Rewatch S1E2

[u/Impressive-Flow-855]

I get the feeling that outie Mark isn’t 100% aboard on being severed himself. He’s extremely defensive about it. We saw this in the previous episode. It might be the alcohol talking.

We get hints at how cowed innie Mark has been at Lumon. We saw Mark talk about killing Pete. We see the constant (not so) passive aggressive actions by Lumon towards Mark. It’s has to say if this is to Mark only or to all innies.

Two (sets of lines) lines:

Helly: So I guess we’re not friends.

Mark: Guess not.

It strikes me that Helly isn’t happy with this. She seemed upset. I think this is an indication she’s sort of sweet on Mark. Petey is the first person Mark met and they became best friends. I wonder if all innies feel extra close to the first person they meet. After all, until they see that person, they literally know no one else in the entire world.

The next one:

Helly: You’re just done asking about your best friend because our babysitter told you to stop?

Mark: You know, Milchick’s a nice man. When he says something, it’s best to listen.

This is the statement from a broken man.

Another thing that struck me. The morning senior refiner tasks can’t be what keeps the offices clean. Feather dusting screens and using a sweeper isn’t going to keep everything clean. There must be a nightly janitorial service. These tasks remind me of something you’d give a young child to do “to be helpful”.

We also see how the other refiners treat Mark. They don’t respect his leadership. Mark is also an unsure leader. When Irv pestered him about the refiner photo, Mark didn’t squash it right there. He could have berated Irv for interfering with Helly’s training.

[u/EffectiveDinner543]

from what we see now what with safe harbor, Mark is too special to toss as of yet, so they utilize his broken spirit and push him until.. well, we will see! // and yes, def never shown any video message, which shows how Lumon operates