'Severance' Season 2, episode 4: What is the Glasgow Block?
"Woe's Hollow," the fourth episode of Severance Season 2, is one of the show's most jam-packed entries yet. Over the course of an hour, Severance revealed that Helena Eagan (Britt Lower) had been posing as her Innie for the whole season. It also retired Irving's (John Turturro) Innie and introduced some bizarre new Kier Eagan lore. And that's only scratching the surface!
But in the middle of these major plot points, Severance slyly answered one of our biggest questions from all the way back in Season 1 — and it all starts with Mr. Milchick's (Tramell Tillman) mention of something known as "the Glasgow Block."
What is the Glasgow Block in Severance?
When Irving figures out that Helly is really her Outie posing as an Innie, he attempts to drown her in order to get Helly back. His plan works. Mr. Milchick calls someone back at Lumon and demands that they "remove the Glasgow Block."
Eagle-eyed viewers may remember that this isn't the first time the word "Glasgow" has come up in Severance. In Season 1, episode 8, when Dylan (Zach Cherry) prepared to launch the Overtime Contingency, he also saw a list of several other functions the severed chips can perform. Among them are Beehive, Elephant, Freeze Frame, and Glasgow.
Fans were quick to theorize about what each severed function could be. For Glasgow, they turned to the Glasgow Coma Scale, which measures levels of consciousness after brain trauma. Given that Severance is a show all about consciousness, the connection seemed like a perfect fit. Could Lumon use the Glasgow function to send its severed employees into a coma at a moment's notice?
After "Woe's Hollow," that theory doesn't sound too far off. It seems like the Glasgow function blocks an Innie persona from waking up entirely, allowing their Outie to be in control at all times, even on the Severed Floor.
What could the Glasgow Block mean for the rest of Severance Season 2?
The Glasgow Block's existence spells extra danger for the Innies. It's yet another way Lumon could snuff out their lives without warning, emphasizing once again how little autonomy they have and how little Lumon values them as actual people.
But could there be a flip side to the Innies learning about the Glasgow Block? If they rebel against Lumon again, could there be a way to reverse the block and make it so the Innies are the only active consciousness? That might be too similar to the Innies' triggering the Overtime Contingency in Season 1, but as tensions between the Innies and Outies escalate, anything could be possible.
Another reason the Glasgow Block's appearance here is so important is that it's proof that Severance is paying attention to the little bread crumbs it's dropped throughout its run, like the function menu in Season 1. Those functions weren't just random names — they had intention behind them, and at least one ended up being paid off in an immensely satisfying way. Who knows, maybe down the line we'll see the Beehive or Elephant function in action.
Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.
Topics Severance
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
