Old Severance Fan Theory About Irving's Father Makes Too Much Sense

On January 17, the second season of Severance premiered on Apple TV+. Severance should be considered perhaps even a slightly underrated series.

Ben Stiller presented a unique project – the show is able to confound seasoned film critics and, of course, viewers, who are less and less surprised by crazy twists on TV with each passing year.

Severance surprises with the number of mysteries – they multiply and intertwine, leaving the viewer impatient. And one of the most intriguing questions remains – who was Irving's father?

Irving's Father Is Probably Connected to Lumon Somehow

Irving is one of the most mysterious characters in Severance. Not only does he regularly see hallucinations of black goo, but when he and his colleagues manage to escape the office as innies, he discovers interesting finds in his home.

First, there are eerie black paintings depicting an elevator to the testing floor. Second, there are documents containing data on past and present Lumon employees. And third, there is his father's military uniform.

It seems that not only Irving but also his father is somehow connected to Lumon. But how? Lumon, as a large corporation, can influence politics, but what if its influence goes even further?

Lumon May Have an Even Bigger Influence Than We Thought

It is possible that Lumon has a special program for soldiers that allows them to split their consciousness, just like it happens with ordinary workers.

According to a theory posted on Reddit several years ago, this is what happened to Irving's father, whose soldier innie could not only carry out all orders without question, but could also commit war crimes and simply cruel things at the behest of his superiors, since the innie does not understand what is good and what is bad like a child.

So Lumon essentially created the perfect soldier – no questions asked, all orders obeyed. And when these soldiers were switched to the outie mode, they had no memory of the horrors of war and no PTSD.

Irving's Father Could Have Started His Own Investigation Into Lumon

Perhaps, at some point, memories of the war seeped into the mind of Irving's father and he began his own investigation, which was continued by his son.

This would explain the black goo and the elevator in Irving's paintings – following his father, he went to work for Lumon as a soldier. Perhaps the elevator leading to the Testing Floor is used by temporary innies like Ms. Casey. Irving's innie soldier was also temporary, and he could have been sent to the Testing Floor for certain procedures.

When his service was over, Irving's consciousness was severed again so that he could get a job in the Macrodata Refinement Division.

This is why he vaguely remembers the creepy elevator, and the black goo may be a manifestation of his repressed memories of the horrors of war.