Severance Season 2 Episode 8: Harmony Cobel's Return to Salt's Neck

Since Harmony Cobel’s hasty departure from Helena Eagan and her bodyguard in Season 2, Episode 3 of “Severance,” much has unfolded—from the MDR’s ORTBO initiative and Irving and Burt’s dinner party to Gemma’s daring escape attempt. But fans of Patricia Arquette need not worry, as Episode 8, “Sweet Vitriol,” sees Cobel taking center stage once more.

Despite being a brisk 38 minutes, the episode packs a punch, starting with Harmony’s arrival in the forlorn coastal town of Salt’s Neck. This was her destination in Episode 3 before returning to Lumon for a final attempt to reclaim her authority over the severed floor.

In Salt’s Neck, the grim reality unravels. The town, once thriving under Lumon’s wing, now lies in ruins after industrial exploitation. With many residents addicted to ether—introduced by Lumon and now sold by Harmony’s former friend and apparent former flame Hampton (played by James Le Gros)—the loyalty and resentment between these two individuals simmer, as Harmony engages Hampton’s help to visit her estranged relative, Celestine “Sissy” Cobel (Jane Alexander), who looked after Harmony after her mother became ill.

Sissy, ostracized by the town, fanatically embraces the teachings of Kier’s nine core principles: vision, verve, wit, cheer, humility, benevolence, nimbleness, probity, and wiles. Her strict adherence to these beliefs made Sissy a harsh guardian, subjecting young Harmony and Hampton to toilsome work at Lumon’s factory.

Fueled by the desire to reclaim something from her past, Harmony, still furious from being dismissed by Lumon earlier this season, seeks access to a locked room of her late mother’s. Harmony carries the breathing tube that belonged to Charlotte Cobel, her mother, who died while Harmony was away at the Myrtle Eagan School for Girls. Harmony accuses Sissy of denying her a farewell by forcefully removing the tube, but Sissy retorts that Charlotte removed it herself.

Interestingly, The Lexington Letter, a spin-off e-book from “Severance“‘s creators, references Lumon’s “feeding tube devices,” a controversial product similar to Harmony’s tube, exposing a Nashville newspaper’s failed attempt to highlight their dangers—a campaign that led the paper to financial ruin within half a year.

Harmony eventually locates her prize: a notebook filled with her designs co-opted by Lumon, hidden away in Sissy’s aboveground basement. We discover that young Harmony was a gifted innovator, handpicked by the Eagans for the Myrtle Eagan School for Girls and the Jame Eagan Wintertide Fellowship. The climax comes with the revelation that Harmony, not Jame, developed the severance procedure. She asserts her ownership of the designs, shouting, “Mine! My designs,” to Sissy.

Harmony explains that the Eagans warned her that seeking credit would lead to exile. As if on cue, a vehicle likely sent by Lumon appears on the desolate road to Sissy’s home. Harmony narrowly escapes in Hampton’s truck, though it seems Lumon won’t let her slip away easily.

As Harmony departs Salt’s Neck, she finally answers Devon’s (Jen Tullock) calls, who has been persistently reaching out. Learning that Mark (Adam Scott) is starting reintegration under Reghabi’s (Karen Aldridge) guidance, Harmony seems poised to aid Mark, struggling with the idea of dismantling Lumon along the way.

Given Harmony’s role as the original creator of the severance procedure, she possesses a unique understanding of its reversal. However, her ties to Mark and Cold Harbor’s success complicate matters, as she may not easily relinquish her life’s ambitions. Harmony’s evolving loyalties will significantly impact Mark, Gemma, and the innies’ futures—but we’ll have to wait to see her true motives.