SEVERANCE Season 2’s New Opening Credits Tease Lumon’s Ultimate Goal

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Following a prolonged absence, the TV series “Severance” has resumed exactly where it ended, both in terms of storyline and quality. The show remains as captivating as ever, with Mark Scranton rejoining work merely a few days post the Innie Macrodat Uprising in the second episode of season two. However, there’s an intriguing twist in this Apple TV+ production – Oliver Latta has crafted a new, even more unsettling opening credits sequence. Reminiscent of his earlier work, this eerie yet stunning visual narrative continues to be both beautiful and disturbing, hinting that it may offer insights into Lumon’s ultimate goals or objectives.

In the second season of “Severance,” Theodore Shapiro’s theme song remains consistent, but the opening credits art by Oliver Latta (also known as EXTRAWEG) has undergone changes. The new sequence titled “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” introduces a myriad of references to various characters and departments within Lumon. However, two specific instances in Latta’s depiction of Mark Scout’s dual personality are particularly striking: there are numerous images of infants throughout this exploration.

1. The initial scene unfolds when a group of faceless newborns dressed in suits invade Mark’s bed.

2. The second scene takes place at the end, where Mark, wearing red pajamas, sits on his bed’s edge. Suddenly, a baby with the head of Kier Eagan, the late Founder of Lumon, crawls across the floor, shaking off snow.

What does it mean to show babies in general, and Kier Eagan as a baby in particular? Could this be a clue rather than just a symbol or metaphor, considering what we know about Lumon and “Cold Harbor” from the first two episodes of season two?

Lumon urges Mark to complete the work on “Cold Harbor,” a file concerning his late wife Gemma, whose vital signs suggest she’s in a state of suspended animation or coma. The significance of Mark’s task on this file is immense for the company, as they have reinstated severed employees specifically for this project involving a potentially revivable woman. It seems that the success of everything they are striving for hinges on this one project concerning a seemingly deceased individual.

Everything unfolds within an unsettling corporate environment reminiscent of a cult, where digital records are tied to real human beings. Here, high-ranking figures such as Helena must report to the Board, who exist solely on intercom systems. Notably, all employees from the company’s original location frequent the “Perpetuity” wing, which showcases life-sized statues of every CEO in Eagan Lumon’s history. Moreover, the founder, Kier Eagan, is regarded with divine reverence by everyone.

In the opening credits of Severance, it’s not just a group of infants in business attire, but rather Kier Eagan being reborn as an infant. He’s shaking off cold snow from his head, as if he had been on ice at a company specializing in severance technology, which is intensely focused on finalizing a deceased woman’s file titled “Cold Harbor.” Strangely, they also have a whole department dedicated to baby goats.

It’s clear as day that Lumon is attempting to resurrect Kier Eagan using his original body, which explains Mark’s significant focus on Gemma’s case. This secret project of Lumon’s is so vital that they never share details about it with data refiners. The gravity of their work must be concealed from everyone due to its shocking nature.

If you believe the connection between Lumon and Severance as shown in the opening credits is a stretch, you’re undervaluing both Lumon and the series itself. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what the opening credits are depicting. While the individual evidence is convincing, Latta has now confirmed that there are direct links between his introduction and the events in the show. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he discussed his new opening sequence, which was created after receiving key plot details. Unfortunately, he couldn’t include some elements because Ben Stiller found them too spoiler-heavy.

In a fascinating conversation I had with Latta, she mentioned something that left me quite intrigued – these infants, they bear such a striking resemblance to Ben Stiller! This is as per Esther Zuckerman’s account in her interview.

In Stiller’s instructions to Latta, he proposed incorporating infants: “Let’s include some babies.” Initially, Latta thought of filling the screen with baby versions of Mark, but Stiller suggested the idea of including babies. Consequently, a scene was created where Mark is surrounded by crawling, faceless infants in his bed. When asked why babies were included, Latta recounts, “I asked him, ‘Why babies?’ He simply replied, ‘Because I like babies.'” The babies also proved useful when Latta was struggling to decide what to place at the end of the sequence. It’s believed that it was Stiller who suggested a depiction of Lumon founder Kier Eagan as a crawling infant. Latta is unsure about its meaning: “I have my own interpretation, but I don’t know the actual explanation. We’ll find out when everything is fully revealed.

In simpler terms, We’ll discover the answer soon enough. The reason Ben Stiller wanted babies in the show’s opening and turned Kier Eagan into one might become clear. It could be that Lumon is trying to achieve this, and if they do, it will seem logical. This might be their ultimate goal – to bring the company’s founder back to life completely. And when that happens, we’ll all be like newborn babies, amazed by the revelation.

Mikey Walsh serves as a staff writer at TopMob, but he’s uncertain about the function of his role. You can keep up with him on Bluesky under the handle @burgermike, and he’s also active in lists that rank the Targaryen monarchs.

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2025-01-24 21:33