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
