What does the dead seal in Severance Season 2 Episode 4 signify? Speculations explored

In Season 2 Episode 4 of Severance Mark hides Petey's phone after checking all the information while Helly gets to know about the map that Mark has that initiates a debate between the team members. Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irving's innies are brought to Woe's Hollow, a snowy winter landscape. The place Woe’s Hollow is the location where Kier Eagan, the founder of Lumon Industries conquered the Temper Woe after his twin brother’s death. The pathway goes through the woods which were filled with animal corpses. Mark mentions that it looks like a seal. Therefore, the dead seal in Severance is a symbolic element rather than a random one.

Let's explore the speculations around dead seals in Severance Season 2 in detail.

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The Dead Seals' connection with Water scarcity in Severance Season 2, Episode 4

Water is important in Severance, as has been hinted at several times. Lumon deals with locations strongly associated with water. Even the Lumon handbook suggests washing hands with Lumon soap ten times a day. Most importantly, the packaging of the company's logo, with Lumon's "o" in the shape of water droplet, suggests its deep business and association with water.

Some theories speculate that there might be a water shortage and Lumon has gained control over it further making them the most powerful in the region. The very process of the company getting severed divides the self into two- Outtie and Innie. The 'Innie' self being naive to the outside world to understand anything. This is shown when Helly asks "The seals look so messed up" while Mark wanders this is what dead things look like. Therefore, dead seals might be a suggestion for some Lumon's experiments trying to gauge if the creature can survive within manipulated aquatic conditions.

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The dead seal could signify Lumon's dangerous experiments on wildlife in Severance

The episode opens with Irving's face and the story is clear that he is about to die. However, he is at peace as he contributes to bringing out the truth about Lumon. In one frame when Irving looks straight into the eyes of Milchik we get to know that the obidient Irving has gone. The scene also marks the first-ever point when any of the Lumon employees, the Innies have seen the sky.

The seal's reference might also depict the condition of the Lumon employees. It is speculated that it points towards some buried experiments the firm is dealing with. It could also link to the Goat department in one of the Lumon's floors. Secondly, Woe's Hollow consists of one small lake, and it seems odd that so many seals are found around the water body. Therefore, it is speculated that the seals are brought to Woe's Hollow and are being used for some special experiments by Lumons.

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Towards the end of the episode, we get to know that Helly is planning to kill herself in the outie form to escape the work culture of Lumon. Over the visuals, we hear Dylan's poem on destiny which adds layers to the same.

Severance is full of unique plot twists and goes into the details of every piece of information therefore the seals can't just be random. Now, only the upcoming episodes can confirm what the dead seals exactly represent.