In Severance, Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel sits at her desk surrounded by muted dark colors
(Apple TV+)

‘This is such a strange world’: ‘Severance’ star Patricia Arquette discusses Cobel’s state of mind and that season 1 cliffhanger

Severance, one of the most acclaimed series of 2022, is finally back after an almost three-year hiatus. Talking to The Mary Sue, Patricia Arquette, who earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of intrusive manager Harmony Cobel, discussed how she’s moving on from that season 1 cliffhanger.

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Severance, the show that truly gets us to consider our work-life balance, was a hit when the first season came out in 2o22. The second season took its sweet time, but, as they say, good things come to those who wait. Arquette is back as Cobel, though the character is questioning her allegiance to Lumon—and who can blame her?

Speaking on how she felt after ending season 1 on a cliffhanger and how that affected her work as an actress, Arquette said, “At that moment, towards the end, there’s such a wide-open thing where all of these different things that could be happening, all these different things that could come into play, [there’s] all of these different ideas, and so talking to the writers, talking to Dan [Erickson], talking to Ben [Stiller], just to kind of understand what direction are we going. There are certain things at the end of this season that we talked about at the beginning of the first season, so it’s nice that those things start to kind of reveal themselves.”

New season, new layers

Cobel’s suspension at the end of season 1 has become a full dismissal by the time we get to season 2, new territory for a worker so dedicated to her company. “I think Cobel is in such a strange place that she’s never been in this loss of power, this corporation that she’s so committed to,” Arquette explained. But just because Cobel is no longer at Lumon, it does not mean she’s exited the stage.

In the second episode, we see more of Cobel as Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) “neighbor,” Mrs. Selvig. Though given the episode title “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” we are left wondering if this version of Cobel will be gone for good. Arquette talked about the state of mind of her character, saying, “She’s frustrated, she’s angry at Lumon, she’s angry that this has all come out, and she doesn’t know what her future holds.” Not knowing what the future holds is a major part of Severance’s appeal, even if it did drive fans like SZA a little crazy during the break.

The series is very much a slow-burn with so many layers of intrigue that the audience doesn’t know who to trust anymore. “There are so many characters in this and so many new things start happening this season,” said Arquette, “This is such a strange world, and there are these rules that nobody knows what’s happening, including people who have worked for Lumon for many years. There are many, many layers of need-to-know, who needs to know what.” Discussing the show’s evolution, Arquette went on to say:

“It’s interesting this season that, the first season was so claustrophobic and interior and this season, as it goes on, we become more exterior and a little more that we’re learning about the ‘outies’. And then the ‘innies’ are having more grown-up conflict within themselves, there is a maturation going on inside and a loss of innocence that I think is interesting.”

You can now watch the first episode of Severance season 2 on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere weekly on Fridays.


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Author
Image of Laura Pollacco
Laura Pollacco
Laura Pollacco (she/her) is a contributing writer here at The Mary Sue, having written for digital media since 2022 and has a keen interest in all things Marvel, Lord of the Rings, and anime. She has worked for various publications including We Got This Covered, but much of her work can be found gracing the pages of print and online publications in Japan, where she resides. Outside of writing she treads the boards as an actor, is a portrait and documentary photographer, and takes the little free time left to explore Japan.