Severance Season 2, Episode 2 gave fans the show’s first all-outie episode, a captivating new opening credits sequence, and a highly-anticipated reunion between two characters. But did you know it also delivered a fun nod to creator Dan Erickson’s real life?
Severance Season 2, Episode 2 spoilers ahead.
Shortly after Milchick fires Outie Dylan (Zach Cherry) from Lumon in “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” Mose Allison’s “Young Man’s Blues” blares and he drives himself to a door factory called GREAT DOORS for a job interview. While it may feel like Dylan’s prospective new career was selected at random, the choice was incredibly intentional. Why? Because Erickson was working at a door factory when he thought of and started writing Severance!
When asked about his decision to pay homage to the door factory where it all happened, Erickson told Decider via Zoom, “I timidly brought it up to Ben [Stiller, director/EP]. One day I was just like, ‘Hey, would it be dumb if Dylan went to a door factory?’ And he was like, ‘No, that’s great! Let’s do it!’ So yeah, I allowed myself that little Easter egg into my own life, because it’s also the history of the show. It’s where the show was conceived, basically. So I thought it would be fun.”
During Episode 1 of The Severance Podcast, Erickson revealed that shortly after he moved to Los Angeles, the door factory was the first office job that he found on Craigslist. “I was very grateful for that job. And the people there were very nice and treated me very kindly. But it was the last thing in the world I wanted to be doing,” Erickson said, explaining that just like the innies, he worked in a window-less basement. “I was just walking into work one day. It was 9:00 a.m. and I literally just had the thought like, ‘God, what if I could jump ahead and suddenly it would be five? And I would have done the day’s work, but I wouldn’t have to experience it.'” Iconic.
On the latest episode of the podcast, Erickson, Stiller, and Severance acknowledged the Easter egg and broke down the Season 2, Episode 2 door factory scene, which finds Dylan sitting across the table chatting with his potential new boss (Adrian Martinez), who looks exactly like him. (More creepy Severance twinning going on! What does it mean?!)
“That’s verbatim the exact interview that I had at the door factory, word for word,” Erickson joked before laughing, “No. It was very different.”
“Just the look of the scene, it’s really beautifully composed and how much Zach and Adrian look like each other — in real life, they don’t really resemble each other all that much, but in these shots, you guys really lined them up so it just like almost looks mirror-like,” Scott added.
Stiller shouted out director Sam Donovan and production designer Jeremy Hindle for creating the factory look, which was filmed at a Brooklyn location also used in Stiller’s Escape at Dannemora starring Severance’s Patricia Arquette.
In case that connection wasn’t exciting enough, Stiller expanded the “Stiller-verse” by reminding everyone that Martinez was in his 2013 film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, along with Scott. We love shared universes!
As Dylan’s interview takes place, doors move on an assembly line behind the two men, creating a visual that absolutely delighted Stiller. “It reminds me of Monsters, Inc.,” the director said. “It’s such a funny scene to me, watching that, and also how then he he turns on him when he finds out he’s severed.”
“That’s something I always love, when we get to do — similar to the non-dinner party in Season 1, where you just — it’s like, how are people actually talking about this out in the world?” Erickson added.
As we saw, Dylan is ultimately denied the door factory job because of his severed status, but as the great Dan Erickson before him knows, when one door closes, another door opens.
Though we’re not sure why yet, Dylan was clearly meant to return to Lumon and reunite with his MDR team, just as Erickson was meant to team up with Stiller and create one of TV’s most stellar shows.
Be sure to read Decider’s Severance Season 2 coverage for more insights, and check out The Severance Podcast while you wait for Episode 3.
New episodes of Severance Season 2 premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.