She was right handed for the fertility forms and drawing Dylan’s card but left handed when signing the Xmas cards.
Can confirm, I was pretty shy my freshman year in college and ended up asking a girl out with needles in our arm. Ended up dating for a while.
Guys, I don’t think Gemma was kidnapped by Lumon. I think she agreed to do this without knowing what she signing up for. There’s no other reason for the infertility story line. They are setting up Gemma as desperate and depressed. When Mark makes fun of her for looking through the materials that included the Chikhai Bardo card that Dylan stole, she says something like “I’m enjoying this stuff.” There’s also Lumon signs on the fertility paperwork. I think Gemma feels broken and Lumon told her they could “fix” her - she was desperate for anything that would help her and Mark. Mark also said he identified her body. I don’t think they can pull off that massive a scheme without her cooperation. I think the cops are likely in on it too. I don’t think they “kidnapped” her so much as they recruited her.
I agree with the first part, she would have tried to escape earlier if it was against her will. I think Mark said the body was burned so it might have looked like Gemma with her jewelry and Mark just assumes it’s her. Seems like Lumon recruited her and said it would be a long project, then she becomes a prisoner and can’t get out
I think when he told her Mark had remarried she knew he was lying and that they would never let her go.
So did she purposely go to Lumon that night? Did they kidnap her? why is Ms Huang a kid because when she was born? She was born before mark and Gemma ever met. My brain is about to bust
I definitely think Wintertide has gotta be lumon-funded boarding school or something for kids being groomed to run lumon. I definitely think Cobel went through Wintertide as she must havev been recruited at a young age. My theory is the hospital bracelet they've shown in her house isn't her kid or sister but her former identity before Lumon sunk their teeth into her and brought her over. It's her final scraps of who she used to be.
Agree with a lot of this. First scene seeing the Lumon drop on the blood draw equipment raised a red flag for me (matches MDRs badge symbol). Then all of the miscarriage issues, definitely think it's something Lumon was aware of and used that as a way to recruit her or gain her cooperation. Her looking at Dylan's cards at her and Mark's house pretty much confirmed it for me. I think she eventually agreed to continue working for them with the understanding Lumon could also help her with her fertility issues but she didn't read the fine print and is not patient zero in the Lumon hall of horrors.
After sleeping on it, my biggest takeaways are this: It's clear each room Gemma enters has a unique innie (not always Ms. Casey). That tells me whatever work she's doing has something to do with pushing limits of severance. Dr. Mauer asking her how many rooms she went into (was told beforehand) and associated which rooms caused which type of pain (teeth at dentist, hand at Christmas). I'm thinking the end game is to basically use severance to avoid any uncomfortable situation, thus creating an army of innie slaves only used for experience these discomforts. Dr. Mauer is also a huge creep and I think he's going to try to sabotage Cold Harbor since it was said multiple times once that file is complete Gemma gets to leave/see Mark. I think Cold Harbor is going to be a scenario where her innie "drowns" as she said she was more afraid of drowning than being buried during a mudslide. All this pregnancy struggle with Mark and Gemma makes me think Helly is def preggers. And at the end of episode, I definitely think that is Innie Mark that wakes up on the couch.
have we talked about how much Drummond and Ricken look alike? something is definitely off with Ricken. the story about him rock climbing was a hint at something from his past.
Reintegration means there’s no longer innie or outie right? It’s just Mark now? Will their personalities kind of blend together?
I think he will essentially start remembering everything together as if he was never severed. Except he’ll have the context that for better or worse will likely frame it in his mind differently.
Allentown was also the file that Mark was rewarded for. My guess is that somehow he’s “refining” his emotions or memories subconsciously and it’s being used as the basis for the various tests in those rooms so Lumon can perfect or make the severance procedure more efficient.
I just want to say - I fucking love reading theories. I fucking love this show. Haven't felt like this since LOST, except I trust them to pull it off.
This is what I'm assuming is going to happen. And guessing that Mark's full reintegration will be a major part of the finale/cliffhanger.
In the watching room someone (Drummond?) asked if the severance barriers were holding, or something to that effect. I think the response was yes. I’m a Google educated brain specialist, and I’m wondering if memory and emotion being regulated by different parts of the same system are in play here somehow? Like they figured out memory, but can’t control emotional responses to things their outies have feelings about?
Mostly because that means we are going to wait like 3 years with a thousand more questions and zero more answers.
Like what happened to the goat farm? They were a pretty resource intensive part of making this season, so I can’t imagine they’re just over.
Also Ben stiller said he was blown away by the way dummies like us are investigating every word, even when it’s just off hand stuff. Personally, I’m using this massive rabbit hole to focus my attention away from the horrors of life in America right now, so forgive me when I just bang out these half baked theories.
most appropriate comment I've seen about last night's episode on reddit..."Eternal Sunshine of the Severed Mind"
Agree with this. As much as it sucks waiting week to week, I’m so happy this show is not a binge so we have the days in between to theorize and twist our brains into pretzels over everything.
milkshake attends some weird lumon training all episode and we close with him singing Taylor swift on his bike?
super weird particularly given how 1970s everything else feels. I will say, Devon’s instinct to call Cobel was totally out of left field. This is a woman who has done nothing but deceive her and spy on her and Mark. The impulse to call her to help Mark felt unearned, though I do think Cobel is about to switch sides.
I feel the vibe Cobel wants Mark and Gemma to be together, but her Lumon brainwashing interferes. She was totally conflicted when Mark confronted her before she screamed and drove off. Think she comes back with a redemption arc
Stiller had to fight pretty hard for that. AppleTV is strict about everyone must use an iPhone except for bad guys, they have to use Samsung. Took a while for them to sign off on “generic modern cell phone” brand.
Each room is testing Gemma’s ability to maintain being severed through an emotional/uncomfortable/painful situation. Whatever Mark is doing on the computer is somehow connected and is helping keep her in her severed state or blocking whatever it is they are trying to block. Cold Harbor is the last test for her, a lot of drowning references so that’s probably involved. Seems like the end game is for them to have a chip to block all painful/suffering experiences possibly including death. It definitely seems like Gemma was targeted and probably agreed to join them just based off her interactions with the doctor. But would she really lie to mark and pretend to be dead? Or did they drug her or something and stage it all and she probably woke up in the doctor office. But still seems strange she would go along with it for this long without breaking down
Saw a theory that the severed floors are designed like the map of a human brain. Redditors even placed Petey’s map overlaying a map of the human brain…pretty convincing
The drowning doesn’t make sense to me. All the rooms are phobia/experiences people want severed from their real lives. Flip a switch have a baby, go on a flight, spend an hour with your mother n law, etc. Nobody says “welp I have to drown today, better activate my chip”.