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This article contains spoilers for Severance season 1, episode 10. If you've yet to watch, and don't want to know anything that happens, turn back now!
In true Severance style, the Apple TV Plus show's season 2 finale managed to clear some things up while simultaneously posing more questions – particularly when it comes to the sinister goings-on at Lumon Industries.
Now, creator Dan Erickson has revealed that the episode originally "explained more" about the wider mystery. But they cut a bunch of reveals out so as to "leave room for people to discuss" their own personal theories and interpretations.
"There was a version of the script where we explained more, and it was a little more overt," he told Rolling Stone in a spoiler-heavy interview. "We found a great deal of the joy of the show is people being able to debate and discuss things. And also that our audience is very smart. We wanted to leave room for people to discuss and debate what it means. The answer of what Cold Harbor is, even if you understand that pretty overtly, it leads into a bigger question of the company's ultimate agenda, and that will remain unknown. "
In episode 10, titled 'Cold Harbor', we learned (along with Adam Scott's Mark S.) that that the numbers they've been sorting down in Macrodata Refinement are actually building blocks to create new innies for people held captive by the company. With that, Mark S. has unknowingly given his wife Gemma AKA Ms. Casey 24 different characters to "play" since she was kidnapped two years ago. 'Cold Harbor' was set to be the final round, after which Lumon officials would've disposed of Gemma for good. For more on how Mark S. ensured that didn't happen, check out our Severance season 2 ending explained.
"[Director] Ben [Stiller] and I did a lot of work before the show ever came out, before we even got into production on season 1, [when it comes to] figuring out a lot of the answers," Erickson previously told SFX magazine. "So there's a lot more that we know, that we've known from the beginning, that we've not revealed on screen – and some of it we may never reveal on screen.
"People can continue to have their own ideas about it and that's part of what makes [Severance] special. I feel like I can read the theories and enjoy them and get excited by the creativity people are bringing to them. Sometimes, though, I have to stop. Sometimes it does get overwhelming to see them all and be like, 'Oh, I wish we could [go in] all these different directions', but they are so fun to read."
Severance seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Apple TV shows, or our guide to all we know so far about Severance season 3.
