My Wild ‘Severance’ Goat Theory
A Patreon exclusive about the TV show Severance
The following is a preview of an article: the full version of which can be found exclusively on my Patreon. Unlike my other articles on Medium, this preview is not paywalled. The full article can be found here.
I'm not normally a writer who creates fan theories. It's not because I consider them unserious — frankly, I am obsessed with them — but because they require a type of skill set I have not yet mastered. The way that fans comb through subtext to craft theories on what ‘could be’ is a type of worldbuilding I admire.
And so, bear with me as I engage in this new form of writing.
This fan theory revolves around the TV show Severance, which centers on a corporation named Lumon that can partition the human brain, separating an employee’s work life from their personal life. If you want a more in-depth take on the show, check out my season one and two reviews.
My theory involves the goats on the show. In season one, we learn that there is a floor where severed employees appear to be nurturing goats inside an office-like environment. It's a bizarre turn of events, and there has been fan speculation about their true purpose ever since they were introduced.
In the Season 2 finale, "Cold Harbor," we learn that the goats are part of a ritualistic sacrifice the company performs whenever Macro Data Refinement completes a new file (and a new personality) for character Gemma Scout (Dichen Lachman): protagonist Mark’s allegedly dead wife.
