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Mark Scout and Helly Riggs standing in a corridor in Severance Season 2, Episode 3

Severance Season 2: What Is Cold Harbor (& What Does It Have to Do With Ms. Casey)?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Severance Season 2, Episode 1, “Hello, Ms. Cobel.”

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Severance‘s second season premiere just gave us a big clue about Mark Scout’s mysterious work at Lumon Industries: it’s a project called “Cold Harbor.” So what exactly is Cold Harbor in Severance Season 2, and how is Mark’s wife, Ms. Casey, involved with it?

What Is Cold Harbor in Severance Season 2?

Seth Milchick and the new MDR team in Severance Season 2, Episode 1 as part of an article about Cold Harbor

As noted above, Cold Harbor is the name of the project Mark Scout’s innie is working on at Lumon. The specific nature of said project remains out of reach for now, though. All we know is that it involves Mark sorting encrypted, emotion-inducing numbers on his computer screen and that, as of Severance Season 2, Episode 1’s closing moments, he’s 68% of the way through this task. Why Mark has to sort these numbers and what happens when he’s done is the show’s biggest mystery (yes, bigger than the goats). But knowing Lumon, it’s nothing good.

Related: Severance Season 2 Stays Tethered to Everything That Makes the Apple TV+ Series Great [Review]

A popular fan theory is that Cold Harbor ties in with the four tempers: a quartet of characteristics Lumon founder Kier Eagan claimed all human souls consist of. Eagan identified the tempers as woe, frolic, dread, and malice – and the folder titles on Mark’s screen are seemingly abbreviations for each. So, according to the theory, Cold Harbor’s purpose is mapping the psyche itself. Why? Some folks think this will allow Lumon to refine the severance chips, enhancing their effectiveness. Others are convinced that the endgame is resurrecting Kier and other deceased Eagan family members. Only time (and Severance Season 2’s nine remaining episodes) will tell!

How Is Mark’s Wife Ms. Casey Connected to Cold Harbor?

That brings us to the “Mark’s wife” of it all. Severance Season 2, Episode 1 also indicates that Mark Scout’s deceased other half Gemma – known inside Lumon as the very much alive Ms. Casey – is somehow tied to Cold Harbor. After all, her face flashes up on Mark’s screen while he works. So, what’s the deal with that?

Related: Severance: When Does the Apple TV+ Series Take Place?

Again, we’re light on concrete answers at this stage in Season 2’s run. But it’s possible what Mark’s doing when he sorts numbers is effectively reconstructing Gemma’s soul. This would tie into the Kier Eagan resurrection theory, although speculation that this involves cloning “Ms. Casey” is apparently off-base. Severance stars Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette explicitly denied that Casey (or anyone else at Lumon) is a clone in a recent Entertainment Weekly interview.

Severance Season 2 is currently streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping Fridays.


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Image of Leon Miller
Leon Miller
Contributing Writer
Leon is a freelance contributor at The Escapist, covering movies, TV, video games, and comics. Active in the industry since 2016, Leon's previous by-lines include articles for Polygon, Popverse, Screen Rant, CBR, Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, PanelxPanel, Taste of Cinema, and more.