Apple TV+’s Severance presents characters that feel unique and different from what we usually see on screen. The show features people who live two separate lives due to a medical procedure that divides their consciousness.
Some characters live outside Lumon Industries, like Mark (Adam Scott), while others exist only inside the company’s walls, with no memory of the outside world. The show also introduces powerful figures, such as the Lumon Board, whose words we only hear through Natalie (Sydney Cole Alexander).
Then, there is Kier Eagan (Marc Geller), the founder of Lumon, who exists only through stories, artwork, and sculptures scattered across the company’s hallways. His presence is strongest in the Perpetuity Wing, a section of the company filled with his teachings and history.
Kier wrote many texts meant to guide Lumon employees, shaping their minds and beliefs. While he wanted people to see his words as wisdom, they serve as a form of control, ensuring that workers never question their reality.
The official version of Kier Eagan presents him as a disciplined and wise leader. He appears in paintings and handbooks as a strict yet loving father figure, a man who controls his emotions and remains focused on his mission. However, a recent episode titled “Woe’s Hollow” reveals a surprising truth.
Another man may have played a role in this history—Kier’s twin brother, Dieter Eagan. Dieter represents everything opposite of Kier, and his existence raises important questions about power, freedom, and the hidden truths behind Lumon’s history.
The Mysterious Story of Dieter Eagan
Dieter Eagan first appears in Severance through Kier’s own writings. Mark, Irving, Dylan (Zach Cherry), and Helly (Britt Lower) attend an unusual corporate retreat in a snowy forest. While there, they discover a book written by Kier himself. This book is one of four additional texts that expand on his original teachings.
However, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) explains that this fourth appendix is highly sensitive and not meant for severed employees.
Despite this restriction, the MDR team listens as Mr. Milchick reads the text aloud. The story describes two brothers who leave their father’s home and an ether mill to live in the woods. One brother, Dieter, chooses to stay there forever, while the other, Kier, wishes to return home.
They argue over their choices, and eventually, Dieter undergoes a horrifying transformation. His eyes fall out, turning into a thick liquid that hardens into sap, making him one with the trees. Frightened, Kier runs until he reaches a waterfall, where he drowns out the sounds of Dieter’s transformation. It is at this moment that Kier meets Woe, the first of the Four Tempers he would later conquer.
This tale is disturbing, filled with vivid and unsettling imagery. However, Helly, who is later revealed to be Helena Eagan posing as her severed self, reacts differently. She laughs at the story, dismissing it as symbolic rather than literal.
She suggests that Kier may have caught Dieter in an embarrassing moment, likely masturbating, and felt disgusted. In her view, Kier abandoned his brother and erased him from family history, ensuring that only one Eagan name remained known to the world.
What Dieter Eagan Reveals About Severance
As a member of the Eagan family, Helena has access to a deeper understanding of her family’s history. Unlike the severed employees, who are forced to accept Lumon’s teachings without question, she knows that many of these stories serve as moral lessons designed to control workers. She recognizes that the tale of Dieter is meant to scare Lumon employees and reinforce the company’s strict beliefs.
There is strong evidence that Severance draws inspiration from real historical figures when creating Kier Eagan. One possible influence is John Harvey Kellogg, the businessman behind cornflakes, who promoted an extremely disciplined lifestyle.
Kellogg believed that personal desires, including sexual urges, were harmful and needed to be suppressed. Similarly, Kier represents a strict, work-focused ideology that discourages pleasure, personal choice, and individuality.
However, Dieter’s story serves a greater purpose. His existence reveals a deeper theme within Severance—the contrast between two opposing forces. Kier represents discipline and work, while Dieter symbolizes indulgence and freedom.
Their relationship mirrors the dynamic between a severed employee’s “innie” and “outie.” The innie is expected to dedicate themselves entirely to work, ignoring personal desires, while the outie enjoys a life beyond Lumon’s control.
But things are not that simple. Characters like Mark and Irving prove that innies still have deep emotions and attachments. They form relationships, experience love, and struggle with their identities, even within the strict environment of Lumon. Meanwhile, Helena’s actions in “Woe’s Hollow” show that the divide between work and personal life is not absolute.
Helena Eagan and the Secret Parallel to Kier’s Story
In “Woe’s Hollow,” Helena shares an intimate moment with Mark while pretending to be Helly. It remains unclear whether she genuinely feels something for him or if she is simply playing a role. However, her statement about not liking her outie life suggests a moment of honesty.
Later, she visits the same waterfall from Kier’s story. Just like Kier drowned out the sound of Dieter’s transformation, Helena seems to be escaping from her own actions.
Dieter’s story takes on a symbolic meaning in this moment. He is not just Kier’s forgotten brother—he represents an aspect of every person. He is the part of us that rejects authority, seeks pleasure, and desires something beyond strict rules. While Kier tried to suppress this part of himself, Dieter’s presence proves that it never truly disappears.
What Dieter’s Story Means for Severance’s Future
The introduction of Dieter Eagan adds a new layer to Severance’s themes. It raises questions about identity, history, and the way powerful figures rewrite the past to fit their own needs.
It also deepens the show’s exploration of control and personal freedom. If Kier represents absolute discipline and work devotion, Dieter stands for the human need for choice and self-expression.
As Severance continues, Dieter’s role in the story may become even more significant. His existence challenges the foundation of Lumon’s teachings and suggests that Kier’s legacy may not be as perfect as it seems.
More importantly, his story may inspire the severed employees to question their own reality and seek the truth behind Lumon’s history.
New episodes of Severance Season 2 premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.
