【tongzhi : politics of same-sex eroticism in chinese societies】

SeveranceSeason 2,tongzhi : politics of same-sex eroticism in chinese societies episode 7 finally gave us an insight into what's happening to Gemma (Dichen Lachman) on the ominous "testing floor" — and as you probably already guessed, none of it's good.

We've already broken down "Chikhai Bardo" in detail, with theories on everything from what those different doors mean (and how they connect to the MDR files) through to what Lumon is actually trying to accomplish by putting Gemma through all this.

Other fans have made similar speculations since the episode aired, with Reddit user u/MysteryRawDog arguing that Lumon's main aim appears to be completely severing a person from any negative life experiences.

Reddit

When Mashable's Belen Edwards spoke to Severancecreator Dan Erickson about episode 7, his comments seem to support this theory.

"I will say what's interesting here is that she's going through these painful or unpleasant experiences and then she's leaving, and the question that's being asked throughout the episode by Dr. Mauer (Robby Benson) is, to what degree is anything leaking through?" Erickson said. "Is she walking out of that room with any emotional echo of what she was going through in that room? So far it seems that she's not, so that's the throughline that I think is happening with what's going on in those rooms."

Another big question, however, concerns the final door. What about "Cold Harbor", the room that Gemma has yet to go in, but which shares a name with the file Mark (Adam Scott) is working on?

Well, following on from the idea that each room represents a different form of suffering, one commenter on Reddit speculated that "Cold Harbor" might be related to death.

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"I think Cold Harbor will be the death of another, and the miscarriage scene was foreshadowing," they wrote.

It makes sense, doesn't it? The name "Cold Harbor" already evokes the concept of death, and it's also one of the most intense experiences of suffering a person can experience. If Lumon is trying to sever feelings of grief, it seems likely that this would be one of the final negatives life events that they work a test subject like Gemma up to. Mark and Gemma also have their own personal connections to grief — Gemma through the miscarriage, and Mark through the miscarriage and the loss of Gemma. Would this make them the ideal test subjects?

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

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