Severance is a show full of mysteries, and one of the biggest ones is Cold Harbor. Fans of the series and Macrodata Refiners have been thinking about it since Season 1.
Every time Cold Harbor is mentioned, it raises more questions. It is something that Mark S. (Adam Scott) must complete. The file is already 96% finished, and everyone knows the routine.
Many viewers have some idea of what Cold Harbor is. It is a file that Mark and his team at Macrodata Refining (MDR) have been working on since the first season. The higher-ups at Lumon Industries want it to be completed. But the biggest mystery remains—what exactly does this work involve? The unsettling truth is that no one knows, not even Mark himself.
Lumon employees are told that their work is “mysterious and important.” They spend their time sorting numbers on their computers and placing them in different bins. They do this without knowing what it all means or why they are doing it. Viewers have been just as confused as the employees, left in the dark about the true purpose of their work. But everything changes in the latest episode of Severance.
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The Truth About Gemma and Her Connection to Cold Harbor
The episode Chikhai Bardo gives us new information about Mark’s wife, Gemma, who was believed to be dead. She is also known as Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). The episode confirms that she is not only alive but also deeply connected to Cold Harbor.
In Season 1, there was a moment when we saw a screen with Gemma’s face and the words “Cold Harbor” written on top. This hinted that Mark’s work was somehow connected to her. Now, Chikhai Bardo provides more answers. It explains how Cold Harbor and Gemma’s fate are linked. It also reveals just how disturbing Lumon’s experiments really are.
What Lumon Is Doing to Gemma in Season 2, Episode 7
After Mark becomes unconscious during the reintegration process, something rare happens—a flashback. This moment gives us important details about Gemma’s past and how Lumon got involved in her life.
The flashback shows that Lumon became interested in Gemma after she visited a fertility clinic. She had suffered a traumatic miscarriage and went there for help. However, something strange happened. A creepy doctor at the clinic seemed to be watching her closely. Soon, mysterious cards, which we have seen before in the Optics & Design department, started appearing at her home.
Shortly after this, Gemma left for a house party. But she never returned. Mark was told that she died in a car accident, and he believed this story. However, the truth is much darker. Gemma is alive, but she is trapped underground at Lumon in a place called the Exports Hall.
In this underground facility, Gemma is not the calm and emotionless Ms. Casey that we met in Season 1. Instead, she behaves like a normal person who is fully aware of what is happening to her.
A nurse (played by Sandra Bernhard) moves her from one room to another. Each of these rooms is named after a file that Macrodata Refining has worked on.
In a room called Wellington, Gemma is forced to go to the dentist repeatedly. In another room, called Allentown, she is made to write thank-you notes with her non-dominant hand while being told that it is Christmas morning. The name “Allentown” is important because it is also the name on Mark’s crystal head trophy, which he received for finishing his first project at Lumon.
Dr. Mauer (Robby Benson), the same doctor who was watching Gemma at the fertility clinic, experiments on her in each room. He forces her to complete strange tasks, and his behavior is extremely unsettling. In one scene, after she finishes writing her thank-you cards in the Allentown room, he makes her say that she loves him.
These disturbing experiments show that Lumon is not just splitting people’s minds into an “innie” and an “outie.” They are doing something even more extreme.
Lumon’s True Goal: Dividing the Human Mind
Lumon is dividing Gemma’s mind into multiple separate versions of herself. Each version is designed for a specific, unpleasant task.
This suggests that Lumon is trying to break the human mind into several isolated parts, each one dedicated to a different experience. This prevents people from having a complete sense of identity.
It is still unclear whether Gemma volunteered for this experiment or if she was kidnapped. She clearly wants to leave, but at the same time, she seems to accept her fate.
One thing is certain—she has become Lumon’s main test subject. And the worst part is that her husband, Mark, unknowingly plays a role in her suffering. He believes she is dead while working on a project that is directly connected to her.
The Meaning of Cold Harbor in Severance
How does Cold Harbor fit into all of this? While talking to Dr. Mauer, Gemma notices a new room in the Exports Hall. Previously, it had no name. But now, it is labeled “Cold Harbor.”
She learns that this is the final stage of her experiment. She asks if she will be able to see Mark again after going through it, but she gets no answer.
This suggests that Cold Harbor is the creation of yet another version of Gemma inside Lumon. But what kind of version? Will she be allowed to leave? Will she ever regain her full identity? Those questions remain unanswered.
So far, Cold Harbor has only led to more mysteries. However, there is one strange detail that stands out. Mark received his Allentown crystal head after a “freshman fluke”—meaning he completed his first project unusually fast.
Mark only joined Lumon after Gemma disappeared. Shortly after her disappearance, Mark finished his first assignment. This suggests that his first project was actually the creation of Gemma’s first “innie.”
If Ms. Casey already existed before this, then Mark unknowingly helped create another version of his wife.
What This Means for the Other Refiners
This revelation raises even bigger questions. What about the other rooms? What about the other refiners? Could their work also be connected to people they love?
The Macrodata Refining department existed long before Mark joined. It is unlikely that they have been working only on Gemma. This means that other employees may have unknowingly played a role in experimenting on their own loved ones. The truth about Lumon’s plans remains unclear. Severance continues to keep us guessing.
Also Read: ‘Severance’ Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: Chikhai Bardo and the Dark Truth Behind Gemma’s Fate
