Severance Fan Theory Just Explained Why Chip Was Created (Ben Stiller Approved)

Although the eighth episode of Season 2 of Severance received the lowest score of 6.7 on IMDb and many viewers call it a filler (which is debatable), 37 minutes dedicated to Harmony Cobel brought us one step closer to solving the main mystery – where did the severance come from and what is Lumon's global goal?

Severance Was Invented by Harmony Cobel

In the episode Sweet Vitriol we learned the shocking truth – the severance process was created by Harmony Cobel, but her invention was appropriated by Jame Eagan.

Earlier, Dan Erickson mentioned that Cobel's interest in Mark and Gemma was driven by a personal and extremely strange interest.

It was suggested that Harmony lost her mother because of Lumon and is trying to undermine the power of the corporation by becoming part of a rebel organization.

These suspicions were confirmed in Episode 8 – Cobel's mother, Charlotte, did die, presumably from emissions from Lumon's ether plants, since she had to breathe through a tube before she died.

Now We Know Why the Severance Procedure Was Invented in the First Place

Thanks to this episode, we now know who, and more importantly why, created the severance procedure. One of the X users wrote:

“I need everyone to understand the tragedy of Cobel's story. She was a child worker in a factory that had (at least inadvertently) caused her mom's death. She wanted to create a procedure that'd alienate her from the work that was making her miserable & potentially sick.”

And what's more, we have proof that this interpretation of events is correct – Ben Stiller himself liked this post.

The Fact That Harmony Created the Procedure Explains Her Obsession With Mark and Gemma

Therefore, it can be assumed that the severance process was invented as follows: Harmony attended the Myrtle Eagan School for Girls as a child, where the students combined their studies with work in the ether factories.

Perhaps there was a leak in one of the factories, or the emissions were constantly affecting the health of the people of Salt's Neck, but it was the activities of Lumon that caused the illness of Harmony's mother.

After her mother's death, Harmony realized that her work at Lumon had contributed to Charlotte's death, even if not directly, and sought a way to separate herself from her trauma.

All of this eventually led Harmony to the invention of the severance procedure, and that is why she has been watching Mark and Gemma so closely – to make sure it works and a person can get rid of the trauma as if it never happened.