The second severance indemnity does not prevent surprising fans, now they wonder if Lumon will be a modern version of Dr. Victor Frankenstein
A disturbing parallelism
In episode 2 of the second season of SeveranceMark confirms that he saw Gemma’s lifeless body, but continues to exist inside Lumon. This raises a terrifying possibility: the company has found a way to relaunch the dead, a concept that recalls immediately Frankenstein. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein challenges the laws of nature by returning life to a body without a soul, with devastating consequences. Could Lumon do the same with your employees?
The script of Severance It is afflicted by references that strengthen this theory. In the series, Kier Eagan is revered as an almost divine figure, similar to the way Frankenstein sees his creation. In fact, Eagan refers to his employees as his “children”, evoking Frankenstein’s relationship with his monster:
“Come now, children of my sector and know the children of my blood.”
But the most detector is the way Lumon deals with his “separate” workers. Like the creature of Frankenstein, people They are trapped in a world they don’t belong to. They are incomplete beings, deprived of real experiences and forced to exist in an artificial reality. Like the monster, they crave their identity, but are constantly rejected by their creator.
What really is looking for Lumon?
First facie, Frankenstein It is a warning about the dangers of playing to be God. But it is also a criticism of the industrial revolution and the inhumanization of the worker. Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with his experiment without considering the ethical consequences, the same as Lumon with his employees. The company has found a way to “perfect” human identity, eliminating the emotions that interfere with productivity.
In their Department of MacRodatos, employees don’t know what exactly they do, but it is insinuated that they are manipulating memories, eliminating the most conflicting aspects of the human psyche. In FrankensteinThe creature is a reflection of the fear of uncontrolled scientific advance. In SeveranceLumon is modeling his workers in something more efficient, but also less human.
Towards “improved” humanity
If Victor Frankenstein sees his experiment as an act of higher creation, Kier Eagan seems to have a similar vision. Their appointments strengthen the idea that weakness and suffering are obstacles that must be uprooted:
“Don’t let the weakness live in your veins. Dear workers, drowning it inside you. Get up from your death and anticipate the bed, more perfect for fighting.
This philosophy indicates a terrifying idea: Lumon does not only want to separate the personal and working life of his employees, but transform them into something else. Like Frankenstein, they created a new form of “life”, a refined, improved humanity and, above all, absolutely faithful to the company.
The rebellion of monsters
If we continue with the analogy, Severance It seems to go to a revolt of the “monsters” of Lumon. In Shelley’s novel, the creature finally turns against its creator, tormented by solitude and refusal. In SeveranceThe innie are also waking up and looking for answers. As in FrankensteinHis search for identity could be the beginning of his creator’s fall.
Could the series end and the others that destroy the system that keep them prisoners? If the story follows parallels with FrankensteinThe fall of Lumon would be inevitable. In the end, Shelley’s creature is not the real monster, but its creator. Is Lumon the Frankenstein of our time?