Ranking the Best Severance Characters in Season 1: From Most Relatable to Most Terrifying
Severance has captivated audiences with its mind-bending premise and eerie exploration of work-life balance or rather, the total lack of it. Set in the mysterious, dystopian Lumon Corporation, the series introduces us to a complex cast of characters who all play a part in the twisted game of severance.
But beyond the sci-fi intrigue, it’s the human stories that resonate most with viewers. Below, I’ll rank the best severance characters based on relatability, depth, and sheer impact, while reflecting on their respective arcs, and why they stand out in a show filled with secrecy, surveillance, and moral ambiguity.
Most Relatable Character: Helly R.
Best Severance Characters – Why Helly Stands Out:
Helly starts her journey as a newcomer to Lumon’s severance program, which makes her the perfect character for us to relate to. As viewers, we begin our journey with her, and it’s through her eyes that we experience the shock of the “severed” world for the first time.
Helly’s struggle to accept the severed life is incredibly relatable. Imagine waking up every day to the same monotonous work, with no recollection of your life outside the office and no way to escape.
Helly’s desperation to break free and bypass the system speaks to something deeply human: the desire to maintain autonomy over one’s life. Her journey mirrors our own frustration with the world of corporate bureaucracy and how it can dehumanize workers.
Her efforts to escape, and her eventual suicidal despair when realizing the full scope of her situation, make her one of the most grounded characters on the show. Even though the premise of Severance is outlandish, Helly’s reaction to it, her emotional and mental breakdown, is a reflection of the sheer horror of being trapped in such a soul-crushing system.
Her Evolution: The biggest shock, however, comes when it’s revealed that Helly is not just another employee; she is a member of the Eagan family, the very founders of Lumon. This revelation adds an additional layer of complexity to her character.
Helly’s fight against the very system that her bloodline created becomes a tragic commentary on the generational wealth and power that sustains such companies. She’s a product of the system, yet she despises it, making her both a victim and a resistance fighter at once.
Most Terrifying Character: Cobel
Best Severance Characters – What Makes Cobel So Terrifying:
There’s no question about it: Cobel is easily one of the most unnerving characters in Severance. On the surface, she may seem like just another corporate enforcer, but her fanatical devotion to Lumon and her sinister behavior make her far more terrifying.
She embodies the oppressive surveillance culture that dominates the company, constantly watching over the employees like a hawk. But her power comes not just from her position, but from her psychological manipulation of those around her.
One of the most chilling aspects of Cobel’s character is how she inserts herself into Mark’s personal life. She doesn’t just work at Lumon; she goes so far as to stalk Mark outside the office, infiltrating his relationships and even using a “wellbeing counselor” that is supposedly his dead wife.
The idea that she’s controlling Mark’s reality both in and outside the office is deeply disturbing. The way she aggressively maintains control over her “innies” and enforces the system’s rules with such fury makes her a true embodiment of the corporate machinery at Lumon.
Her Unpredictable Nature: But what truly elevates Cobel’s terrifying presence is her volatility. One minute, she’s the dutiful company servant, and the next, she’s in a violent rage, throwing things at Mark or praying to the eerie shrine dedicated to Lumon’s founders.
Her unpredictability and obsessive drive to preserve Lumon’s mission make her feel like an unstoppable force, one that will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo.
Most Tragic Character: Mark S.
Best Severance Characters – Why Mark’s Story Hits Hard:
Mark’s story is perhaps the most heartbreaking of all. After the tragic death of his wife, he volunteers for the severance procedure in a desperate attempt to escape the crushing pain of grief.
What Mark doesn’t realize is that, in choosing to sever his memory, he’s essentially cutting himself off from not only his pain but also his humanity.
Mark is someone who has tried to find solace in his work, using it as a way to compartmentalize his grief. But as we learn, this choice was deeply misguided, and the truth behind Lumon’s manipulative tactics comes to light.
The saddest part of Mark’s story is his inability to recognize his own wife when she’s revealed to be alive, working at Lumon in a “wellbeing counselor” role.
The fact that Lumon, the company he trusted to heal his pain, has instead manipulated him into this horrible, soul-sucking cycle of control is deeply tragic.
Mark gave up everything, his past, his connections, his ability to feel pain for the false hope of peace, and instead, he was drawn into a nightmarish web of lies.
Mark’s Duality: What makes Mark’s journey even more tragic is his duality as both a worker at Lumon and as someone who slowly starts to uncover the truth. His innie seems content with the routine of work, but his outie is constantly fighting the trauma of loss.
The ultimate irony is that even when Mark finds out about the company’s manipulation, his outie remains unaware, leaving Mark trapped in a cycle of ignorance and deceit.
Most Surprising Character Development: Dylan
Best Severance Characters – Dylan’s Evolution:
Dylan might not have received as much focus as Mark or Helly, but his arc in Season 1 was surprisingly impactful.
The moment when he uses the override system to reveal the truth to his colleagues is a pivotal moment for his character. For someone who had been so committed to the system, this act of rebellion signals a profound shift.
Dylan’s growing attachment to his son is what motivates him to break free from the system—it’s his love for his child that ultimately leads him to make the ultimate sacrifice.
His willingness to risk everything for the chance to let his innie friends experience life on the outside was moment of character growth that subverts the expectations set by his initially selfish persona.
The True Villain of Severance
While Cobel and Milchick are certainly terrifying, it’s the system of severance itself that emerges as the true villain of the series.
The corporation’s stranglehold on the lives of its employees, along with its morally ambiguous actions, creates an atmosphere of fear, manipulation, and control. Severance isn’t just a commentary on corporate culture, it’s a deep dive into the psychological toll such systems take on the human soul.
The characters of Mark, Helly, Cobel, and Dylan may all be facing their own personal demons, but it’s the overarching force of Lumon that continues to shape their fates in terrifying ways.
As Season 2 unfolds, the hope is that these characters will continue to evolve, pushing back against the oppressive forces that have controlled their lives.
Whether they succeed or not remains to be seen, but the journey toward self-awareness, freedom, and revenge promises to be even more complex and gripping.
If you’re as obsessed with Severance as I am, make sure to check out my other posts:
- Severance Ending Explained: What Really Happened and What’s Next
- Severance Season 1 Review: 5 Reasons It’s the Most Unforgettable Sci-Fi Thriller of the Decade
And don’t forget to leave a comment below with your own rankings of the characters. Who’s the most relatable to you? Who terrified you the most? Let’s discuss!
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