How did Peter "Petey" Kilmer escape Lumon Industries in Severance? Details explored

Disclaimer: Severance spoilers and theories ahead!

Peter "Petey" Kilmer used to work at Lumon Industries as a Macrodata Refiner. He was the first person to go through Reintegration, a process that helped him get his old memories back from his work and personal life. This was because his memories were separated, a common practice at the company.

Petey had a clever plan to escape. He waited for a fire drill and then used that as a chance to leave Lumon. He might have even started the drill himself to make sure he wouldn't get caught. Before he left, he drew a map of the Severed Floor at Lumon and gave it to Mark S., his best buddy at work.

Things didn't go well for Petey after he got his freedom. He began to feel sick from Reintegration Sickness, which is a side effect. Sadly, he didn't get to enjoy being free for long because he collapsed in a convenience store and didn't survive.

Even though his story is sad, it's important for every Severance fan to know.

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How did Petey escape Lumon on Severance?

Petey didn't just randomly decide to escape. He carefully planned his move. Before leaving, he made a map of the Severed Floor. He did this by drawing it on the back of a group photo. This map was important for understanding where he was and where to go.

He also took a secret recording from Mark's session in the Break Room. This recording ended up being rather important. It helped Mark see that Lumon was evil. Severance gave us a hint about his plan, which it later built on.

During an earlier fire drill, Petey showed Mark around the building. This was a clever way to get to know the place without causing suspicion. It seems like Petey had been thinking about escaping for a while. His actual escape took place during a fire drill. He used this chaos to his advantage and disappeared.

This shows he knew Lumon's security details.

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Reintegration had its consequences

Petey's freedom was sadly overshadowed by a condition called Reintegration Sickness. This was revealed in Severance Season 1. Regabhi, a former Lumon surgeon, had developed a way to reverse the Severance process.

Our brains aren't made to handle having two separate identities come together as one. The typical symptoms of this sickness were feeling dizzy, being confused, seeing things that weren't there, and forgetting.

Petey, who'd lived with his two selves apart for a long time, had a really hard time with his mind trying to put them together again. His health kept getting worse until he eventually passed out and didn't wake up at a gas station.

They didn't say exactly why he died, but it's pretty clear that his brain just couldn't handle the stress of Reintegration. Petey's story in Severance is a sad warning. It showed, however, that leaving Lumon and going through Reintegration was possible. It also made everyone wonder just how much power Lumon really had over its workers.

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You can now watch Severance on Apple TV+.

More Severance to nerd out: Milchick's mirror scene | Wintertide | Break Room