Severance Season 2 Finally Reveals What Macrodata Refinement Is Doing

Spoilers for “Severance” season 2 episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo,” lie ahead.

Well, that was a wild one, wasn’t it? “Chikhai Bardo” throws its hat in the ring for the most important episode of “Severance” season 2 by finally revealing what’s going on with Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman). We already knew she’s still alive and operating in Lumon’s Severed Floor under the innie identity of company wellness counselor Ms. Casey. However, there’s so, so much more going on. 

As with everything Lumon-related, things aren’t great with her … but there was no way to know just how bad her situation is. In a nutshell, Gemma is trapped in hell. Various hells, in fact — what seems to be her real outie is effectively imprisoned in a mysterious part of the Lumon complex, and her multiple innies are each forced to spend their entire existence in what is, from their point of view, the same room. She’s endlessly stuck in unpleasant “Groundhog Day” loops, like going to the dentist or having to write countless thank you cards for awful Christmas gifts.    

It’s a terrible predicament, and while we can only guess whether she stepped into this experiment willingly or if she was tricked, coerced or outright kidnapped, it’s quite plain to see that Gemma doesn’t enjoy herself. But at the very least, her predicament offers some answers to the show’s first and most lasting mystery: What, exactly, is the Macrodata Refinement department doing? 

All the rooms Gemma has to visit according to some as-yet unrevealed schedule share names with the files Mark and the rest of the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) team are working on. For instance, the Christmas gift reply room that she seems to find particularly uncomfortable is called Allentown. This is also the name of Mark’s “freshman fluke” file, which he solved in record time and for which he received a crystal head as a reward. Other rooms we see include Tumwater, Cairns, and Dranesville, which are also MDR file names. We even spot the dreaded Cold Harbor, which is a room Gemma hasn’t visited yet and also a very important file Mark is working on. 

As such, the MDR team’s work must be directly connected to the things that happen to Gemma and her various innies. Up to now, we’ve been led to understand that the files and the emotions they elicit are tied to the concept of Kier Eagan’s Four Tempers —  Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice. The doctor (Robby Benson) supervising Gemma also specifically asks whether she feels similar emotions (despair, fervor and gaiety), which suggests that the meaning of the experiments is to make her feel the emotions that the MDR team uses to refine the corresponding files. 

For a show that typically prides itself on being a trippy mind-bender, the amount of exposure “Chikhai Bardo” lays on the table all but confirms that whatever else is going on, MDR team’s efforts are intrinsically tied to the suffering Gemma is going through. What’s more, her connection to Mark seems to be a key component in Lumon’s no-doubt devious plans.