Ever since her introduction in Severance‘s Season 2 premiere, new Lumon rent Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) has been bombarded by a storm of fan theories. Is she a robotic? A clone? Why else would a baby be on the Severed Ground except one thing actually dastardly was occurring?
Now, viewers can put their theories to relaxation, as a result of “Sweet Vitriol,” the eighth episode of Severance Season 2, lastly confirms why Miss Huang works at Lumon. And whereas the reply is not as sci-fi-heavy as robots or clones, it is nonetheless pretty sinister.
Miss Huang is principally a Lumon intern, identical to Concord Cobel as soon as was.
Sarah Bock in “Severance.”
Credit score: Apple TV+
“Sweet Vitriol” focuses on Concord Cobel (Patricia Arquette), so we really do not see Miss Huang in any respect on this episode. Nevertheless, we do hear a phrase that hyperlinks the 2. On Jan. 22, the Lumon LinkedIn web page congratulated Miss Huang for being “this quarter’s Wintertide Fellow.” These phrases pop up once more in episode 6, “Attila,” when Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) tells Miss Huang, “You cannot graduate from this fellowship until I have deemed you Wintertide material.”
Based mostly on the phrase “fellowship,” the trade with Milchick implies Miss Huang is a few sort of intern at Lumon, whereas “Wintertide” is the usual she should aspire to. However Severance leaves the specifics of Lumon’s fellowship up within the air till episode 8.
In “Sweet Vitriol,” Cobel’s Aunt Sissy (Jane Alexander) mentions Cobel’s personal Wintertide Fellowship as a badge of honor bestowed by Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) himself. Later, as Cobel seems to be by her yearbook for the Myrtle Eagan Faculty for Women, she finds a photograph of her accepting the Wintertide Fellowship from Jame. The textual content under the picture states, “Harmony Cobel’s outstanding dedication to the Nine Core Values has earned her the distinguished honor of being selected as the Year of Wiles Wintertide Fellow.”
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So there you’ve got it. On the subject of Miss Huang, there aren’t any clones or robots at play. Only a extremely prestigious Lumon internship for individuals who have been introduced up throughout the cult of Eagan and Lumon, like Cobel was.
That actuality is disturbing in and of itself, although. If Miss Huang’s upbringing was something like Cobel’s was earlier than she landed the Wintertide Fellowship, she would have primarily been raised by Lumon, molded to suit their requirements. Plus, there’s the fixed reminder that that is “child fucking labor,” as Cobel’s outdated flame Hampton (James Le Gros) so aptly describes his and Cobel’s time within the ether manufacturing unit.
(The ether mill can also be the place Kier Eagan and his twin Dieter labored as youngsters in accordance with the story instructed in “Woe’s Hole,” which means baby labor is simply one other messed-up pillar of Lumon Industries.)
Seeing the best way Lumon manipulates youngsters with methods just like the Eagan faculties and the Wintertide Fellowship serves as a stark reminder of its insidious attain all through the world. The corporate is not content material simply controlling adults: It has to get its hooks in future generations too. With Miss Huang, we could possibly be seeing a future Cobel — however take a look at Cobel’s life now. Take a look at how Lumon chewed her up and spat her out. Please, somebody break Miss Huang out of Lumon’s grasp so she would not find yourself the identical approach. Let her go play her theremin in peace!
Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a brand new episode each Friday.
