I see a lot of criticism and comparisons to "innies" as spoiled kids. And I do STRONGLY see the connections to innies and outies having a parent/child dynamic (oMark even calls iMark a child), but a lot of the comments stop short of the reality that innies are being faced with their own version of death. To me, it goes beyond "parent with more knowledge and experience says to do this thing and the kid is being rebellious. " Innie Mark was literally born out of oMark's inability to cope with grief and loss. To continue with the analogy, Mark Scout had a son to take on the burden of living, as it was more acceptable to get Severed than be passed out drunk for 8 hours a day.
Mark S. and especially Dylan G. have their moments of hypothesizing and basically fantasizing about who their outies are. Wellness sessions are just stories about these almost mythical beings and are held with such reverence by all of the innies. It's reminiscent of storylines in literature and other media where the "little orphan child" idealizes a parent they know they will never meet.
Except then Mark S. does go to the outside world. They plan an elaborate escape with the overtime contingency to warn anyone they can about the evils of Lumon. But instead, iMark uses his last works in S1 to tell them about Gemma/ Ms. Casey.
Mark S. spends most of Season 2 now trying to find and help liberate a woman he barely knows because now HE knows it's important to his outie. But this sacrifice is never appreciated by oMark. The scene in the birthing cabin shows how iMark goes from revering and admiring his outie to feeling used and discarded.
By all accounts for Mark S., his outie, a person who sired iMark and then never gave him a second thought until he needed something, is asking him to die. It goes beyond belittling his romantic interest in Helly. It's not a comparison of "Mark x Gemma" vs "Mark x Helly" and which relationship is stronger or more meaningful or deserves to be saved.
It's the fundamental lack of empathy for a man who is being asked to risk everything he has ever known and loved and worked for. This isn't your standard parent/child dynamic where the parent has shown the child a lifetime of safety and security and emotional support. Mark Scout does not care about what happens to his innie. I'm not gonna talk about whether or not oMark should or shouldn't because I don't know if it would make a difference to my stance. I don't think it's even about absolute morality. To me, it's about the expectation that a child should never act in their own best interests because an adult has made a decision for them.
The final act of the Season 2 finale follows Mark S. as he does everything that he was asked to do. He obediently finished Cold Harbor, risked his life to break Gemma out of the testing room, and he SUCCEEDED in getting her out. He accomplished his mission.
Mark S. made one decision that was selfish, when the alternative was asking him to cease existing. Outie Mark really didn't say "get her out and I don't care if I die". His goal was to get her out AND see her again, even if it was at the cost of his innie. And since his innie was solely created as a vessel for his grief, he's no longer needed now that Gemma is back.
And to me, that's what my issue is with the criticism of iMark's choice and comparisons to him as a rebellious teenager. He isn't choosing to throw away his life and run away with his first high school girlfriend. This isn't just a "but I love her, Dad" moment. This is a consciousness who has finally accepted that he also deserves a life.
What makes this show great is that, objectively, they all deserve a chance at happiness. Gemma DESERVES to be with Mark after all of her suffering. OMark DESERVES to be with his wife after he grieved her for 2 years.
But iMark and Helly, by the realities established within the show (not to mention how basically everything they have been doing was to prove that innies are their own consciousness) also deserve that. IMark being asked to sacrifice his life so his outie can be with Gemma feels no different than oMark being asked to sacrifice himself for iMark to be with Helly.
There was no option for a happy ending, but Mark S. made what he thought was the best decision that he could-- Gemma is free, and he gets to spend at least 10 more seconds with the person that he loves. He gets to live.
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