I’ve seen a couple of posts on how technically the last test Gemma was supposed to go through worked, except it was Mark S. that it worked on—because once Gemma was outside, Innie Mark/Mark S. realized that he didn’t have any feelings for her, that she was a stranger, and no trace of Outtie Mark’s love for her remained in him.
And obviously, this is true, Innie Mark doesn’t love or have any romantic feelings for Gemma.
But I think it’s important to note that, despite not knowing Gemma at all, despite her being a complete stranger to him, the writers go to really great lengths to show that he still cares about her as a person.
This is extremely integral to Mark S’s character as an Innie, and to the innie/outtie dynamics presented throughout show.
The very first scene of this season is Mark S. running as fast as he can through Lumon to try and find Ms. Casey/Gemma.
He spends his own time in Lumon searching for her and going to other departments to see if he can find ANY information on her whereabouts.
And even though it could risk not only his life, but the lives and existence of all the people living within the severed floor, he still goes below the severed floor and saves Gemma by leading her out of Lumon.
He does these things because Innie Mark understands that Gemma is a person who is being held captive, who was probably kidnapped, and who deserves her own life.
Throughout the series we’ve gradually learned about the stigma surrounding severed workers and what society thinks of innies in subtle and unsubtle ways. It’s pretty clear to me that Innies, as a class, are seen as lesser-than, with very few groups considering them to be ACTUAL people. Those that do see them as people tend to infantilize them and look down upon them.
It took talking to Mark Scout, his Outtie, for Innie Mark to finally realize that, despite all of his Outtie’s good intentions, he does not think of Innie Mark as a person.
And I think this is something that Outtie Mark may not even realize himself—but if we look at his behavior and the way he talks to Mark S, it’s clear that he doesn’t consider his Innie to be a person, not truly.
Outtie Mark does not afford Mark S. the same respect and personhood that Mark S—that all the Innies—are expected to afford their Outties, their Lumon superiors, and unsevered people.
Seeing Gemma outside of the severed floor and remembering his conversation with his Outtie is what makes this finally click for Mark S. It’s when he realizes that if he truly wants his own life, he’s going to have to fight for it, just like Helly tells C+M earlier in the episode. It’s where he finally understands that the personhood he recognizes in Gemma and Outtie Mark is something that he has been, and will continue to be, denied if he leaves the severed floor.
Mark S. choosing to stay on the severed floor is one of the very few choices that he has made that was not in service to his Outtie in any way—a purely and beautifully selfish choice to stay with the woman that he loves for a few more minutes, and to fight for his life instead of giving it up for his Outtie.
The test worked on Mark S. in that he couldn’t feel any of his Outtie’s love for Gemma, but it failed in that he refused to do exactly what he was asked to do by his outtie. He didn’t become a blank slate that exists only to serve Outties like Lumon wanted.
I think that’s something worth recognizing because, again, the fact that the innies are PEOPLE with autonomy and personhood is one of the central themes of Severance, and it was so so amazing to see Mark S. fully realize that and choose to stay with Helly.
