Apple TV+’s Severance has famously returned for its second season, and the premiere has given birth to a series of topics for discussion. One of the major debates centers around Britt Lower’s character Helly. With the shocking reveal in the season 1 finale, many have questioned whether the Helly that returns to the team in the second season is truly the Helly audiences have come to understand and admire.
Sparking debates about who is who, Severance’s second season has the potential to explore the true meaning of identity. Delving deeper into Helly’s journey, questions such as the lengths and limits of the mind, in relation to the sole body it inhabits, already sound fascinating and could give way to a different, refreshing look at the vastness of human capabilities.
Helly’s Stunning Revelation
When audiences last left Helly, she, along with Mark (Adam Scott), Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Irving (John Turturro) had decided to rebel against their repressive superiors at Lumon and expose the harsh, prison-like working conditions. Relying on a planned manipulation of the “overtime contingency”, the quartet found it necessary to gain consciousness outside the severed floor and share their chilling experiences working in Macrodata Refinement. However, when the true identity of their “outies” were revealed, many were shocked to find out that Helly is actually Heleana Egan, the daughter of Lumon founder Kier Egan.
An Impactful Twist Explored
Following the season finale, fans were left with a plethora of questions about Helena’s true motives for becoming severed, as well as the validity of her experiences as Helly. Conversations about the culpability of Helena’s actions, as well as the surprising variety of the human personality also became popular discussion points among fans of the series. Setting the stage for the second season’s focus. Helly’s revelation was a gratifying twist, in part due to the effect it has on the relationships Helly has with herself and her co-workers, but it also complicates the struggle against nefarious uses of the severance process by huge conglomerates like Lumon.
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Helena Egan, At a Glance
To say that Helena is starkly different from the Helly fans have come to love is a complete understatement. While there is a lingering frustration that binds the two together, Helly’s thirst for justice and equity is a stark contrast with Helena’s cold and manipulative demeanor.
During the season 2 premiere, audiences get a closer look at Helena’s disposition and personality. In a fated conversation with Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), Helena remains assured, stern, and calculated, clearly asserting herself as the more meticulous of the two. While audiences get a taste of Lumon’s deviousness by way of Cobel, this scene sets up Helena as a more daunting villain than the rest of the Macrodata Refinement department must account for.
Helena’s Silent Reign Unearthed
Further explored in the second season, Helena’s justification for her enrollment in the severance program becomes glaringly obvious. Hoping to drum up public support for Lumon, Helena opted into the severance process to gain first-hand experience in the field. After the success of the overtime contingency, viewers see a perceptive Helena mining through Helly R’s experiences, taking note of her “innie’s” motives and relationships with other employees, namely Mark.
Not only chronicling the experiences of the other three members of the Macrodat Uprising, Helena has the unique privilege of infiltrating said group and forging strong bonds she can later exploit. With all this information at her fingertips, one can not help but wonder what Helena has in store for the Macrodata Refinement department.
Helly v. Helena, Who Has Returned to Lumon?
After Mark’s intervention post-uprising, Lumon concedes and rehires Dylan, Irving and Helly. However, a series of noticeable facial expressions, questionable dialogue, and a slew of clues hidden in plain sight seem to suggest that is not what it may seem. In a crucial confrontation between the four protagonists, each person discusses where they were the night of the overtime contingency.
While Irving laments about the crushing realization that his office romance with Burt is essentially over, both within the halls of Lumon and outside the company, Helly recalls waking up at night and watching a gardener from her window, a detail Irving finds intriguing to say the least. This instance sparked a viral discussion about whether or not Helena herself infiltrated the tight-knit group without the help of her innie.
A Complex Look at Helly’s Huge Reveal
While there is convincing evidence to support the notion that Helly did not return to Lumon, the continued discussions also include a strong counterpoint that suggests Helly may be reunited with the group after all. As everyone else can seemingly recall the sequence of events that occurred during the overtime contingency, that has led a vocal group of watchers to infer that the same may be true for Helly. If so, her embellishment in the season premiere may not be part of a nefarious plot but rather a result of her embarrassment.
Despite the possible reconciliation and strength that the group could experience if Helly were to come to them with the truth, Helly’s silence also serves as a form of self-preservation.
If her true identity is revealed, Helly risks the fear of complete isolation. Not only would Helena’s experiment be a failure, Helly would also face the dissolution of her relationships with her peers. Attempting to navigate such sensitive terrain, Helly could very well be trying to make sense of her dual personalities before telling the rest of the group so that she can act accordingly when the simmering conflict between the two parties reaches a boiling point she can not turn back from.
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The Significance Of Such Confusion
The confusion regarding Helly’s true identity not only makes for an entertaining plot, but it also inspires further exploration of topics that resonate with all of humanity. As seen in the episode “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” audiences watch a resentful Helena review the footage from her time spent at Lumon.
Witnessing the sense of camaraderie shared with Dylan, Irving, and Mark, the burgeoning attraction between Helly and the latter, as well as Helly’s general thirst for freedom, the envy on Helena’s face is legible to say the least. This particular scene has led to fans and critics pondering upon Helena’s position as an Egan, juxtaposing Helena’s isolation with Helly’s ability to form genuine relationships with others.
A Complicated Search for Solace
Additionally, a broader look at Helena’s character also loops back into themes introduced in season 1. Much like most of the severed population, Helly and Helena seem fundamentally different at a glance. However, as the conflict between Lumon and its employees persists, the series explores the results of an individual’s contortion of their personality given their environment, and the possibilities that arise as a result of the exploitation of said personality.
Throughout the series, Helly’s eagerness to take down Lumon, coupled with Helena’s interest in the severed process, can be traced back to a yearning for freedom and connection. In a twisted manner, perhaps Helena finds solace in the process due to it offering her a life separate from the desolate web of schemes that defines her family life.
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