Warning! This article contains spoilers for Severance season 2’s episode 5.
Severanceseason 2’s episode 5 reveals the reason behind Burt’s departure from Lumon, confirming a dark truth about the central company. Burt has only one brief appearance inSeveranceseason 2’s early episodes, where he spies on Irving from a distance. His appearance convinced many viewers that even his outie likely knows Irving’s outie. However,Severanceseason 2’s episode 5confirms that the two did not know about each other’s existence until Irving knocked at his door during the events ofSeveranceseason 1’s ending.
The two characters' encounter in season 2’s episode 5 leads to a brief interaction between them, where they first try to understand their innies' relationship. With what follows, Burt reveals some intriguing details about why he left Lumon, which makes one story development from season 1 a little confusing. While only time will tell how Irving and Burt’s outies' meeting will shape theApple TV+ sci-fi show’s future stories, their first interaction paves the way for many fascinating narrative arcs.
Burt Tells Irving He Was Fired From Lumon For His Innie’s Office Romance (He Didn’t Just Retire)
He Reveals Lumon Even Gave Him A Reason For His Innie’s Termination
Burt follows Irving’s outie, hoping to find out why he was knocking at his door and calling out his name when the Overtime Contingency incident happened. Irv, too, notices that a mysterious man is following him and sets out to confront him. This is when Irv and Burt’s innies talk for the first time, andBurt reveals he was sacked from Lumon. He also adds that Lumon only gave him a reason when he pressed them, revealing that he had an “unsanctioned emotional entanglement” with another severed worker. They did not give him a name, but he figured it was Irving after he came knocking at his door.
Burt Getting Fired Completely Changes His Retirement Video From Severance Season 1
Season 1 Made It Look Like Burt’s Innie Was Willingly Leaving Lumon
To Irving innie’s dismay, he suddenly learned about Burt’s retirement from Lumon one day when he showed up at his farewell party in the O&D department. During Burt’s farewell, Lumon even played a video of his outie consenting to his innie’s withdrawal from the company, confirming that leaving Lumon was Burt’s outie’s decision. However, the fact that Burt reveals inSeveranceseason 2’s episode 5 that Lumon sacked him for his relationship with Irving suggests he did not willingly retire. Instead, he was forced to leave the company, but his innie was never told the truth.
…the truth about Burt’s departure from Lumon is upsetting because he was fired only for having a romantic relationship with Irving.
It seems likely thatBurt’s outie was also coerced into making the video for his innie by Lumon. Or, there is a slight possibility that the video was AI-generated just to convince the innie that his outie wants him out. Regardless of how the video was created, the truth about Burt’s departure from Lumon is upsetting because he was fired only for having a romantic relationship with Irving. This development suggests that Lumon expects the innies to show no sense of humanity and only wants them to work tirelessly.
Burt & Irving’s New Meeting Sets Up A Bigger Rebellion Outside Lumon In Severance Season 2
Burt & Irving Might Soon Join Forces
Before parting ways with Irving, Burt invites him to his place for dinner, hoping his partner, Fields, would also feel better after talking to him. While Irving already seems to be a part of a covert operation against Lumon, Burt, too, might join forces with him, given how he holds a grudge against the company for firing him. If Irving opens up to him about what he knows about Lumon, Burt might even learn some terrifying truths about Lumon’s work, which would further encourage him to join Irving’s quest to take the company down.
What Irving’s Outie’s Paintings Of The Black Hallway Mean In Severance
Irving reveals to the others what his Outie was painting in Severance season 2, episode 1, which will help the team solve some other Lumon mysteries.
Lumon’s ban on “unsanctioned erotic relationships” also raises many questions about the nature of work in the severed departments. It makes it hard not to wonder why the company is so deadset on treating the innies like inferior humans. As many details inSeverancesuggest,the company likely fears that romantic entanglements could affect a worker’s judgment, which would eventually impact their work. Or, Lumon’s strange rules and restrictions are driven by darker truths the show will gradually explore in future installments.
Severance
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
