Severance: Why Mrs. Cobell Is Always Lying (The Real Reason Is Scary)

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Severance.

Mrs. Cobell appears to be only one of the two personas held by the sinister yet multifaceted Severance character played by Patricia Arquette, whose habit of lying may hint that she is hiding more from the rest of the employees at Lumen than they realize. Apple+'s Severance is a nightmarish take on corporate culture that follows the story of a biotech company's employees,  who have volunteered to have their work lives and personal lives permanently separated into two different psyches. The show explores the effects faced by each of these employees as a result of the severance program that gives the series its name.

Overseeing the employees of Lumen's corporate archives division is their employer, Mrs. Harmony Cobell. She's one of the first characters introduced and her ruthlessness as an employer is evident in the Severance premiere. In response to Mark's fumbling of Helly's orientation program, she says, "You know, my mother was an atheist. She used to say there was good news and bad news about hell. The good news is it's just the product of a morbid human imagination. The bad news is whatever humans can imagine, they can usually create." This terrifying quote on the nature of severance makes it clear that she's one of the floor's unsevered members, as she openly speaks of her parents in the outside world. However, the detail also leads her to contradict herself.

Related: Severance Cast and Character Guide: Where You Know The Actors From

In a contrasting scene in the outside world, Mrs. Cobell tells Mark that her mother was a Catholic. It's a contradiction, considering what she told Mark on the basement floor of Lumen, and immediately raises questions as to why she