We’ve got good news and bad news.
The good news is that Severance is finally back. The bad news? Helena Eagan’s (Britt Lower) creepy dad Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) has also returned, and he is not pleased about the events that transpired in the workplace thriller’s intense Season 1 finale.
Spoilers for Severance Season 2, Episode 2 ahead.
Season 2, Episode 2, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” showed the direct aftermath of that finale, which as you might imagine, included lots of cleanup and damage control for Helena and Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman). In addition to confronting the recently fired Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) and discussing the vital role she played in helping disable the OTC, Helena also shared a tense interaction with her dear old dad, who had but two cursed words to say to her: “Fetid moppet.”
In response, Helena simply replied, “Father.” Then, with a disgusted look on his face, Jame turned around and left the room, leaving Severance fans to wonder: WTF?!
So what does “fetid moppet” mean? And what’s the deal with Jame Eagan? Here’s what to know about the chilling father/daughter confrontation in Severance Season 2, Episode 2.
Remember the “Phyllis’ Wedding” episode of The Office where Michael starts his speech with a Webster’s dictionary definition of the word “wedding”? We thought that’d be a helpful approach to take at this time. (Except unlike Michael, these definitions will correctly fit the words at hand.)
According to Michael Scott’s go-to dictionary, “fetid” is defined as “having a heavy offensive smell,” while “moppet” is defined as “child.”
Essentially, Jame Eagan is calling his daughter a smelly child in wake of her jaw-dropping gala scandal. OUCH.
We first met Jame Eagan in Season 1, Episode 9, “The We We Are,” shortly after Innie Helly inhabited Outie Helly’s body as a result of the Overtime Contingency. For those who need a refresher, he greeted her by saying, “Helena, you look so nice. Like a film. Are you still in pain? I cried in my bed when they told me what she tried to do to you. What that innie tried to do.”
His comments appeared to reference Helly’s Severed Floor suicide attempt, and at the time, the general vibe was that he loved his daughter Helena and saw Helly as a monster. In his “fetid moppet” scene in Season 2, Episode 2, however, it’s less clear whether this weird AF man is disgusted with and deeply disappointed in Helena, or he’s simply addressing Helly, the innie within her, along with the damning events that transpired.
Jame seems terrified and compelled to flee the room when Helena calls him “father,” but Helena — though clearly impacted by his disapproval — swiftly recovers from the unpleasant interaction and switches into clean-up mode.
In the Season 1 finale, Jame also reminded Helena that one day she’ll sit with him at his “revolving.” And since we still have no idea what the heck that means, we’re sure we haven’t seen the last of the Lumon CEO in Season 2.
Here’s hoping that in addition to delivering some much-needed answers to our burning Jame Eagan questions, Severance Season 2 gives some additional insight into his relationship with Helena.
New episodes of Severance Season 2 premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.