk. I got this thing—when someone shows up on my doorstep, I wanna know why.” Irving isn’t sure how to answer that but he does know that this man must be from Lumon. But what is their connection? After a few minutes of talking, Irving decides they must have had an, “unsanctioned erotic entanglement”—because that’s why Burt was fired. It’s also why Burt’s husband canceled their trip to Milwaukee. It sounds like his marriage is on the rocks as his Innie’s heart is still tied to Irving’s. To clear the air, Burt invites Irving to dinner and the two break the ice over a joke about wine. Irving, unsure of why he’s so drawn to this man, accepts the dinner invite and a shy Burt couldn’t be more delighted.

Mark’s Breaking Point

After a full day of work, Mark is coughing up a lung as he and Reghabi rifle through his wife’s boxes in the basement. Then he finds her box of ashes, and realizes Gemma is not in there.The question is, who is? Whether it’s the shock of realizing his wife’s death was a lie, or the effects of reintegration hitting full force, Mark’s two consciousnesses begin to merge.

The basement warps around him and his vision blurs until he sees that dark hallway appear. In the background, like a whisper, he hears Miss Casey’s affirmations. “You’re a good roller skater, Mark.” Then—suddenly—he is on the severed floor standing face-to-face with Gemma/ Miss Casey (Dichen Lachman)! Before he can say anything it all melts away and all Mark can do is cry. What have they done to his wife? And what state is his mind in now that his two selves have been united into one body?