'Severance' Episode 5: What is the Macrodata Refinement Calamity? New find confuses Dylan
Spoilers for 'Severance' Episode 5 'The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design'
Each episode of 'Severance' brings in more intrigue and thrill as the chilling policies and secrets of Lumon Industries and its workers are explored. The 'severed' floor has various departments but they don't interact with each other or know their location.
However, this slowly changes as Irving and Burt meet up frequently. Ms Cobel does surveillance and it is hinted that this allowance of the meet-up is part of an experiment as she encourages the interaction. This leads to a curious new discovery that confuses everyone. Read on to know more about the new find at work in episode 5 of 'Severance'!
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The fifth episode sees Dylan (Zach Cherry) making some copies but, instead of the expected prints, what comes out is a grotesque painting showing the workers of the Macrodata Refinement(MDR) division being brutally disemboweled and killed by the workers of the Optics and Design(O&D), which shocks him. Just then, Milchick (Tramell Tillman) shows up and claims this was a mistake that wasn't intended for them. A clearly spooked Dylan asks him if the O&D coup really happened, to which Milchick replies that it was just a joke for Ms Cobel (Patricia Arquette).
Later on, we see him join Irving (John Turturro), who goes to meet Burt (Christopher Walken) as he doesn't trust the latter. Dylan is hostile and locks Burt in the conference room to question him. Burt tells him yes, the O&D division doesn't trust them as there's a rumor that the MDR workers are 'devils' and that eventually a larva inside them consumes the body and takes their place. But Burt brushes the rumor off as ridiculous and says he'll show them his entire department.
Meanwhile, Helly (Britt Lower) and Mark (Adam Scott), who are wandering on the floor, come across a weird new department that has a man bottle-feeding baby goats. The man yells at them about the animals not being ready yet.
Later at the O&D office, Dylan comes across the painting from before and accuses Burt of lying. However, Irving comes to his defense and points out that this version of the painting is different, citing the attackers wearing MDR badges. Burt tells them that it's never gone into the rotation and is called the 'Macrodata Refinement Calamity'. This leads to major confusion as Dylan points out they've never done this and questions why there are two versions of the same drawing.
This leaves us with many burning questions. What do the employees at Lumon really do? How many departments are there? Does the painting foreshadow a clash between the departments? Is this all part of Cobel's mysterious plan? But the biggest one is: what is the 'Macrodata Refinement Calamity' and has it happened before? We'll have to watch the next episode to find out!
'Severance' returns with a new episode each Friday on Apple TV+.