'Severance' star gets honest about her role in S2

Britt Lower plays two versions of the same character in Severance, innie Helly and outie Helena.

But in the second season, the actress had to delve a bit deeper into her role, where Helena pretended to be Helly for half of the season.

In a chat with Variety, Britt looked back at the changes her characters experienced in two seasons. 

"Something so tragic about Helly is that there’s no tangible way for her to win. Maybe Mark could reintegrate. Maybe Dylan could see Gretchen again," she said.

"But it’s hard to imagine that Helena would ever let Helly be free. Is that hopelessness something that looms over your portrayal of Helly?

She continued, "I’ve loved getting to know how Helly’s mind works and what she’s driven by. In Season 1, it was an emotional journey that was very physical: Get me out of here at all costs."

"She had a very clear understanding that something was ethically off about this place that she woke up in. What is this work that we’re doing? It doesn’t have any meaning for me, whatsoever," the actress noted.

"She came to discover at the end of the season that her outie is very deeply connected to the company very deeply connected to the family that is keeping her trapped there," the Holly Slept Over star added.

"Her whole consciousness is shifted. “Now, my duty has shifted. I have a purpose, and I know that this is wrong, and I have this internal compass where I want to make things right.”

Meanwhile, she’s learning the meaning of family. She gets her chosen family, and she really comes to love Irving and Dylan and Mark. Season 1 was, “Who am I and what is this work?” Season 2 becomes, “Who am I in relationship to how I show up for the people who I love?” 

"That gives her a great deal of meaning for me. She’s on this journey of, “Who am I, really? What makes me human? This other part of me, this inner saboteur of Helena, told me I wasn’t a person in Season 1, in front of my friends," Britt shared.

"Well, am I a person? Do I have the right to make choices about my body?” That’s some of some of what’s driving her."

In the meantime, Severance is renewed for season three, but no release date has been shared yet.