Severance Explained: The Mystery of Miss Huang

This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2, episode 1.

Episode Overview

Miss Huang’s unexpected role as a child deputy manager introduces a strange twist to the severed floor at Lumon Industries.
There are growing questions about Miss Huang’s connection to Lumon’s experimental activities on the testing floor.
Her character may reflect Lumon’s effort to improve its public image following the Macrodat Uprising, though her true intentions remain unclear.

After a lengthy three-year break, Apple TV+ has launched the highly anticipated second season of Severance. The premiere episode dives back into the unsettling universe of Lumon Industries, quickly presenting new dynamics and characters that leave viewers with more riddles than answers. Creator Dan Erickson and director Ben Stiller introduced unforgettable new figures, including Mark W. portrayed by Bob Balaban and Gwendolyn Y. played by Alia Shawkat. However, the most perplexing addition was Miss Huang (Sarah Bock), a young deputy manager stepping in for the recently promoted Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman).

Miss Huang’s unexpected inclusion is striking primarily because of her age—she’s portrayed as a child within the eerie confines of the severed floor. Although Bock is 18, her character’s youthful appearance raises unsettling questions about authority and maturity in a workplace so shrouded in mystery. This strange dynamic adds yet another layer to the labyrinthine plot of Severance, hinting at potential ties to pivotal revelations from the first season.

Speculating on Miss Huang’s Role on the Severed Floor

Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) leads the innies in a getting to know you game in Severance season 2 — Apple

The conclusion of season one left viewers reeling from a significant twist: Mark’s (Adam Scott) presumed deceased spouse, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), was revealed to be alive and employed on the severed floor under the alias Ms. Casey, serving as the wellness director. Unbeknownst to Mark, he had interacted multiple times with his wife, who was supposedly dead. This revelation came to light when Innie Mark leveraged Lumon’s “Overtime Contingency”in the thrilling season finale, prompting numerous questions about Lumon’s severance process.

Unraveling how Gemma could be ‘brought back’ from death—or whether she was never dead to begin with—opens the door to countless theories. Did the severance technology hold the capability to preserve consciousness or falsely communicate fatality? Season one briefly displayed the ominous elevator leading to the “testing floor”after Ms. Casey’s forced retirement, raising alarms about Lumon’s capabilities. What if the company can manipulate life itself?

Given these bizarre dynamics, Miss Huang could be a product of Lumon’s enigmatic experiments conducted on the testing floor. While the showrunners have dismissed any assertions of cloning within the narrative, the notion arises: could she be an evolved form of a severed employee raised within the confines of Lumon? As the company has shown it raises animals (specifically goats) for experimentation, could a human child be any different? Furthermore, she conveys a strict adherence to her role, asserting that she is Mark’s supervisor, which indicates a serious commitment to Lumon’s culture.

Although it remains unclear whether she is severed herself, it seems implausible that a child would be placed in such a sensitive role absent any underlying agendas. Observations of her daily tasks reveal she spends time engaging with games or tinkering with computer interfaces, suggesting her position may serve more as a façade for Lumon’s clandestine operations.

Miss Huang: Representing a Less Ominous Lumon

Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) plays an orientation game with the new innies in Severance season 2 — Apple

In the wake of the “Macrodat Uprising,” Lumon appears eager to reshape its public persona, distancing itself from its sinister reputation. The incorporation of Miss Huang into the mix potentially signals an effort to make the severed floor appear more benign. After all, if a child can inhabit this space, perhaps it isn’t as dreadful as previously portrayed. Nonetheless, the outside world is blissfully ignorant of the severed floor’s true nature, leaving such changes benefitting primarily the innies themselves. Miss Huang’s presence could be a strategic move to disconcert Mark and his colleagues or offer a glimpse into Lumon’s shadowy inner workings.

Ultimately, much of this remains speculative. It will be fascinating to see if the show divulges Miss Huang’s true purpose or continues to build upon the series’ penchant for the bizarre. Regardless of how her storyline unfolds, her introduction contributes to Lumon’s increasingly enigmatic and unsettling narrative.

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