Warning: This article contains spoilers for “Severance” season 2.

At the beginning of season 2 of Dan Erickson’s semi-surreal anti-corporate sci-fi drama “Severance,” Mark S. (Adam Scott) discovers that Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), one of his co-workers at Lumon, is actually Gemma, Outie Mark’s presumed-dead wife. Mark, recall, has had his mind “severed” by Lumon, which means he only has memories of his 9-to-5 job when he’s at work. Outside of work, Mark has no memories of what happened while he was on the clock. The procedure allowed Lumon to hire both Mark and Gemma before putting them in a room together, assuring they wouldn’t recognize each other. There is a further scandal, of course, in that Lumon seemingly faked Gemma’s death for its own insidious purposes.

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Over the course of the show’s second season, Outie Mark not only learns that Gemma is alive but also aims to locate her and free her from Lumon’s clutches. Innie Mark, however, has no feelings for Gemma and has instead been fostering a relationship with Helly R. (Britt Lower), one of his co-workers. Mark S. and Helly R. have technically only been alive for a year, so their relationship feels very high-school. Eventually, though, both Outie Mark and Innie Mark become aligned in a common goal to rescue Gemma.

At the end of “Severance” season 2, however, Innie Mark makes a choice. He is able to locate Gemma and, after a series of violent conflagrations, escorts her from the Lumon building. Gemma, finally standing outside a windowed door, is at last free. She remembers her life with Outie Mark and peers through the window, hoping he’ll follow. Innie Mark, however, makes eye contact with Gemma and realizes that he cares more for Helly. The final shot of the season is Mark S. and Helly R. running through the hallways of the Lumon building’s severed floor, hand-in-hand, with no goal in mind other than to stay together.

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Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott talked about that ending and how heartbreaking it was, noting that the shooting conditions didn’t make it any easier.