"The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" is the fifth episode in the first season of the Apple TV+ thriller series Severance. It was released on March 11, 2022.
Synopsis[]
Irving and Dylan confront Burt about his lies. Mark and Helly discover a strange new department.
Plot[]
Helly hangs by the noose she's made, trying to get traction with her feet.
Mark walks down the hallway.
The elevator opens by the security desk and Helly remains hanging. The doors close again.
Mark comes into MDR, where Dylan is reading The You You Are and asks if Helly left. Dylan says she did. Mark suggests that maybe Dylan should leave, but Dylan says he's just wrapping up. Mark walks out to the elevator and inserts his card.
Graner runs down the hallway.
When the elevator opens, Mark sees Helly and immediately steps forward to hold her body up and call for help. Graner arrives soon after and unties the cord, freeing Helly. They lower her to the ground outside the elevator and Graner restores the elevator to its previous state, then orders Mark to get in it.
Judd tells Mark to have a good evening as he leaves for the day, unaware of what his innie just experienced.
Mark shows Florence his ID at the desk. After a moment, she nods him through. He rides the elevator down to the severed floor.
Mark steps off the elevator and looks for Helly. He finds Cobel and Milchick waiting for him. He asks if Helly is alive. Cobel tells him to sit down and then tells Mark Helly's in the hospital. She has some severe bruising, but no permanent damage. Mark asks if they're letting her go. Cobel says Helly's outie has no intention of letting her go. Mark points out that Helly nearly died because she doesn't want to be there. Cobel says she'll be back at her desk in a few days. He asks if that's enough. Cobel says it happened on his watch, implying it's his fault and saying he should be thankful to Kier that she didn't die. Cobel tells him to have a productive day and she and Milchick leave.
Mark pulls The You You Are out of his desk drawer and hides it in his jacket.
Mark hides in a bathroom stall and reads.
Over the course of several days, Mark continues reading the book.
Graner gives Petey's chip back to Cobel, saying he ran the diagnostics. It showed that Petey had successfully reintegrated. Cobel was right. He suggests celebrating. He figures she'll wait a minute before telling the Board, especially after what happened with Helly. He realizes after a moment that she hasn't told them. She gives him the chip back and tells him to comb it for source signatures. He gives it back, saying he saved the data, so she can keep that. She wants to know who did this so she can deliver everything to the Board at once.
Mark leaves work and sees that he has several missed calls from Ricken. He curses and rushes to leave work. He plays Ricken's voicemails, which tell him that Devon has gone into labor and they're at the retreat. They get increasingly frantic as they go on. Mark drives to the retreat and follows a map to their cabin. Mark gets to the door just as Alexa is exiting. She asks if he forgot that she was going to be there. He admits that he did a little bit. He apologizes for the night of their date, but she says it's fine. She tells Mark that Devon is doing great. They still have some time before she'll give birth. Ricken is doing a thing where he cries over her, so Alexa is giving them privacy. Mark thanks Alexa for taking care of Devon.
Ricken cries and says he doesn't want to be like his father. Devon thinks it's good he's getting it out now. Mark comes in and says he saw the message when he got out of work. He likes the cabin. Devon asks if he saw the one next door, which is much larger and more ornate. She hates whoever is in there. Devon has another contraction and Ricken tells Mark to say a secret because the fetus is drawn to clear air. Purging secrets can speed the labor. Ricken decides to start. He tells Mark he loves him and he's hurt that Mark hasn't called to thank him for the book yet. Mark has no idea what Ricken is talking about until Devon says they left a copy of Ricken's new book by his door. Mark tells them he hasn't seen it. He guesses it was stolen. Ricken is upset because it was an advanced copy. The contraction passes and Devon goes to get coffee. Ricken says that's good because he and Mark can finish setting up the room. He asks Mark to help him hang the kelp. Mark asks why and Ricken asks if he really wants him to explain it.
Outside, Devon sees Gabby Arteta walking inside the cabin next door. She sees a man exit and calls out to him, but he ignores her and keeps walking. She looks in and talks to Gabby through the window, saying she's just out for a coffee run and noticed Gabby has some. She was hoping Gabby could hook her up. Gabby says okay and Devon goes to the door. Gabby lets her inside and Devon has some coffee and vents about Mark and Ricken. Gabby asks if it's Devon's first child. She says it is and Gabby says hers is her third. She's naming him William. Devon can't imagine having three because she's so scared of ruining one. Gabby says she has a lot of help. Devon points out how nice the cabin is and asks if Gabby is rich. Gabby laughs.
Ricken talks about his book as he and Mark hang kelp. Ricken knows the last time Mark was in a medical facility was for Gemma. He thinks the baby's middle name could have been a wonderful tribute to Gemma, but he understands that Mark wasn't comfortable with it. Mark says their kid deserves her own name without baggage. Devon comes back with coffee and says she made friends with the richest lady in baby camp. She was quiet, but nice. She thinks she should send Mark to that cabin, but Mark imagines the lady is spoken for. Devon thinks Alexa would give him another chance, but Mark isn't so sure. Devon has another contraction and squeezes Mark's hand to get through it. Mark offers to tell a secret. When Devon says to do it, Mark admits he thinks Lumon is up to something. He's been hearing things. Devon asks who he's been talking to. He asks if she remembers the businessman. Before Devon can answer, she cries out in pain, which wakes Ricken. Mark goes to get Alexa.
Mark sits by the water, thinking.
Petey's phone continues to ring in Mark's basement.
Mark has flashes of watching Petey collapse as he listens to Devon giving birth.
Milchick says that Helly was her outie when she woke up, so this will be Helly's first conscious moment since the hanging. He tells Mark it's important his eyes are kind when Helly sees him and asks if Mark knows how to do that. Mark attempts it.
Milchick and Mark stand by the elevator. Milchick nods at Mark and leaves him. When the elevator opens, Mark finds Helly gasping for air and tells her she's okay. Mark attempts to make his eyes kind again.
Mark tells Helly they locked away the extension cords and other dangerous items so she should be safe. And she can focus on looking for happy numbers for a while if she wants. Then he quickly asks if she wants to talk about it. She gets up and walks away.
Irving says they should hide inspirational handbook quotes around the office for Helly to find. Dylan thinks she just needs to start earning perks because he'd also end his life if he didn't have any finger traps yet. They think one of them should lend her one until she has one of her own. While they talk about that, Mark pulls The You You Are out of his drawer. Ms. Casey suddenly appears behind him, saying she's there to observe Helly. On Cobel's orders, she's supposed to observe Helly for signs of sadness and give verbal encouragement. She can also give a hug upon request. Dylan says he's been sad and asks if he could have one. Ms. Casey says no.
Ms. Casey sits a few feet away from Helly's desk while Helly works. Helly watches her write something down in her notebook. Ms. Casey asks if she's upset and she says no. Ms. Casey reminds her she can request a hug, but Helly says she's good.
Irving starts to dream about black goo seeping in through the ceiling. He suddenly startles awake when Mark talks to him. Irving says he needs to go to O&D because something has come up and he wants to see Burt's counsel. Mark tells him it's fine, but has Irving make a copy of the map so they can find him if they need to.
Irving attempts to copy the map, but what comes out is two graphic drawings of two groups of Lumon employees attacking each other. He turns to see Milchick, who apologizes, saying they must have sent the print job there by mistake and Irving wasn't meant to see that. Irving asks what they are and Milchick says they were a joke for Cobel. Irving thinks it's the O&D coup that Dylan talks about and asks if it really happened. Milchick says it didn't. Nothing like that could happen at Lumon.
Dylan thinks the pictures are ironclad proof, despite Irving telling him that Milchick said it was impossible. Irving offers to ask Burt about it, but Dylan reminds Irving that Burt lied about the size of his department already.
Milchick walks back to Cobel's office, who asks him about running a 266 on Irving. Milchick says he thought it might dissuade Irving from spending so much time with Burt and asks if he should have consulted Cobel first. Cobel says no, it was good initiative. Milchick says he saw Ms. Casey in MDR and knows Cobel is having her watch Helly. He asks why. She says she's trying something new with Ms. Casey and asks him to keep it between them.
Helly washes her neck in the bathroom, but can't remove the bruising.
Helly returns to MDR, where Ms. Casey asks her to describe her time in the bathroom. To distract her, Mark spills his drink on the desk and on Ms. Casey's notebook. Ms. Casey tells Helly she needs to go with her to Distribution Supply to get materials to clean up. Mark offers to help Helly while she's gone since it'll only be a few minutes. Ms. Casey says it'll be eight minutes round-trip, but decides to go alone anyway. Helly is relieved to have an eight-minute break from Ms. Casey. Mark offers to show Helly where they keep the extra pen caps. She initially declines, but then realizes Mark's intention and goes along.
Ms. Casey walks with cleaning supplies. She passes a room where Burt appears to be talking to himself. She pauses for a moment before continuing.
Mark and Helly walk and Mark asks Helly how she's doing that. He says he just wants to talk. Helly says she's really bad. He leads her into a room where the furniture is covered in plastic. He shows her Petey's map, which he's been trying to recreate. He thought if they worked on it together, they could finish it. She tells him she's not his new Petey and walks away. Mark follows her.
Ms. Casey returns to MDR and Irving tells her that Mark took Helly to look at pen caps. She asks where. He says it's at the end of the storage wing. Ms. Casey tells Irving that Burt is in the conference room.
Irving walks to the conference room and goes inside. He asks Burt what he's doing there and Burt says he was turned around. He was looking for Irving because he hadn't heard from him. Dylan suddenly comes up and closes and locks the door with Irving on the outside. He claims that Burt was coming at Irving. Irving tells Dylan to let Burt out, but Dylan refuses and asks Burt about the people Burt has been hiding. Irving walks away as Dylan and Burt keep arguing.
Mark follows Helly through some hallways. She wonders where they are. When Mark talks to her, she says that she told her outie she wanted out and her outie told her she wasn't a person. Mark says that's horrible, but encourages Helly to think about herself and what she wants inside Lumon. Helly wants her outie to wake up as the life bleeds out of her and know that Helly did it. They hear a cry and look toward the source.
Burt wants to complain. Irving returns, having been unable to find Mark. Dylan thinks O&D has killed them. Irving asks if Burt knows where Mark and Helly are. Burt says no, he just came to see Irving. The rest of the department is back in O&D. He knows he lied when he said it was just him and Felicia. Irving asks why he's in the conference room if he was coming to see Irving instead of coming right to the office. Burt says he didn't know why Irving hadn't come back and didn't want to scare him again, like when their hands touched. Irving says Burt didn't scare him. Burt was trying to work out a joke, but hadn't worked it out yet. Irving asks why Burt lied about the size of his department. Burt says they don't trust MDR. People talk about them, saying they have pouches. According to some, they have a larval offspring that will jump out and attack if they get too close. In this theory, the larva eventually eats and replaces the hosts. Dylan calls for Irving to step away. He asks if Irving likes Burt. He disapproves. Irving admits the handbook prohibits it, but Dylan is more concerned with the safety.
Mark and Helly follow the noise and find a goat. They open a door that's slightly ajar and find Wyatt, who is feeding a goat and says they're not ready, so they can't take them yet. The goat in his arms cries out as Wyatt tells them to get out.
As they walk together with Burt's hands tied behind his hands with a belt, Burt tells Irving that there isn't a painting in their collection called The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design, despite Irving seeing that name on the picture on the printer. Dylan follows behind them as Irving expresses doubt that the painting was real. Irving reminds Burt that relationships beyond the platonic are frowned upon. Burt asks if that's what they are, but when Dylan clears his throat, Irving doesn't answer and simply unties Burt, releasing him from their supervision to return to O&D. Burt invites Irving in to see something in the storeroom. He says Dylan can come as well. Dylan shakes his head.
Irving and Burt look at The Courtship of Kier and Imogene. Kier met his wife while he was a stewman in an ether factory and she was a swab girl.
Dylan finds being in O&D dumb.
Irving says the handbook says they were bonded by the spirit of industry. Burt knows that, but if the painting's interpretation is correct, they met and bonded as colleagues.
Dylan opens a drawer and pulls out a painting.
Irving wonders how something could be wrong if Kier did it. He brushes his fingers over Burt's hand until Dylan comes in and tells Burt to get away. He shows them a version of the painting, despite claiming it didn't exist. Irving says the painting isn't the same. In this version, MDR is the aggressors. Burt says it's never gone into the hallway rotation. It's called The Macrodata Refinement Calamity. Dylan asks why there would be two versions of the same painting.
Helly wonders if the goats are the numbers and they're deciding which ones live and which die. Mark doubts it's that. He knows Helly doesn't want to be there, but he's glad she is and he's sorry that this is the best he can do for now. Helly agrees to clean up the map if he gives it to her because his drawing is bad. Ms. Casey finds them and Mark says they're on a mental health walk and on their way back. Ms. Casey is relieved that they're not hurt. She was scared. She leads them back to MDR.
In her office, Cobel watches them on her monitor. Graner comes in and asks if she knows what MDR is up to. She says that's what he's paid for. Graner asks if she's not going to stop it. She says, "The surest way to tame a prisoner is to let him believe he's free," quoting Kier Eagan. Graner asks how many more departments she's going to let them find. Cobel says she'll have a word with Mark. Graner warns her to be careful as upstairs won't like this. Cobel says he can talk to her when he figures out how hacked Petey's chip.
Burt leads Irving and Dylan into the storeroom and calls everyone's attention. He introduces them to Irving and Dylan from MDR. They're friends, he says. Felicia, Elizabeth, and the others just look at them.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Adam Scott as Mark Scout
- Zach Cherry as Dylan George
- Britt Lower as Helena Eagan
- Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick
- Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale
- Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey
- Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
- John Turturro as Irving Bailiff
- Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
- Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
- Rachel Addington as Elizabeth
- Anthoula Katsimatides as Florence
- Claudia Robinson as Felicia
- Brian Rock as Goat Wrangler
- Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd
Notes and Trivia[]
- The episode starts with a warning about flashing lights or patterns.
Gallery[]
Promotional Stills[]
Screenshots[]
| Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "Good News About Hell" | #04 | "The You You Are" | #07 | "Defiant Jazz" |
| #02 | "Half Loop" | #05 | "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" | #08 | "What's for Dinner?" |
| #03 | "In Perpetuity" | #06 | "Hide and Seek" | #09 | "The We We Are" |
| Season 2 >> | |||||