#harmony cobel did nothing wrong | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dichenlachmandaily · 4 months ago

Text

The following contains spoilers for Severance Season 2, Episode 10, "Cold Harbor," now streaming on Apple TV+.

In the Severance Season 2 finale, Mark takes on Lumon Industries once again -- but he pays a price. For the first time, Mark's Innie and Outie work together to rescue Gemma before she's "killed" by the Cold Harbor room. Their unorthodox plan is a success, yet at the cost of Mark's Innie leaving Gemma behind to stay at Lumon with Helly.

The Season 2 finale answered fans' questions about Cold Harbor, the final file of Mark's important and mysterious work that happens to also be the last door Gemma enters to form a new consciousness. This one is a form of her Outie, evident by the clothes she wore on the last day she saw Mark, but without pain -- and by extension, without any feelings. In an interview with CBR, Severance actor Dichen Lachman breaks down the emotional reunion between Gemma and Mark, and Gemma's conflicted reaction to Mark's Innie betraying her.

CBR: Cold Harbor has been the biggest mystery in Severance thus far, and fans finally get to understand what it is in the Season 2 finale. How did you interpret this version of Gemma in Cold Harbor?

Dichen Lachman: I could be wrong, but that aspect of [Mark and Gemma's] relationship was incredibly painful and what Gemma went through was incredibly painful. I imagined that they're testing to see if it breaks through the consciousness on some level. She feels like there's something familiar about this, but she doesn't really know how to understand it when she's in that room. That's why she was there in her clothes that she wore when she left the house.

They're testing the technology to see if the barrier will hold, and that's why [Harmony] Cobel in Season 1 had the tree, for example, in the wellness center. Gemma's car hit a tree. Or the candle from Mark's basement. It's all just testing to see if the barrier holds. For example, Ms. Casey being in the wellness center to see if Mark S's barrier holds. So that's how I interpreted the whole situation.

Talking about the reunion between Mark and Gemma, she's coming off of the memory of going through the Cold Harbor door, which she knows nothing about. She probably has so many emotions rushing through her when she finally sees Mark again. How did you handle that aspect of your performance?

It was very tricky to time out the feelings and emotions because, obviously, we're just people in this sci-fi world where these things can happen. But we have to sort of manufacture the transitions. It's not really a human experience to go from one person to an extreme emotion in the blink of an eye. It was a tricky thing to do.

I'm so grateful that we have an amazing cast and crew to be so supportive during very difficult moments like that. I couldn't have asked for a better scene partner because I had to sort of bury it and then bring it out as she walked through the threshold. Adam [Scott]'s such a wonderful scene partner, [that] it just took care of itself. It felt so emotional. That day just became about capturing it, but everyone felt that was how it should have been done.

When Mark leaves Gemma for Helly, viewers know that this is Mark's Innie. But does Gemma know that it's his Innie that is leaving his Outie's wife for another woman on the floor?

I interpreted it as she realizes, sort of halfway through, as he starts walking away. I think it dawns on her that that's not [his Outie], but she just keeps calling out to him, hoping to break through that barrier. Because for all she knew initially, he just broke in to save her, and he found out that she was there. But to see him walking away from her, she just doesn't stop trying to reach to his Outie self.

Does she feel betrayed by him despite her knowing that this is his Innie and not his Outie?

As a wife, I think I would be really annoyed, even though it's not his fault. [Laughs.] But maybe Gemma feels differently. I don't know if we'll get to explore that. We'll see, fingers crossed. She has to understand on some level, having gone through the whole thing herself multiple times. I think there is a level of understanding.

Ms. Casey, though, was so on board with running away with Mark. What made her believe that she could trust him, despite him clearly being on the run from something?

I think it was the time they had in the wellness center and the bond that she built with that team, but especially [Mark]. Mark molds a tree out of the clay. There are things from their Outies that are there, but that they just don't understand. She runs with him because she's just super-excited to see him again. Mr. Milchick's not there to send her down the dark hallway into the lift, and it's exciting for her. She does trust [Mark] on a deep level, and I don't think she might know why. But there's definitely an excitement there, which is super-sad too.

One of the appeals of Severance is those mysteries. When one question gets answered, another pops up. Is there any question that you still have, that you want an answer to in Season 3?

You're so right. There are so many questions. There is a part of me that doesn't want to ask or to know, because they tell me what I need to know. It's nice sometimes to work in that unknown. I trust [Severance creator] Dan Erickson so much. He's just so extraordinary. So I'm just excited to see what he comes up with, with some of the questions.

For me, it's how Gemma got to Lumon, and how Mark identified her body. What was going on there?

That's still something I wonder. Hopefully -- knock on wood -- we'll get to find out.

#severance #severance spoilers #dichen lachman #interview

16 notes · View notes