What happened between Burt Goodman and Irving Bailiff in Severance? Details explored 

Severance draws people in with its stories and deep relationships between the characters. One of the most important connections is the one between Burt Goodman, played by Christopher Walken, and Irving Bailiff, played by John Turturro. This all happens in the mysterious Lumon Industries, where there's this weird thing called the severance procedure that splits the workers' lives in two so they can't remember anything about their jobs when they're not at work.

Irving, who works in the Macrodata Refinement department, meets Burt, the boss of Optics & Design, in the Wellness Center. At first, they get along well, but then their friendship turns into something more, even though they're not supposed to have personal feelings at work.

Burt gets into trouble because he breaks the rules by letting the MDR folks meet the O&D team. So, the company makes him retire. This gets to Irving, and he has a showdown with their boss, Seth Milchick, because of it. This part of the story shows us that there's still a bit of humanity in the middle of all these strict rules.

Now that Severance Season 2 is coming, everyone's curious about Burt and Irving's relationship and if there's something more to it outside of work.

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Burt Goodman's role at Severance's Lumon Industries

Burt Goodman is the top dog at Optics & Design, a team that chooses art, keeps the stories about Kier Eagan going, and handles Lumon's secretive 3D printing. He's been running the show there for about seven years, and his crew operates on their little island, cut off from the rest of the company on Severance.

Now, even though the different departments at Lumon are kind of like strangers passing in the night, Burt and Irving, don't let that stop them from being curious about each other. They're like two kids peeking through the cracks in the fence, trying to catch a glimpse of what's going on. This leads to little moments of sticking it to the man, like when Irving pops in uninvited to see what Burt's group is up to.

Burt's send-off party, where he's supposed to ride off into the sunset turns into a drama. Seth Milchick tells him to pack his bags because of a mistake that might not even be his fault. This scene shows Lumon treats people like they're cogs in a machine. It's like, once you mess up, you're out. This gets under Irving's skin and fires him up to find out what's going on behind the scenes at his workplace.

Burt's got a whole other life outside of Lumon that we're all dying to know about. His retirement party hints that he's got a love interest outside of work, and it makes us wonder what's in store for the life he's leaving behind. What's going to happen to Burt now that he's not part of the company anymore? It's a reminder that even in a place that seems so in control, there's always more to the story.

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Do Irving and Burt have a connection beyond Lumon on Severance?

Irving and Burt's relationship is important in Severance and makes you wonder if they had a special link before they started working at Lumon. Some think Lumon might have set them up together to see how their brain-separating tech works. Irving does some intense things, like painting the company's black hallways non-stop, and after he leaves the job, he's desperate to find Burt again.

In the last episode of Severance Season 1, Irving sees Burt with someone else, which makes you question if their bond at work was real or just something the chip made up. It could be a hint at a messy situation from their real lives outside of Lumon.

Severance's creator, Dan Erickson, is dropping hints that in season 2, Irving might get upset about all this and start digging into Lumon's shady business. He's saying their friendship is like a tiny version of the big question the show keeps asking: what makes someone who they are—memories, feelings, or something deeper?

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If you haven't seen Severance yet, catch up with Season 1 on Apple TV+, and get ready for new episodes of Season 2 that come out every Friday.

Next: Severance creator Dan Erickson talks about Keanu Reeves' cameo