Severance – Woe’s Hollow

By starrymag | February 14, 2025

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

Bundle up—MDR is going on a field trip! In this episode Mark, Helly, Dylan and Irving are stripped of their familiar office surroundings and thrust into the bizarre world of Eagan folklore, where things quickly escalate from strange to life-threatening. Like a guided tour through Lumon’s twisted fairytales, this so-called retreat—meant to strengthen MDR’s bonds—turns out to be the most unsettling team-building experiment imaginable. And to make matters worse, it comes just as Mark was gearing up his search for Miss Casey.

After last week’s encounter with the goat herders, Mark came to a chilling realization: the truth isn’t inside Lumon’s walls—it’s inside his mind. Rather than carving S.O.S. messages into his cornea in the desperate hope that his Innie would see them, he took a bolder, riskier approach—agreeing to secretly reintegrate, knowing full well it could cost him his life.

Now, despite uniting his two selves, Mark is forced to put his search for Miss Casey on hold as he treks across an unfamiliar landscape—all while falling deeper into his feelings for Helly.

With its intense moments and shocking reveals, this might be the best episode of the series.

A Scavenger Hunt in the Forest

The episode opens with Irving (John Turturro) standing alone on a frozen lake in the woods, disoriented and dressed like a Siberian fur trader. Wearing a thick, fur-lined hat with flaps, he scans the icy expanse for answers, panic rising—until he hears Mark’s (Adam Scott) voice bellowing from above. Looking up, he spots his co-worker, similarly dressed in winter gear, high atop a cliff, directing him to safety. Shimmying across the ice, Irving slides his way to shore, reuniting with the MDR team, all bundled and equally confused. While they take a moment to get their bearings–Dylan (Zach Cherry) is mesmerized by the ceilingless sky, their attention is soon drawn to an old-fashioned television sitting out in the open.

It plays a pre-recorded message from Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tilman), explaining the purpose of their predicament: this isn’t a random abduction—it’s an ORTBO, an “Organized Retreat Team-Building Occurrence.” Once again Lumon has its finger on the pulse of every horrible corporate perk that nobody wants or asks for. Milchick cryptically declares, “The truth you seek lies within the Fourth Appendix—a text of such sanctity that it is banned on the severed floor.”

The name of this place? Woe’s Hollow. Not exactly welcoming, but oddly familiar, as it has been scattered throughout MDR’s lessons in Eagan mythology.

Not only have they been inserted into this land of frosty make-believe, but now they’re on a scavenger hunt for the forbidden Fourth Appendix. Fortunately, they have eerily silent doppelgängers guiding them in the right direction. These ghostly figures lead them through the Dieter Eagan National Forest, where they uncover the leather-bound text. And what is it about? Dieter Eagan.

Again, the name doesn’t ring a bell for Mark or the others—but sharp-eyed fans might remember it. In Episode 2, when Milchick was riding through town on his motorcycle, he passed a sign that read, “Dieter’s Brother Live—No Minimum.” It turns out Dieter is Keir Eagan’s lesser-known twin brother. But what does he have to do with this team-building retreat?

As with everything at Lumon, it’s about controlling the narrative to control the worker. After a few bizarre encounters along the way, the team brings the book back to camp, where Milchick is waiting to read it aloud, as if telling a ghost story around a fire.

Dictated by Keir (Marc Geller) before his death, the Fourth Appendix recounts how the two brothers left home to live in the woods. This was Dieter’s idea and perhaps he sought solitude, as Keir states, rather bluntly, that his brother spent hours in Woe’s Hollow masturbating the night away—loudly enough that Keir was not able to escape his erotic releases.

Over time, Dieter became a moss-covered, wailing, inhuman being—lost to his own desires and melding into the forest. Unable to bear his brother’s constant sexual emissions, Keir sought refuge at the base of a waterfall, where he met Woe—one of the Four Tempers first introduced earlier in the series (Woe, Frolic, Dread and Malice).

“If one is able to tame the Four Tempers,” Keir prophesied, “the world shall become but your appendage.” Woe, representing melancholy and despair, assuages Keir’s guilt for abandoning (or possibly murdering) his brother. “You suffered his want-ness. Now he’s no one’s brother. Only chaos’s whore.”

Dieter’s cries weren’t external—they were in Kier’s mind and a manifestation of his guilt.

For MDR, this isn’t just a cautionary tale about disloyalty—it’s a warning. A reminder of what happens when one deviates from office norms. Because everything at Lumon is about control—especially when it comes to the minds they’ve severed. And while this episode brings us a little closer to understanding their purpose, the true point of all this remains as cryptic as ever.

No S’mores For You!

As Milchick reads the story of how Deiter became one with the forest, Helly (Britt Lower) can’t help but laugh, calling it dumb. Mark, who is developing feelings for Helly, joins in, but Milchick isn’t amused. As punishment for their mockery, he tosses the team’s marshmallows into the campfire, outraging Dylan—though nothing can break the deadly stare Irving has been throwing Helly’s way all night. There will be no s’mores for this team-building exercise, but someone is definitely getting roasted.

Since returning from the overtime contingency plan, Helly has been different—she’s not her usual self, and Irving has been picking up on the signs. He also can’t shake what she said about her Outie meeting with a night gardener. He has questions, and he’s using every opportunity to pry the truth from her.

A few tense, tit-for-tat moments unfold between them, and Irving even turns his frustration on Mark for defending her—just because he’s attracted to her. But when Helly lands a low blow about Irving’s broken heart, she outs herself as someone different from the Helly they knew before. Irving knows something is off, but he’s too angry to stay and figure it out. Instead, he storms off into the forest, searching for an escape. However, without any camping gear or a map, he has no choice but to lie down in the snow and fall asleep.

His dreams take him to an office where he and Burt sit across from each other, smiling. On the other side of his desk, the hallowed husk of Woe types away on her computer. When Irving looks at his screen, the numbers dance wildly before Woe suddenly jumps-scares him out of his data-crunching daze. If Woe represents grief, then it’s no surprise that her “Hallow” home is where Irving must confront his sorrow over losing Burt..

The Reveal

The following morning he wakes up frostbite-free but still fuming over the obvious clues that Helly isn’t who she claims to be. His dreams lead him to a startling realization—Helly isn’t just an imposter; she’s Helena Eagan! Helena infiltrated the severed floor to feed MDR intel to the board.

If you’re wondering how she bypassed the elevator’s severance effect, the answer comes at the end of this episode. Thanks to the Glasgow Block, Lumon is able to override the severed conscience. This revelation raises another question: If Helly is really Helena, then why did she just sleep with Mark? While Irving was having a prophetic dream the night before, Helly was back at the campsite, disregarding the rules of consent to seduce him. Does Helena have real feelings for Mark? Is all of this  to keep him under control?

When Irving returns to camp and confronts Helena, demanding she reveal her true identity, Mark and Dylan are stunned. They start to wonder if Irving has lost his mind and beg him to calm down. Desperate to prove he’s right, Irving grabs Helena and drags her to the edge of the river, forcing her head into the rushing water, threatening to drown her if she doesn’t confess. Milchick orders Irving to stop, but he ruthlessly holds her underwater—until Helena finally breaks character and chokes out, “Do it, Seth.”

Seth?! She knows Milchick’s real name—and he takes orders from her? Irving was right all along, but now he’s about to pay the ultimate price for uncovering the truth. Milchick pulls out a walkie-talkie and deactivates the Glasgow Block. Suddenly, Helena vanishes, and Helly emerges beneath the icy water. Helly is back—and she must be in complete shock that her co-worker is trying to kill her in the middle of the woods.

Realizing the switch has taken place, Irving frantically pulls her out of the water and holds her close, apologizing profusely for what he has done. But his actions have sealed his fate. Milchick coldly informs him that he’s facing “immediate and permanent dismissal.” What that means exactly remains unclear, but as Irving walks off into the woods, head held high and a pixelated smile on his face, Severance fans are left hoping this won’t be the last time they see him.