WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 4!While the other MDR team members are seemingly unaffected when they go to sleep, Irving suffers a creepy nightmare inSeveranceseason 2, episode 4 that helps reveal one of the show’s biggest twists yet. ThoughSeveranceseason 2, episode 3 endedwith Mark being reintegrated, the following outing changes pace asMDR’s Innies are brought to Woe’s Hollow, a location with great importance to Kier Eagan’s backstory and philosophy. As they learn about the story of Kier’s twin brother Dieter and how he tamed “Woe,” the “field trip” provides several other personal revelations to MDR.
Ever sinceHelly’s story about her Outiementioned a “night gardener,” Irving has been suspicious of his colleague. InSeveranceseason 2, episode 4, he confronts Helly about her inconsistencies and accuses her of being an Outie, with this argument leading to Irving fleeing into the woods with a torch. While Helly and Mark become intimate in her tent,Irving falls asleep in the freezing cold, slipping into a nightmare involving MDR’s numbers, Burt, and the Gaunt Bride from Kier’s story. As horrifying as Irving’s nightmare becomes, it finally gives him the answers he was seeking about Helly and Lumon.
Why Irving Sees “Woe” & Burt In MDR’s Cubicles In His Nightmare
Woe & Burt Have Been Related Aspects Of His Severance Season 2 Story So Far
In Irving’s nightmare, he finds himself wearing a business suit while walking through a clearing in the woods where the MDR cubicle sits. At Irving’s desk,moths swarm his computer screen, while Burt G. sits at the desk next to him, slowly opening and closing the dividing wall. Directly across from Irving’s desk is the Gaunt Bride, who represents Woe inKier Eagan’s philosophy of the Four Tempers.As Woe types at her desk, Irving notices numbers and letters forming peculiar patterns on his computer screen. Suddenly, the bride appears right next to him, startling Irving awake.
The appearances of Burt and Woe seem strange in Irving’s nightmare, but have very different meanings. The recenct nature of Irving being told the story about the Gaunt Bride at Woe’s Hollow doubtlessly contributed to her inclusion, whereasBurt being present at the desk can be explained by how much he dominates Irving’s waking thoughts– why wouldn’t he also appear in his dreams? This is the first time that Irving has been allowed to fully sleep inSeveranceoutside his brief naps that he was advised against in season 1, so his Innie’s inner thoughts are pouring out in horrifying ways.
Burt opening and closing the dividers might be symbolic of their romance.
ThroughoutSeveranceseason 2, Irving has also been greatly affected by the emotions associated with Woe, which is due to Burt G.’s retirement and the discovery that his Outie is already in a relationship. Burt opening and closing the dividers might be symbolic of their romance, with it seeming attainable during their early meetings, then being shut down inSeverance’s season 1 finale, only for the option to be there again in season 2. Burt’s Outie has been following Irving’s Outie since he showed up at his door, so the nightmare might be telling Irving their story isn’t over.
Irving & Burt’s New Severance Season 2 Twist Can Be Explained By A Cryptic Milchick Line To Mark
Mr. Milchick offers Mark some very specific words of wisdom in Severance season 2, episode 2, but they would also seem to apply to another character.
The appearance of Woe, who is associated with sadness and melancholy, might be telling Irving to channel his sadness and anger and use that to find the truth about what’s happening at Lumon. After Woe starts typing on her computer, Irving looks at his own and sees stranger patterns in the numbers and letters, which reveal to him exactly what he needs to know aboutHelly’s real Outie identity. She then startles him back awake,perhaps trying to snap Irving out of his melancholy and inspire him to take action.
What The Numbers & Letters On Irving’s Computer Screen Really Mean
Helly/Helena’s Twist Is Spelled Out To Him
When Irving stares at his computer screen from the Macrodata Refinement department of his nightmare, the first arrangement of numbers includes “1,” “4,” “7,” and “5.” It’s still unclear what exactly those numbers are indicative of, but they could be related to a file that will be assigned to one of the refiners inSeverance. Alternatively,these numbers might represent coordinates or code numbers that Irving would need to access certain parts of Lumon, perhaps being connected toIrving’s paintings of the black hallwayleading to the testing floor elevator.
The file name that appears on Irving’s computer screen is “Montauk,” named after a city in New York.
The sets of letters that appear in Irving’s nightmare are a bit clearer in terms of what they reveal to him. The computer screen features severalvariations of the letters “E,” “A,” “G,” and “N,”which are meant to clue into Irving that the answers he needs connect to theEagan family. When he wakes up, Irving puts the pieces together and realizes that “Helly” is not only her Outie, but also an Eagan. As Irving explains, only an Eagan would have the power to send their Outie to the severed floor instead of their Innie.
Severance’s “Exports Hall” & How It Connects To Irving’s Painting Mystery
The mystery surrounding Irving’s paintings in Severance season 2 was just given a major puzzle piece in episode 3, and here’s what it is.
On the same screen as the letters that spell out “Eagan,” Irving sees repetitions of the numbers “1,” “0,” “3,” and “5,” in various orders. Like the previous set of numbers, the symbolic meaning of these ones as a group isn’t very obvious. Themeaning of Macrodata Refinement’s numbers, in general, is still largely a mystery, but theycould be related to a certain data set that reveals more about Lumon’s intentions with the Cold Harbor fileinSeveranceseason 2.
The Real Meaning Of The Moths Flying Onto Irving’s Computer Screen
The Symbolism Of The Moths Can Be Interpreted A Few Different Ways
As Irving walks up to the cubicle in his nightmare, he finds that moths are swarming around his computer screen. Of course, it’s dark outside and moths are attracted to light sources, but there’s a deeper meaning to their inclusion.Moths are often associated with symbolizing love, death, and transformations, which are fitting themes for the journeys ofSeverance’s main characters. One interpretation could be that the moths represent Irving’s love for Burt, grief over the “death” of Burt’s Innie, and transformations after that loss.
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Alternatively, the mothscould symbolize the reveal that Helena has secretly transformed herself into Helly, and that this twist will lead to the “death” of Irving’s Innie when he’s fired. Another possible meaning of the moth on Irving’s computer screen could connect toSeverance’s Cold Harbor file. They might symbolize that Gemma isn’t actually dead, but is being transformed into a completely new person through the data refinement and experiments on the testing floor.
How Irving’s Nightmare At Woe’s Hollow Brings Back A Severance Season 1 Story
This Isn’t The First Meaningful Nightmare Irving Has Had
While this is the first full-fledged nightmare that Irving’s Innie has experienced, it isn’t the only time he’s been given strange signs while asleep. Back inSeveranceseason 1, Irving had a habit of arriving exhausted and briefly napping at the office.Whenever he would nod off, Irving would hallucinate black goo forming on his computer and around the office. It wasn’t clear until later that this was amessage from Irving’s Outierelated to the black oil paintings of the testing floor elevator, so Irving’s Outie was likely sending him another message inSeveranceseason 2, episode 4.
