Will Irving return in Severance Season 3? Everything we know about John Turturro’s future in the Apple TV+ show

The end of season 2, episode 9 of Severance shows Burt sending Irving's outie away from Lumon, realizing that his life is in danger. Burt and Irving's innies are lovers, while they both live a different life outside Lumon, with the former happily married to someone else. As a merciful gesture, Burt gives him a train ticket and tells him to go far away from Lumon. He also requested him to not reveal anything about his location, even to him, ever.

The final shot of season 2 shows Irving sitting on the train, smiling underneath tears, leaving his future uncertain in Severance. According to reports, actor John Turturro, who plays Irving, suggested his return in an interview, while the uncertain fate of his character gives the makers a potential scope to reintroduce him with the most unexpected twist. Let's dive further into the possibilities.

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What happened to Irving in Season 2 of Severance?

Despite being one of the primary cast in Severance, the season 2 finale leaves his fate uncertain. The finale could have shown a glimpse of his Outie dealing with the outside world however, they refrained from it. This hints at two possibilities- the end of the character Irving, or he will be re-introduced with an unpredictable twist.

In season 2, Irving's innie is "permanently dismissed" by Mr. Milchick. His innie's existence ceases to exist forever, unlike the other Lumon employees, who are temporarily deactivated. This means that Irving's innie's erasure is final. What provoked Milchick to do the same?

Irving exposes Helly's true identity as Helena Eagan and confronts her while claiming that she knows who she is. When things go out of control, Milchick has to intervene, demanding Irving's execution. Milchick, who works under protocol and understands leadership, decides to terminate his innie. In an interview with The Direct, the actor who played Milchik revealed how "painful" it was for him to kill Irving.

"It was painful to watch that, and I wager to think that Irving is probably one of Milchick's favorite innies because he gets it. He understands the protocol. He understands what it takes to be in a position of leadership. In some way, there's a camaraderie that they share."

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Is this the end of John Turturro’s character in Severance?

However, this probably is not the end of the character as only his innie is dead but Outie is still alive breathing in the outside world. Leaving his fate uncertain gives the makers tremendous scope to play with the narrative around Irving in season 3 and introduce him in the most unpredictable ways in Severance. Probably he will serve the purpose no one can, and be used during the most intense of situations.

Secondly, the season 2 finale was limited to two locations only; therefore, integrating Irving's side of the story into some intense drama would have been difficult. John Turturro, who plays Irving in Severance, also hints at his return in the upcoming season during an interview with The Wrap. However, nothing is said concretely; only some possibilities can be drawn.

"When you’re doing scenes at the end of the season, it’s always tricky to find that sweet spot. Because you think it could be the end, but maybe it’s not the end. If there’s stuff that’s good and active and interesting to do, then I could see that, yeah. If people wanted there to be [a third season], there could be, and there could be big, big surprises too. You know, Irving’s left all those paintings behind. There’s a reason why they went into his apartment, why they’re looking around."