After the startling disclosures in *Severance* Season 2, Episode 7, the narrative takes a dark turn in Episode 8, named “Sweet Vitriol.” This episode focuses entirely on Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) as she returns to her hometown, Salt’s Neck. Once the location of a Lumon ether factory, the town has since deteriorated after the company depleted its resources.
### Exploring Harmony Cobel’s Background
The deserted factory in Salt’s Neck is just a fragment of the larger story of Cobel’s past, which is examined thoroughly in “Sweet Vitriol.” The episode investigates her family history, introducing her zealous, Kier-worshipping Aunt Sissy (Jane Alexander) and mentioning her deceased mother, Charlotte, who spurned the cult-like allegiance to Kier. Moreover, we discover that Cobel was previously a member of the esteemed [Wintertide Fellowship](https://mashable.com/article/severance-miss-huang-wintertide-fellowship-harmony-cobel), the same program Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) is currently engaged in at Lumon.
Nevertheless, the most astonishing revelation of all is that Cobel is the actual creator of the severance procedure.
### Harmony Cobel: The True Originator of Severance
In the climax of “Sweet Vitriol,” Cobel retrieves the item she sought in Salt’s Neck—an old notebook packed with vital information. Inside, she discovers brain wave graphs marked “standard pre-severed brain waves” along with intricate sketches of the severance chip.
“This is mine! My designs!” Cobel exclaims to Sissy as she flips through the pages. “Circuit blueprint, base code, Overtime Contingency, [Glasgow Block](https://mashable.com/article/severance-what-is-the-glasgow-block)—everything.”
This discovery verifies that Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) is not the actual inventor of severance, despite Lumon’s assertions. Rather, Cobel was the one who initially conceived the idea, likely during her tenure as a Wintertide fellow. However, the Kier cult prohibited her from claiming recognition for her work.
“It was said Kier’s knowledge belongs to all,” she confides to Sissy. “If I pursued credit, I would be exiled.”
Not only does Lumon take advantage of its employees, but it also appropriates the work of a child prodigy. How much lower can this organization sink?
### Cobel’s Obsession with Mark and Gemma Unraveled
The disclosure that Cobel invented severance casts new light on her obsession with Mark (Adam Scott) and [Gemma/Ms. Casey](https://mashable.com/article/severance-season-2-episode-7-explained-gemma-lumon) (Dichen Lachman). Throughout Season 1, she engineered events to bring them together, such as having Ms. Casey observe the MDR team. She was undoubtedly assessing whether they retained any subconscious bonds from their Outie lives.
As a married couple, Mark and Gemma served as the perfect subjects to evaluate if emotions and connections could overcome the severance divide. Even her alter ego, Mrs. Selvig, enabled her to see whether Outie Mark’s existence had changed after his Innie inadvertently reconnected with Gemma.
Initially, it seemed that Cobel conducted this experiment for Lumon’s sake. However, with the knowledge that she created severance, her intentions seem much more personal. She wasn’t merely testing Lumon’s technology—she was assessing *her own* creation. She was curious to find out if her procedure could genuinely segregate identities or if love and sorrow could prevail. Had she designed something flawless, or was it flawed?
This also clarifies why she has such dread of reintegration. Beyond the potential risk of revealing Lumon’s secrets, reintegration endangers the integrity of her life’s endeavor.
[*Severance* Season 2 is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes released every Friday.](https://mashable.com/feeds/rss/all)