Severance Season 2, Episode 8 explores Harmony Cobel's history with Lumon as Jane Alexander and James Le Gros join the cast.
After Gemma's backstory is unpacked in Severance Season 2, Episode 7, Apple TV+'s much-talked-about thriller series is back with a new episode that pushes Harmony Cobel to the forefront as she goes back to her hometown and reunites with old friends and enemies.
Severance Season 2, Episode 8 premiered on Apple TV+ on March 7.
Severance Season 2 Episode 8 Cast Guide
Jerry Stahl - Magnus
Jerry Stahl joins the cast of Severance Season 2, Episode 8 as Magnus, a customer at the Drippy Pot Cafe who shows up in the early moments of the episode.
Stahl is a writer best known for his work on Mason, Bad Boys II, and Zoolander.
Emma Troake - Dot
Emma Troake appears as Dot, one of the employees of the Drippy Pot Cafe who works alongside Hampton.
Troake's other notable credits include roles in Astrid and Lilly Save the World, SurrealEstate, and Hudson & Rex.
Clare Coulter - Rose
Clare Coulter stars as Rose, another customer of the Drippy Pot Cafe in Severance Season 2, Episode 8.
Coulter also starred in I Will Bury You, The Worst Witch, and The Apprentice.
Don Tripe - Ether Addict
Don Tripe appears as the Ether addict whom Harmony saw while on her way to Salt's Neck.
Tripe can be seen in IT, Transporter: The Series, and Titans.
Jane Alexander - Sissy Cobel
Joining the roster of Severance guest stars is award-winning actress Jane Alexander as Sissy Cobel.
Sissy is Harmony's aunt who is loyal to Lumon and not to her family.
Alexander is best known for her roles in Modern Love, Tales from the Loop, and The Good Fight.
James Le Gros - Hampton
Hampton (played by James Le Gros) is Harmony Cobel's old friend who helps her retrieve a valuable piece of memorabilia inside Sissy's house.
Le Gros also starred in Blue Bloods, Good One, and Mildred Pierce.
Patricia Arquette - Harmony Cobel
Severance Season 2 mainstay Patricia Arquette returns in Episode 8 as Harmony Cobel, the former floor manager of the severed floor.
The episode sheds some light on her history and her true ties to Lumon.
Arquette previously appeared in Boyhood, True Romance, and Medium.
Severance Season 2 Episode 8 Plot Recap
Harmony Cobel Is Done Playing Around
Severance Season 2, Episode 8, "Sweet Vitriol," begins with Harmony Cobel driving to Salt's Neck after she decides not to speak with Helly in Episode 3. After a quick stopover to brush her teeth, she receives a call from Devon (Mark's sister) but she ignores it.
The former Lumon floor manager then heads to a cafe known as Drippy Pot Café where she meets an "old colleague" and the owner of the cafe, Hampton, to ask for a favor.
Clearly, the pair had a bad history with one another, but Hampton leaves to talk to Cobel alone.
As the pair meet behind an old Lumon Industries factory, Cobel's favor to Hampton includes driving her to the house of a woman named Sissy since she needs to get something from her.
Hampton initially denies her request, noting that Sissy is a "pariah" in the small town. Cobel assures him though that he will only stay in the truck, and she will go inside alone.
After Cobel points out that they were once old friends, Hampton still doesn't want to help her.
Despite that, Cobel still insists, saying, "You can either help me or not, but I'll not be the punching dummy for your resentments."
A Family Reunion Goes Sideways
The scene then shifts to Hampton driving to Sissy's place while Harmony is hiding on the back of his pickup truck. They then arrive at Sissy's house before Hampton tells Cobel to send a message to Sissy: "Tell her to drop dead for me."
It turns out that Sissy Cobel is Harmony's aunt and there is animosity between them (as evidenced by Sissy insisting that her niece is not welcome in her house).
As Harmony goes through the house, it is revealed that she once grew up in it, and her belongings are nowhere to be found.
She asks Sissy what happened to her things, but the white-robed aunt reveals that she sold them to the poor.
Harmony then finds out that Mr. Drummond (Lumon's head of security played by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson who made his debut in Severance Season 2, Episode 2) once called Sissy, but she remains tight-lipped about their conversation.
An enraged Harmony disconnects the telephone before asking for the key to her mother's room. However, Sissy notes, "That room stays shut until all who remember her sit with Kier [Eagan]."
As the pair continues to argue, it is unveiled that Sissy is the one who caused the death of Harmony's mother after she pulled her intubation tube before she died.
Sissy, though, shows no remorse, simply saying, "There was gratitude in her eyes to be freed from her suffering. If only she had been a believer, perhaps she would have found solace in the nine."
Why Harmony Is Loyal to Lumon (At First)
Harmony and Sissy continue their conversation, and more revelations about her past are unpacked.
It turns out that Harmony was once Kier Eagan's apprentice, with Sissy pointing out that the Lumon founder speaks highly of her and how he saw a semblance of himself in her.
Harmony continues to ask about what Drummond told Sissy, but her aunt can only say that she should return to back to Lumon to "plead forgiveness" and the Eagans will eventually grant it.
Clearly, she wants nothing to do with Lumon, and all she demands is the key to her mother's locked room. Harmony ends up finding the key after going through her aunt's personal belongings.
After entering the room, her grief gets the best of her as she remembers her mother's death. She mourns her mother, crying herself until dark.
At night, she hears Hampton entering Sissy's house and the pair engage on a tense argument.
Hampton threatens Sissy to back off before waking Harmony to come get her.
Harmony needs to find something, but she doesn't remember what. Hampton tells her to take a break and the two get high on the bed with a drug called ether.
As the two old chums have a good time, they share a kiss before Hampton notes that whatever Harmony is looking for might not be inside Sissy's house anymore.
Still, Harmony insists that whatever she's looking for is inside the house since it's too valuable to throw away.
She heads outside to a cellar door and finds a shelved box full of memorabilia from her time at the Myrtle Eagan School for Girls.
Inside it, it is revealed that she was the class valedictorian, Goat Husbandry Club President, and the eventual winner of the Wintertide Fellowship for the Year of Wiles. No wonder why Harmony is loyal to Lumon.
She eventually finds what she's looking for: an old journal that may be filled with secrets.
Before heading out, Harmony tells Sissy to not report her visit to Lumon, saying that she owes them no loyalty since "Lumon destroyed this town."
However, Sissy reminds her that Harmony owes everything to Lumon and the Eagans.
Harmony Reveals the Truth
As Sissy continues to confront her niece about her loyalty to Lumon, Harmony snaps and tells the truth.
She reveals that Harmony is the true creator of the Severance chip alongside all things related to it such as its circuit blueprint, base code, overtime contingency, and the Glasgow Block.
This is the contents of her old journal, meaning that this is proof of her contributions.
Sissy insists that Jame Eagan was the inventor, but she changes her tone after seeing the content of her niece's journal, blurting out a simple, "Extraordinary."
Sissy asks why she didn't reveal the truth in the first place before Harmony points out that she was told then that "Kier's knowledge is for all" and she would be banished if she ever sought credit.
Still, Sissy's loyalty to Lumon reigns supreme and she tries to burn Harmony's journal in front of her. Thankfully, she overpowers her overbearing aunt and takes the journal back.
Before leaving, Sissy reveals that it was Harmony's mother who pulled the intubation tube that led to her death while also insisting that she loved her because all she ever wanted was to see her grow.
Their conversation gets interrupted by Hampton, who tells Harmony that someone else is coming and they need to leave as soon as possible.
Hampton tells Harmony to take his truck and leave so that he can confront the incoming Lumon convoy.
As Cobel drives away, she finally picks up Devon's call and she learns that Mark has been reintegrating.
Harmony asks if Mark is okay, and she tells him to tell her everything so that she can help.
It remains to be seen if Harmony has switched to the good side, but it will be interesting to find out how she fits in the grand scheme of things.
The next episode of Severance Season 2 will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 14, at midnight PT (read more about the final episodes' release schedule here).
