Severance: Everything you need to know about Reghabi, the season 1 surgeon 

Asal Reghabi is a very interesting character in the Apple TV+ series Severance. She was first introduced in Season 1, Episode 6, titled Hide and Seek. She was portrayed by Karen Aldridge.

She was a former surgeon at Lumon Industries who played a crucial role in the severance process, especially by installing the severance chip in Mark Scout, played by Adam Scott, and other employees.

Reghabi's character becomes pivotal as she transitions from being a part of Lumon to actively working against it, developing experimental technology aimed at reintegrating severed employees.

---

Background of Asal Reghabi

Asal Reghabi's backstory reveals her deep ties to Lumon Industries. Initially, she was a surgeon in the company, which would sever employees, including Mark, from their past lives. The procedure separates the memories of a person into two distinct identities: the "Innie," who lives inside Lumon, and the "Outie," who lives outside the company.

This makes her an important figure in the quest Mark has for information about his life and the truth about Lumon. Reghabi first comes up when Mark receives a phone call from her after having heard of the death of his former colleague, Petey Kilmer (Yul Vazquez), who had been through reintegration and died of complications from it.

During a meeting in an old lab building at Ganz College, Reghabi has expressed her willingness to have something explained to Mark about what was going on at Lumon when Doug Graner (Michael Cumpsty), head of security at Lumon, suddenly interrupts their discussion.

At the climax, she kills Graner with a baseball bat to protect Mark, clearly demonstrating her preparedness to take on the threat of Lumon head-on.

---

Role in the resistance

Asal Reghabi's character evolves significantly throughout Severance, particularly as she becomes involved in the resistance against Lumon. After killing Graner, she goes into hiding but remains connected to Mark through Petey's phone. In Season 2, her role expands as she becomes instrumental in Mark's quest to uncover the truth about his wife, Gemma.

In Season 2, Episode 3, Mark learns that Gemma is alive and working within Lumon. To get the information without raising suspicion in the company, he turns to Reghabi for help in the reintegration process, an experimental procedure that may join his Innie and Outie selves.

Reghabi tells him that reintegration is dangerous but gives Mark a chance to get access to the critical memories that may take him to Gemma. She adds that she has perfected her techniques since Petey's unsuccessful reintegration attempt. Reghabi’s knowledge of Lumon’s inner workings makes her an invaluable ally for Mark.

She understands not only the technical aspects of severance and reintegration but also the moral implications of these processes. Her motivations appear rooted in a desire for redemption for her past actions while working at Lumon.

---

Significance in the narrative of Severance

Asal Reghabi is a valuable connection between those severed employees to their real world outside of the Lumon institution. Her characterization is one against corporate control as well as toward personal truth through resistance. Therefore, she does help Mark better understand his bifurcated life and himself, as it relates to Lumon Industries itself.

Reghabi's character further develops as she helps Mark uncover the mystery surrounding Gemma's disappearance and the mysterious nature of Lumon's practices in Severance Season 2.

Her comeback signals a shift in the narrative since it will start to go into the implications of severance and what this would mean for the people involved in it. With tensions escalating both within Lumon and its workers, Reghabi's character will play an even more significant role in shaping the resistance.

---

In a word, Asal Reghabi is more than a secondary character in Severance; she is the hope for people who are fighting to resume their identities from corporate oppression. Her transformation from a compromised surgeon complicit in Lumon's operations to playing a crucial role in its struggle further illustrates the complexities of morality within such an environment.