Warning: This article contains spoilers for Severance season 1.
Summary
Gwendoline Christie has joined the cast ofSeveranceseason 2 as a Lumon employee whose story might tie into one of the show’s biggest mysteries. After years of waiting,Severanceseason 2’s release date has finally been confirmed. TheApple TV+ dystopian sci-fi showreturns on July 18, 2025, and while not much has been revealed about the story, the firsttrailer forSeveranceseason 2has been released. As expected, the teaser brings more questions than answers, one of which is the identity of Christie’s character.
Severanceseason 1’s endingsaw the innies of Mark, Helly, and Irving waking up in the real world and trying to expose the truth about what is happening on Lumon’s Severed Floor. As soon as Dylan was caught and the outies returned, the credits rolled. All of the innies seem to be back at the office now, andthere is a new important character at Lumon played by Gwendoline Christie.
Gwendoline Christie’s Severance Character Works In O&D At Lumon Industries
She wears the same outfit and badge as Burt G.
Based on her outfit and the green badge, Gwendoline Christie’sSeverancecharacteris part of the Optics & Design department at Lumon Industries. Bothher outfit and the badge resemble what Burt G., former head of the O&D department, wore inSeveranceseason 1.It is unclear what exactly the Optics & Design department does at Lumon, especially because its true size was only revealed later on the show. Although the Macrodata Refinement department is just as confusing, there seems to be an even bigger mystery surrounding Lumon’s O&D room.
“The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design” painting from season 1 depicts the day the O&D employees allegedly brutally attacked the MDR ones.
Considering that Burt G., whose outie name was revealed to be Burt Goodman, retired in season 1,Christie’s character may be the new head of the department.Those at the Macrodata Refinement believed there were only two employees in Optics & Desing – Burt and Felicia, when, in reality, it included dozens of people working inside a large room. While it first seemed like Burt G.’s role in the office was simply to take care of Lumon’s art pieces, the secret nature of the O&D department suggests there is something much bigger going on.
What Severance Season 2’s Teaser Reveals About Gwendoline Christie’s Character
She tells Helly and Mark they “should have left.”
Gwendoline Christie’s character says to Helly and Mark that they“should have left”in theSeveranceseason 2 trailer. A plausible theory is that she is referring to the opportunity to leave the company for good that they had after their innies exposed their situations to those around them. Assuming Mark’s outie was briefed by his sister about what his innie said, it will be interesting to see why he decided to come back. That said,this line could be misleading and have nothing to do with what Helly and Mark did in the outside world.
When Is Severance Set? Why Lumon Has Such Old Technology
Severance employs a visual style called retrofuturism, which lays the groundwork for the workplace comedy’s unique take on dystopian horror.
Severanceseason 2 may dive deeper into the strange rivalry between the MDR and O&D. Even though Mark and his friends have realized they are prisoners at Lumon, they have yet to find answers to a lot of questions, including what the company actually does. The Optics & Design department may have some of those answers, which could explain Christie’s“you should have left”line as a response to Mark and Helly sneaking in. Between the O&D and the room full of goats, Lumon’s Severed Floor is still full of mysteries thatSeverancehas yet to solve.
Cast
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
