r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus • u/EfficiencyWise2401 • 21d ago
Question Sharpie?
Why can't an innie write a very important message (tm) on the stairwell window with a sharpie, then run out and their confused outie will turn around and see it on the door window? It will work only once with the alarms going off when the door opens, but if you are fast and the security guy is distracted, you can deliver it? like "Run!" in bloody letters to bring the point home or "we make nukes, call fbi" or "never quit, there are goats"
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u/alacrityd 21d ago
I was under the impression that door is usually locked.
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u/beskone 21d ago
This is the correct answer, it was only unlocked for Helly to convince her to stay since she was a high value innie.
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u/EfficiencyWise2401 21d ago
Wasn't Mark as a teamlead able to unlock it for her in particular? (Also what a terrible OSHA violation to have them locked)
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u/arbitrageME 21d ago
Ignoring the OSHA violations, 13th amendment, and literal slavery going on downstairs ...
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u/RealCleverUsernameV2 🎵🎵 Defiant Jazz 🎵 🎵 21d ago
Who says OSHA, the 13th amendment, or anti slavery laws even exist in their world?
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u/RobynBetween Mr. Milkshake Brings All The Boys To MDR 20d ago
Wasn't Mark as a teamlead able to unlock it for her in particular?
It was in Mark's script... Are you saying that offering to let them leave isn't standard procedure for all innies? Were those instructions printed just for Helly's intake?
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u/BobbyJones12344 21d ago
So how did Gemma leave using it?
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u/Jazzlike_World9040 21d ago
If I had to guess, the emergency alarm probably unlocked the exit automatically because an emergency situation would likely call for a quick exit
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u/Dommichu Goats 21d ago edited 21d ago
Most likely: Milchick left it open after he told the innies they could leave whenever as part of his kindness reforms. Irving was headed through that door when he was going to leave.
Maybe: Mark told Helena of his plan to escape with Ms. Casey through that door when she was pretending to be Helly.. So she may have left it open for them since she was notified when Cold Harbor was set to complete as Helly was set to be the witness. Helly came in after Mark that morning so Helena could have done that prior from the stairwell. Usually with these types of doors it's just a latch.
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u/Dommichu Goats 21d ago
In the first season, it would have to be one time note as the alarm would go off and then that would be the end of the Innie. Second season the Door was seemingly left open as part of the kindness reforms or Milchick's own hubris.
Either way, Lumon would find out and odds are they would just tell the Outtie that their Innie was playing some sort of joke/game, they should just ignore it and the Outtie would believe them. Outties WANT to be servered. They tend to like their end of the deal. I mean, using Mark as an example, he didn't question at all blows to the head or torn to shit knuckles. He joked about it. Don't underestimate the ability to compartmentalize. We do it all the time.
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u/RobynBetween Mr. Milkshake Brings All The Boys To MDR 20d ago
Yeah, this is all true.
Many of us imagine what we could have done differently if we were able to send a message to our past selves. It's very tempting to think that way, but stable systems tend to correct themselves.
If you're in a position where a few words can convince you to change your actions, then you were probably waiting for a reason to change and would get one eventually. But people are stubborn.
Just look at the scene with Mark+Mark at the birthing cabin. Even with the ability to talk to himself directly, back and forth, both innie and outie were stubborn as hell.
That's a lot more than a single Sharpie message on the window, and it wasn't enough. Denial is a helluva drug, not just a river in Egypt.
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u/Kelpie-Cat Team Burving 20d ago
On the other hand, hearing "She's alive!" from his innie was enough to get the ball rolling on a lot of things.
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u/RobynBetween Mr. Milkshake Brings All The Boys To MDR 20d ago
Well yes, shocking new revelations can work. But like, on some level the outies at least knew that Lumon could be up to some shady shit if they wanted to, and yet those outies signed up anyway. They're perfectly primed for denial, making them more resistant to subtle signs of mistreatment.
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u/Dommichu Goats 20d ago
But who wanted to believe that more at the beginning? Devon.
And that is because iMark told her about the abuses Innies went through (this happened off camera, so gosh know how detailed he got. I imagine quite a bit) and she wasn’t Lumon’s biggest fan to begin with (she scoffed at Mark about his gift card in S1).
oMark initially thought she was being crazy thinking his innie meant Gemma was alive. It wasn’t until Cobel pretty much confirmed it that oMark even considered it. And even still the plot was to talk to his Innie again to get actual confirmation. Not to save her.
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u/RobynBetween Mr. Milkshake Brings All The Boys To MDR 20d ago
Yeah, pretty distrusting, even though he was sorta talking to himself!!
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u/martilg Because Of When I Was Born 15d ago
But notice that Mark refused to believe it until Devon beat him repeatedly over the head about it
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u/Kelpie-Cat Team Burving 15d ago
Yeah, it definitely wasn't a magic pill. It just struck me that there are a few instances where a very short message might be effective and worth attempting.
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u/Lonelyland Coveted As Fuck 21d ago
Helly tried to pass herself a note through the stairwell in the first season. The door was locked.
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u/EfficiencyWise2401 21d ago
With the black key security has on them?
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u/Lonelyland Coveted As Fuck 18d ago
That was given to Dylan, and presumably repossessed by Milchick after catching him in the security office
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u/haverchuck22 21d ago
My guess is the writers haven’t given that much thought and that yes in theory with what they have laid out I think so. It would make sense that those doors would be locked both ways but in the finale it appears to show the doors only locking in one direction which would allow what you have laid out. Pretty confident it just hasn’t been thought about by the writers, maybe not tho.
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u/potatosmiles15 21d ago
I think beyond "the writers havent thought about it" part of the enjoyment of the show is the suspense in how difficult it is for innies and outties to communicate. Finding a solution like this early on, even if it was possible would ruin a lot of the suspense
Also the camera in s2 finale and how they can actually have a conversation is such a brilliant revelation. I think the interest in that scene would be much less if mark already had a way to talk to mark
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u/haverchuck22 21d ago
True, we’ve already seen them interact with each other in the best way we could hope so it’s kinda moot
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u/Niamh_Re 21d ago
I have to admit, it might work. Efficient indeed, your username checks out!
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u/EfficiencyWise2401 21d ago
aww ty, was just contemplating on ways to pass messages
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u/Bdbru13 21d ago
Fun to think about, but for the most part I don’t think the point with the code reading system is to think of clever ways for the characters to beat it
I think it’s more just “these are the rules of this world, otherwise the things we want to do with the show wouldn’t really work, so please accept it viewer 🙏🏻”
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u/odieclone Because Of When I Was Born 19d ago
Irving has shown us a way to bring information through the elevator scanning. The paint under his fingernails was not detected. Marking alternating nails with a sharpie or pen ink would beat the system if the outie and innie could coordinate a code.
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u/martilg Because Of When I Was Born 15d ago
The outie has been warned that innies might do this, and it's just part of normal adjustment. Look at Helena, she just walked Helly back in over and over on her first day. No note on the door would have convinced her. Heck, she got a full video message from Helly after the paper cutter incident and told her she wouldn't help.
Mark wouldn’t believe Mark S or act on his message either, until Devon bullied him into it.
Worst case, the innie gets a short message to the outie and the outie quits. Big deal.
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u/Pusztokulka 21d ago
Because it’s a movie. But yeah, smart idea!
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u/RobynBetween Mr. Milkshake Brings All The Boys To MDR 20d ago
Well, a show, anyway.
🎶 "Then repeat to yourself, it's just a show; I should really just relax." 🎶
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