As has been the case with Season 2 of Severance for years now, I really only have questions about what’s to come. Now, as we approach the long-awaited premiere of Season 2 on the 2025 TV schedule, I’m developing some super specific questions, and one that I’d like to address right now is about Britt Lower’s character Helly.
This is because, based on the end of Severance Season 1, we know Helly’s outie, Helena, is an Eagan. That alone makes me pause with questions. However, her recent comments about her character’s journey this season and the “envy” she’ll feel for herself have left me with one very specific query about who exactly is feeling that jealousy.
What Britt Lower Said About Helly’s Innie And Outie
As we creep up on this incredible Apple TV+ show’s January 17 premiere date, the show has been posting promotional clips of the Severance cast talking about their respective characters on X. The one about Helly really caught my interest, as Britt Lower said the following about her character’s innie and outie:
This season, Helly and Helena go on very separate but parallel journeys...Seeing a version of herself that's so much more free than she is there's envy there.
Now, in the clip, which you can watch below, we see (what appears to be) both Helly’s innie and outie. Take a look:
Helly R. is her own worst enemy.#Severance Season 2 — January 17 pic.twitter.com/jowmuZfXwzJanuary 2, 2025
Also, we know that Helena opted into the Severance program and already works at Lumon because she’s an Egan, and we got to see Helly get a taste of that outside world at the end of Season 1. Her two worlds couldn’t be more different, as Helena is a powerful corporate player while Helly is rebellious and very stuck on the severed floor. However, as Lower said, her innie and outie go on “separate but parallel journeys” in Season 2.
So, that makes me wonder: Will both Helly and Helena feel envy toward each other?
So, Will Both Versions Of Helly Envy Each Other?
In the clips they showed while Lower talked, it seemed like Helena was watching Helly work, right? So, that would imply she’s keeping track of what her innie is up to. That means, she’s probably very aware of her innie’s life, and honestly, I think she has reason to feel envious of her.
From what I could deduce in Season 1, Helena’s role as an Egan is a very big deal and odds are it takes over the majority of her life. Being that high up in a massive corporation that’s also a family business must make the obligations and expectations put on a person exponentially higher. That's a pretty big juxtaposition to Helly's life, and I have to wonder if Helena sometimes yearns for her innie's fierce independence.
On the flip side of that, Helly very obviously is not free – literally speaking. She’s stuck on the severed floor, and she works very hard to make it abundantly clear that she’s not OK with that. So, the idea of being out and having autonomy over her entire life – which is what I assume she thinks Helena has – could cause envy on her end.
Overall, this “parallel” journey is incredibly fascinating to me and implies some sort of commonality between the two arcs, and I think that could be this envy Lower spoke about. Now, I can’t wait to see play out in the critically acclaimed second season of Severance. To see if this question gets answered and more, you can stream Season 2’s premiere with an Apple TV+ subscription on January 17.
