Severance: Irving & Burt’s Love Story

morena (she/her)

Apple TV’s new psychological thriller Severance has easily become one of my favorite tv series out right now. From its many psychological twists to its unexpected love story that caught my attention, Severance has had me on the edge of my seat every single episode.

​    Severance follows the story of Mark Scout, a worker at the controversial company Lumon on the “severed” floor. To be severed is to have your work memories separated from your external memories through an intense surgical procedure, one mandatory to work on the confidential severed floor (as Mark does). This procedure, referred to as Severance, implants a chip into its host that causes memories outside of the workplace to disappear upon descending to the severed floor; memories on the severed floor also disappear when the host leaves work. Meaning, two distinct personalities are created: the “innie” who works at Lumon on the severed floor, and the “outie” who chooses to undergo Severance and experiences only the outside world. 

    On the severed floor, Mark works in the “macrodata refinement” department as the department chief. In his team are three other severed workers: Dylan G, Helly R, and Irving B. With no true knowledge of any other departments, the three of them quickly become a team, or rather, a family who attempt to uncover the secrets of the company they are working for. While each character has compelling storylines and interesting personalities, I want to take the time to focus on the character of Irving B. 

    Irving B is the senior most refiner, a Lumon worker for over six years before agreeing to undergo the Severance procedure. Throughout the first few episodes, he is almost characterized as being the “strict dad” of the group, the one who knows all nine core principles of Lumon by heart and the one who enforces the protocols found in the lengthy handbook on the severed floor. However, by the end of the first season, and definitely by the second, Irving has become my favorite character through his dramatic character development. 

    During one of his first solo scenes, Irving begins to dream of a black ooze falling onto his hand, causing him to be sent outside of the macrodata department and to a Wellness session. While waiting for this session to begin, he admires a painting on the wall of the company’s founder Kier. Almost by chance, outside of Wellness Irving meets another severed worker named Burt G– who later reveals himself to be the department chief of another department, Optics & Design. This conversation, while seemingly tangential at the time, would mark the beginning of a beautiful story of [forbidden] love. 

    Following their first meeting, Burt finds the macrodata department to speak to Irving more– something that would usually be frowned upon given their restrictions at the company. Yet, Irving seems to enjoy talking with Burt, even more so than the other refiners. During this meeting, Burt hands him a map to his own department, just for him to come visit as he pleases. As the two of them continue to meet each other, in the hallways and in their respective departments, it becomes clear that these two feel more than simple respect for each other. 

Photo Courtesy of Apple TV+

     This is more explicitly shown during Irving’s first trip to the Optics & Design department, in which Burt shows him a painting that had been previously taken down. Not only did Burt give him directions to find him again, but he takes the time to show Irving the exact painting they discussed outside of Wellness during their first meeting. As they admire the painting together, Burt puts his hand on Irving’s.

    ​The pair continue to grow closer, with Irving taking each and every change he can to leave for O&D to find and talk with Burt. Eventually, Burt takes him to his "safe space": a hidden room full of plants. He says he wants to share this space with Irving from now on, to which he agrees and they spend a heartfelt moment together. Although not fully ready for a romantic relationship, especially one that goes against the rules instilled into Irving from day one at the company, the pair stay with each other. Just the two of them.  

    ​This relationship becomes more complicated, as the last time Irving goes to O&D is for Burt's retirement party. While retirement may be a cause of celebration for most, this means that Burt's "innie", the person that Irving fell in love with on the severed floor, would no longer exist. It would be as if Burt had died, causing Irving to become emotional. He tries to resist, tries to object to letting his love die, to no avail. The supervisor, Mr. Milchick only agrees to let Irving stay to say goodbye, under the condition that he says nothing else. After the retirement party was over, Irving returns to macrodata refinement department, where he very passionately tells the rest of the team that they should "burn this place to the ground". 

Photo Courtesy of Apple TV+

    I absolutely loved the portrayal of this relationship, and especially the character development Irving goes through. Irving goes from a loyal and dedicated employee to one who is outspoken and rebellious against the company. All just to spend one more minute with the man he fell in love with. Although not the main focus of the series, this relationship really sold me on the show, and in my opinion, is the most beautiful part of the entire series so far. Irving and Burt didn't need hours of screen time to convince me they were in love; in fact, the pair never even kissed. For a series to not rely on overly explicit scenes or dialogue, yet still convey a beautiful love story is very impressive to me. Not only that, but to have an openly queer relationship in a very popular show always warms my heart. I think there is something so important about celebrating queer love on the same level that we do with the "main" love interests, and I feel that Severance does this very well. The fact that Irving and Burt are gay is not the main focus of their relationship, and its not a "plot point" at all-- they can just be in love, with no indication that their love is any "different" than the straight love interests in the show. I think that this show, and this relationship specifically, convey such a beautiful story overall and I cannot recommend it enough. 

​    While this provides a snapshot into their relationship, I would definitely recommend watching it for yourselves; not only to experience their love story in its entirety, but also to have a genuine reaction to the shocking twist that I didn't mention within this article! 

    As Severance is still ongoing, there is still hope that these two will meet again, that their love can transcend severance. Yet, only time will tell if this is the case. I highly encourage everyone to follow along as the show develops this relationship further, and I hope that we will eventually watch their happy ending unfold on screen, this time in the "outie" world.