And now we wait.
Dan Erickson: It was all kind of baked in together, to be honest.
I thought it would be an interesting challenge to start Mark off on that quest.
This was how we felt talking to Severance creator Dan Erickson.Image: Apple TV+
And hes doing that not because he loves her, but because he knows his outie loves her.
And in a way, I think he feels responsible.
He had come to feel that he himself was a human and was deserving of the things he wanted.
Dan Erickson is the creator ofSeverance.– Apple TV+
And the person he loves is behind him, so thats where he goes.
io9: The finale answers a lot of big questionsthe goats, Cold Harbor, the numbers.
Sort of the big, scary, What is going on on this show?
Dan Erickson is the creator ofSeverance.– Apple TV+
Erickson:I think thats something well have to wait and see.
Woes Hollow, to me, in a weird season is still the weirdest episode.
Erickson:I cant really say [but] heres what I will say.
“Woe’s Hollow” was quite the episode. – Apple TV+
I think sometimes people ask in an almost accusatory way.
Its like, Is there really any point to this?
Or, Youre just being weird for the sake of being weird.
Cobel returned home in season two. – Apple TV+
And you werent asking in that tone.
io9: Well, a little bit.
Erickson:My feeling is always like I, as a viewer, I love theMad Maxmovies.
A very intense moment. – Apple TV+
And part of it is because of just the world-building.
All it does is give us questions about, Why does this world work the way that it does?
io9: Fair enough.
With Woes Hollow as well as Salts Neck, season two started to show the world outside of Kier.
Does showing more of the outside world factor into where you see the story going ahead?
Erickson:Yeah, I think so.
I think that we had seen a little bit before.
We had seen Ganz College in season one.
But the show has kind of a weird relationship with the outside world.
Weve intentionally never gone to a real place.
When youre at Lumon, theres this sense of being out of time and out of space and disoriented.
That sort of extends to the outside world a little bit.
Its intentional that we dont know exactly where we are.
io9: Yeah, they have iPhones, but they dont have cars that are newer than 1980.
Something else I kept keying into this season is Marks coughing.
Is that a side effect of reintegration or is there more to it?
Erickson:[Pause] Hmm.
You might get a different answer from somebody else.
Erickson:To me, that is a side effect of the reintegration.
Thats sort of how I view it.
io9: All right.
Erickson:I cant get into it too much.
We do see that the others from other branches, they know how to do it.
And I think thats still a question.
io9: Without a doubt.
Now I loved Mr. Milchick going back at Drummond in The After Hours.
But he seemed to forget about it the next day with all his dancing.
Was that hint of defiance important to where you see the character going?
Erickson:Yeah, it is.
Is this whole system hurting me and hurting other people?
io9: Whatever the greater company might be.
We still know about the board, a lot of things.
What is the biggest question fans should be thinking about going into moreSeverance?
Erickson: I think that the question on Mark and Hellys mind is going to be just Now what?
And so its the question of, what would you do to preserve your own existence?
io9: I love that, and I have a billion more questions, but that is my time.
Thank you so much for the show and for speaking with us today.
I cant wait to talk to you for season three.
Erickson:Thank you so much.
I cant wait either.
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