The following contains spoilers for Severance season 2, episode 8
Patricia Arquette clarifies the nature of Cobel’s former relationship with James Le Gros’ Hampton inSeveranceseason 2, episode 8. Her character has been sidelined for much ofSeveranceseason 2, but Arquette’s always-quirky Harmony gets a chance to take center-stage in a powerful episode 8. Still on the outs with Lumon after her confrontation with Helena, Cobel again gets in her car and drives, this time completing her journey to Salt’s Neck, the village of her youth, during which time viewers aretreated to numerous revelations about the character’s past, including her connection to a local man named Hampton.
Episode 8 may have left viewers somewhat confused about the exact nature of Harmony and Hampton’s relationship, but Arquette says that before filming, she had a solid idea of what the two were to each other in the old days, thanks to early conversations with executive producer Ben Stiller (viaCollider).Arquette was able to lend some clarity to Harmony and Hampton’s connection, which viewers saw awkwardly, but temporarily, restored during Cobel’s emotionally charged pilgrimage to her hometown:
I think it was childhood sweethearts. That’s what we had talked about, too, with Ben in those days. There was a childhood sweetheart kind of memory thing going on.
Arquette then detailed her own real-life connection to Hampton actor Le Gros:
Oddly enough, I’ve known James [Le Gros] since I was a teenager. I’d always really wanted to work with him, so I was excited to work with him, but there is that little vein of, “We know the same kind of worlds as each other.”
Arquette also discussed filming in Newfoundland, and how the setting fed into her performance:
Then, to be up there in such a specific place, Newfoundland, it’s so strange. It’s so cut off from the world that it really is its own time warp. You still have that brogue from the turn of the century when all the Irish fishermen moved over there, which also leads into this Harmony Cobel sound. It starts to come together in this weird way.
What Cobel And Hampton’s Reconnection Means For Severance Season 2
Viewers Got A Glimpse Of Cobel’s Complicated Past
Harmony may feel tinglings of old emotions when she meets up with Hampton, but her primary motive in seeing him is not to head down memory lane, it’s to enlist his aid in journeying to her childhood home. Hampton agrees to help Harmony, perhaps indicating that he still feels something for her after so many years. The revelation that the pair were child laborers in a Lumon factory adds extra poignancy to their reunion, as does the great divergence in their life-stories, Harmony having left to become a Lumon big-wig, and Hampton staying behind to wallow in anger.
Severanceseason 2, episode 8 revealed that Cobel was the true inventor of severance.
Whether Harmony feels anything for Hampton is hard to say, as she treats him like a means to an end, but also does ether with him. The overall experience of returning to her hometown is hugely emotional for Cobel, as is her visit to the room where her mother died.The snowy, bleak Newfoundland setting seems to have influenced Arquette’s off-kilter performance, as did her prior relationship with Le Gros, whose character feels like a sad ghost stuck in a depressing, icy limbo.
Cobel Is Becoming A More Sympathetic Character, But Her Motives Are Still Obscure
Image via Apple TV+
Severanceseason 1 introduced Arquette’s Mrs. Cobel/Selvigas an oddball person living out her own version of severance – minus the actual chip implantation – through her double-life as a steely Lumon employee and a kindly lactation consultant. Cobel’s motives regarding Mark were obscure, and to some extent still are, but season 2, episode 8 cast enough light on her truly sad past to make her somewhat more sympathetic.
Severance Season 2 Episode 8 Ending Explained: Is Harmony Cobel Trying To Take Down Lumon?
Severance season 2’s episode 8 primarily revolves around Harmony Cobel, revealing some dark truths about her Lumon history and potential future story.
It’s yet to be seen whether Cobel’s newly-forged alliance with Devon and Mark is sincere, or just another chess move. It seems that Cobel feels something for Mark and Gemma, but it’s possible her interest in them is entirely related to her severance activities. Cobel might end up helping Mark and Gemma to reunite, but that doesn’t mean her motives are entirely pure.She could be mainly driven by a desire to take down Lumon, who seemingly stole severance from her, taking advantage of her religious devotion to the Eagan family, and convincing her to sacrifice her own future and, refuse credit for her breakthrough.
Severanceseason 2, episode 9 premieres on Apple TV+ on Thursday, March 13.
