okay so this is my understanding of severance so far

[lirazel]

Spoilers, obvs.

lumon wants to control the human emotions—the four tempers (woe, frolic, dread, malice, etc.) they either want to balance them or isolate them or something. they’re trying to do this by creating versions of humans that feel only one of these things. so, like knowing you only exist to get painful dental work done—that essentially turns you into dread. this is what’s happening to gemma—she’s a human guinea pig.

somehow, the numbers and their auras on the microdata refinement screens are attached to what the guinea pigs are feeling. when a refiner completes one of these projects, that is evidence that the guinea pig has successfully been turned into one of the lumon tempers.

mark’s connection to his wife makes him best at this for gemma. when she reached dread (or woe?) behind the allentown door, he confirmed it by completing that project.

whatever cold harbor is, it’s the hardest emotion to isolate and the one they haven’t been successful with with any of the previous guinea pigs. but gemma and hence mark are really close.

meanwhile, lumon is making money off their project by pretending it’s about letting rich people skip over all the painful and unpleasant parts of life (labor, dentistry) by creating an innie who experiences it in their stead. but that’s not why they’re doing it—they’re scientologists with a pharmaceutical company and better p.r. it’s all about keir’s plan for creating perfect humans or something.

now how all this works is beyond me. how are the refiners the only ones who can feel what the guinea pigs feel and confirm the success of projects? why is dylan so good at it? what did gemma’s doctors find out about her while she was undergoing her fertility treatments that made them know she would be a good guinea pig? and what the hell are the goats about? i don’t know but i think i’m on the right track with some of this!