THE THING IS ALSO that PE is not listed among the "standard responses" to the "name any U.S. state or territory" question in the intake survey. The non-diegetic explanation is probably just that the prop design team or whoever was just copypasting a list of states/territories and didn't know and/or feel the need to include PE amongst those, or (maybe more likely) it's just another instance of the intentional vagueness of the series setting - they don't want to elaborate on what PE actually is/stands for, any more than they want to pin down the exact year that the show takes place in.
BUT I think it's also interesting to entertain the idea that in-universe, PE is just not considered a "standard response" to this question - maybe it's intentionally left off the list so that 1) the innies administering the survey don't see the (possibly Lumon/Eagan-related) placename and make the assumption that that's where they are, and 2) any new innie who DOES happen to think of PE as the first state/territory that comes to mind is immediately told that that's not a valid answer, so they are also led to believe that PE isn't an actual place and therefore the innies don't become contaminated with any outside knowledge.
It's a great scene because it subtly acknowledges that the Board, whoever they are, is actually very ordinary in how it thinks about the world and about this one employee. They're just as out of touch as a regular company.
and I could not disagree more.
This wasn't some accident. All I can see when watching Severance is Lumon's abuse. Cycles of abuse, endless chained links of abuse, abuse both as a tool and a value held in high regard. Abuse in the way cults use abuse — to poke, to prod, to jeer, to test, to bind, to control.
The paintings are just another form of abuse, another way to cripple any possible good feelings Milchick may have had about the promotion, another way to prevent him from drawing any strength, security, or independence out of positive emotions. Another loyalty test. Another way to ensure he can't behave towards his subordinates in a way that isn't abusive.
The pain those paintings inflict is not an accident, and it's not even "just" racism. It's abuse that makes use of racism to wound someone in a deeply personal way.
I have been thinking about Asal Reghabi a lot recently. So much so that I've come up with a vague backstory for her so place enjoy my ramblings
Firstly just based on how she talks about Cobel and her relationship to Lumon, it seems unlikely that she was raised in the Lumon cult. Which is very interesting because then we get to think about why she decided to work for Lumon in the first place.
I like to think she has an MD and a PhD. (You can get both at the same time, or at least in the same program. The hospital I work for has a program with the local university where you do two years of medical school, then do the whole PhD research and thesis, get your PhD, then finish medical school and residency) She says she put the chip in Mark's head which makes me think brain surgeon, but she's also very knowledgeable about the science behind the severance procedure/reintegration which makes me think she worked in research.
I like to think that she and Cobel were at one point in time partners in developing the Severance procedure. I feel like Cobel worked more on the technical side, like actually designing the chip and how it works. While Reghabi was more on the biological side, like figuring out how to install the chip without killing anyone.
It seems likely that Lumon could have pulled Reghabi to work for them right after residency or getting her PhD. When she's young and maybe a little desperate for a job, and honestly I could see her just thinking that the concept of severance is really cool and not necessarily thinking about the ethical implications, especially if she comes in when its in a more conceptual state.
Based on what we saw with Cobel and Jame taking credit, I think that after the chip had been designed and was shown to work in people, Cobel and Reghabi were moved away from the project, Cobel was moved to supervise the served floor and Reghabi was moved to perform the severance procedure on new employees.
The whole reintegration thing really interests me because I want to know if it is something that was being considered while the chip was being developed, but suppressed by Lumon as they obviously wouldn't want a way for their employees to remember the abuse that was inflicted upon them.
I have to assume that she had been working against Lumon on the inside for a while, but her leaving Lumon completely seems fairly recent. I have to assume she realized what was going on on the testing floor, she probably did the severance procedure on it's subjects and realized what was really going on. Or she was explicitly told, and this was the breaking point.
Anyway, she absolutly facinates me and I want to know more about her and see more of her next season (and get confirmation that she and Cobel are exes).
Click read more to see even more ramblings even more disjointed than the ones above
She and Cobel had to have had some sort of breakup falling out, right?? They have wayyyy to much animosity towards each other for them to have not had at least a working realtionship
I am curious as to if she is the leader of the anti-lumon group that Petey was involved with and if there are others (other than Irving I'm assuming). There probably have to be but it is kinda funny to think its just her and Irving and then they briefly have Petey who fucking dies and then they have Mark who is so reluctantly a part of everything
I think she must have left Lumon around the time that Petey did, perhaps people were onto her, or she knew performing reintegration on someone would immediately raise suspicions towards her.
also can we take a mo to think about casey finding out that that isnt even a name linked to the person she shares a body with. like everyone else got a name related to their 'outie' but her. when she finds out do u think she'll be happy she has her 'own thing' or do u think she'll feel so completely isolated from her own existence and offended on both her and gemma's behalf that she becomes truly madly deeply resentful and wants revenge about it
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