Severance's Patricia Arquette teases what's in store for 'blind faith' villains
The Lumon Industries managers have a lot to work on as Severance season 2 arrives.
**Warning: Severance season 1 spoilers ahead**
At Lumon Industries’ macrodata refinement department, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) rule the roost with an iron fist and a chillingly overly-friendly veneer.
But as Severance season 1 came to a close, those thinly-veiled niceties were well and truly removed as the pair scrambled to keep the MDR team in check.
As season 2 finally arrives on 17th January, it seems that the coup staged by the MDR team will have detrimental effects for all involved – but as far as the trailer has teased, it hasn’t shaken Cobel and Milchek’s dedication to Lumon and their late founder, Kier Eagan.
But what exactly has caused the pair to have such dedication to the cold office environment they helped create?
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, actor Arquette says it’s down to one thing: blind faith to those they serve.
"I think a lot of times, like, whether it's a corporation or religion or a family system, this kind of idea of blind faith [has an influence]," Arquette explained.
"Their moral code is to believe. We believe we're doing right, whether we understand it or not, and somebody else is telling us, and they're deciding what's right.
"But we trust this so much, it's like when they start putting in your head [that] to question authority or to rebel in any kind of way is bad. You end up in this dynamic where you're really not allowed to challenge anything, and your job is just to toe the party line, whether you agree with it or not.
"You know, it's a thing that militaries do with their soldiers. You can't really question, you just have to do what they say to do.
"So I think there's a moral situation there, but I think also Cobel does have underneath some feeling of loyalty and responsibility. She's trying to... she has her own agenda for Kier. She's not crazy about the new guard at Lumon."
So, what does this mean for Cobel in season 2? Exactly how far is she willing to push this faith before it starts to crack?
"I think for Cobel, she's questioning [her faith], and she's angry about it inside," Arquette teased. "But she also... she wants to fix it in her weird way.
"She still wants to go back to where it's going to be OK. She wants to shift things so that the corporation will do what she thinks is right and the right thing.
"It's like a toddler or somebody grappling with something that they can't control, that will not change in their way."
Severance season 2 launches on Friday, 17th January on Apple TV+ with new episodes airing weekly. Season 1 is available now.
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Authors
Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.