In Perpetuity is the third episode of the first season of Severance.

You carry the hurt with you. You feel it down there too. You just don't know what it is.

The episode picks up where Half Loop left off. Mark calls to Petey through the closed bathroom door, asking if he is okay. Petey responds that he is, that he just slipped. Mark apologizes for the weird robe he's given Petey to wear, explaining that it's from his brother-in-law. Petey thinks the robe is awesome. Petey, concerned about the security of Mark's house, inquires about the windows and the neighbors. Mark assures him the house is safe.

In a flashback scene at Lumon, Irving and Petey are arguing about company policy concerning employee mixers. Mid-sentence, Petey goes from wearing an office-appropriate suit to the bathrobe Mark gave him. He hears Mark calling “Petey?” and he's back in Mark's basement. He explains to Mark that he's disoriented. It seems like Mark has heard some of Petey's side of the Lumon conversation.

In Mrs. Selvig's messy kitchen, Selvig pours a glass of milk and takes a tray of burned cookies to eat. Sitting in a dark room, she stares out the window - presumably in the direction of Mark's house.

Back at Mark's, Petey describes the pitfalls of Reintegration to Mark. He describes it as having “two pasts” that blur together and don't line up. Petey and Mark discuss who is fighting against Severance. Mark suspects the Whole Mind Collective - the activists who were passing out flyers - but Petey claims it is someone else.

Mark insists he wants to stay Severed because he finds it helpful; Petey proposes that the cost of that help could be murdering people through his work at Lumon without knowing it. Mark questions this, and Petey says he's found out about a department on the Severed floor where people don't get to leave. Petey gets paranoid and distressed when Mark questions this. Petey tells Mark he has a daughter.

Selvig, snooping out her window and eating a burned cookie, watches Mark in his house.

Mark drinks and watches television alone. The news program shows a cable TV anchor questioning a Lumon spokesperson about an incident involving a Severed employee. The inquiry gets heated. Mark changes the channel.

Mark wakes up the next morning, having passed out on the sofa. Getting ready for work, he goes to the basement to wake up Petey and re-orient him to his whereabouts. Mark restates his desire not to reintegrate. Petey sleepily tells Mark that sometimes Mark would come into work with red eyes - an “elevator allergy.” Knowing now that grief is what keeps Mark in, he tells him that down there, “you carry the hurt with you. You feel it down there too. You just don't know what it is.”

As Mark emerges from his house, so does Mrs. Selvig from hers, wielding a hair dryer. She turns it on and aims it at her front stoop. She apologizes for the racket, explaining that she is de-icing her step. She offers more cookies later, which Mark accepts. As soon as Mark is out of sight, Selvig stands up, turns off the hair dryer and goes back into her house.

Mark arrives at work. A green envelope is waiting for him in the MDR office. It contains four prints of the new MDR group photo. Helly arrives and tells Mark of her success the previous day. Before Mark can begin swapping out the old group photos for the new, Helly suggests he needn't bother because she has submitted her resignation request. Mark is surprised. Helly seems happy and suggests that if she's gone, Mark won't be sent to the Break Room anymore.

Milchick arrives and gives Mark the morning announcements to read to the staff. Irving whispers to the others that it will be different now that Mark isn't interrupting Petey's announcements with “gas-having.” Milchick takes a photo of Mark speaking, while the others poke fun at Mark. Several of the announcements address the office antics of Dylan. The last announcement is about Helly's resignation request. Mark expresses surprise about the speed at which it's been turned around. Mark tells Helly her resignation request has been denied. Helly bolts for the restroom, distraught.

Outside, Ricken and Devon drive up to Mark's house. Ricken is there to drop something off for Mark, clearly giddy about what it represents. Waffling about where to place it, Ricken ultimately decides to set the package he's brought to the side of the door of Mark's house. The Hales drive away.

Mrs. Selvig exits her house and walks to Mark's.

In Mark's basement, Petey is frantically sketching a map of the Severed floor.

On Mark's doorstep, Selvig takes the package left by Ricken.

Petey has a flashback to Lumon, trading jokes with Mark. He jolts back to reality in the basement.

Selvig turns a key into the lock of Mark's front door; Petey hears it. Selvig slowly walks through Mark's darkened house and enters the basement.

She descends the stairs. Approaching Mark's storage area, she finds the Gemma bin and opens it. She removes the red and green pillar candle and sniffs it. She drops the candle in a tote she is carrying and closes the bin. Selvig's phone rings as she searches the basement. It sounds like Milchick on the other end. They converse while Selvig continues to snoop around. They appear to be discussing a personnel matter. Petey watches her from a hidden spot, flashing back to Lumon. He quietly creeps up the stairs out of the basement while Selvig continues talking on the phone.

Selvig leaves Mark's and gets into her car. She drives off as Petey observes from behind a hedge, still flashing back to Lumon, its hallways and his map. He ends up on the bridge between the Lumon HQ and Mark's neighborhood.

At Lumon, Mark begs Helly to come out of the restroom, stating she has been in it for 45 minutes. He gives her a warning and enters. Helly is standing by the sinks. Mark calls her out for writing on her skin, which she denies. He reminds her about the Code Detectors. She then puts her forearms together to show Mark she has written 'LET ME OUT' over both of her limbs. Dismayed, Mark tries to remind Helly that things have been getting better for her, but she is intransigent. He tells her to scrub her arms.

Irving, having overheard Mark and Helly's interaction in the restroom, suggests that Mark bring Helly to the Perpetuity Wing. He believes it will instill Helly with the deeper meaning of Lumon Industries.

Ms. Cobel arrives at her office. She shows Milchick the package she took from Mark's door and tells him to open it and look for messages. The package contains a hard-bound book called The You You Are authored by Ricken Hale. Cobel and Milchick recognize Ricken as Mark's brother-in-law.

Mark comes into Cobel's office suite unannounced. He asks Ms. Cobel for permission to take the MDR team to the Perpetuity Wing. Cobel critiques Mark's leadership skills because of the way he asked the question and throws a mug at him. She demands that Mark get his team to its numbers. Mark leaves without receiving a definitive answer.

In MDR, Dylan hypothesizes that his Outie does muscle shows. He and Irving quarrel about how much money can be made that way, while Helly writes “I don't want to work here” on a Lumon-branded post-it note. She folds the note into a tiny parcel and fits it inside the cap of a Sharpie pen. She tapes over the open end. In the Kitchenette she retrieves a glass and fills it with water. Just as she puts the pen cap into her mouth, Mark appears. He offhandedly tells her that the code detectors can sense messages even inside the body. He briefly describes the extraction process that would take place when she is caught. Helly spits the pen cap out into Mark's waiting hand.

Mark takes the team on a field trip to the Perpetuity Wing. Irving, carrying his company handbook in a Lumon tote, drones on about Lumon trivia as they walk the hallways. Walking behind Irving, Dylan quietly hands out “Eagan Bingo” sheets to Helly and Mark, claiming it is a way for the team to bond (except Irving).

At a junction of the hallways, the MDR team comes upon Burt and Felicia from Optics and Design. The two groups regard each other distrustfully. Though Irving attempts to ease the tension by greeting Burt in a friendly manner, Dylan becomes confrontational, demanding to know O&D's business. Felicia claims they are returning from a team-building exercise. Dylan casts doubt on that explaination. Mark introduces Helly and tells Burt and Felicia that they are on the way to the Perpetuity Wing. The two groups part ways while Irving watches wistfully as Burt disappears down the hallway.

Cobel enters her office where she finds Natalie and Milchick. Natalie announces that there is a meeting about Peter Kilmer and The Board will be joining them. Milchick makes some last minute adjustments to a speaker on Cobel's desk and leaves the room. Static crackles from the speaker. Natalie instructs Cobel to speak first, and Cobel greets the Board. Natalie looks searchingly at Cobel until she continues speaking about the search for Petey. Hesitantly, Cobel mentions that Petey showed signs of reintegration before he left. Speaking for the Board, Natalie tells Cobel that the Severance Procedure is irreversible, and chastens Cobel that the manager of the Severed Floor would know that. Trying to recover, Cobel hails her nimble new Refiner, but the Board ends the call mid-sentence.

In the hallways, the team discuss the traits of O&D. Dylan asserts that O&D attempted a violent coup on the other departments years ago, which is why their department now consists of two people. Mark strongly refutes this story. Helly proposes killing Mark if O&D come back to attack them, so O&D will think they are crazy with nothing to lose. Dylan supports the idea.

MDR finally makes it to the Perpetuity Wing. Irving opens the door to a concrete-walled room. They come upon a large wax statue of Jame Eagan, current CEO. While Irving and Dylan take it in with admiration, Helly regards the statue with an unreadable look. Down a flight of stairs, similar statues of past CEOs stand on short pedestals in a grey, concrete atrium.

Outside, Petey walks the cold streets, confused, in his bathrobe. The philosophical words of Kier Eagan play over while the scene switches to the inside of the Perpetuity Wing. Helly plays Eagan Bingo while the words of the CEOs echo through the concrete room. Irving mentions Myrtle Eagan declared, at the age of seven, that she would be the first woman CEO of Lumon. Helly wryly expresses regret that she can't remember her own childhood. Irving agrees having no history is unnatural, but implies that the company's history is her history now.

They walk into the Lumon Legacy of Joy, the walls of which are covered by screens. Each screen shows the static close-up smile of a person. The images are black and white.

to be continued - spaetzele

• Adam Scott as Mark Scout
• Zach Cherry as Dylan George
• Britt Lower as Helly Riggs
• Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick
• Jen Tullock as Devon
• Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey (credit only)
• Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
• John Turturro as Irving Bailiff
• Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
• Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel

• Yul Vazquez as Peter Kilmer
• Sydney Cole Alexander as Natalie
• Michael Cumpsty as Doug Graner
• Michael Siberry as Jame Eagan (voice)

• Alexis Cofield as Checkout Girl
• Alexandra Ferrara as Weather Channel (voice)
• Marc Geller as Kier Eagan (voice)
• Michael Cruz Kayne as Steven
• Jillian Lindig as Myrtle Eagan (voice)
• Lou Martini Jr. as Cop (voice)
• Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd
• Claudia Robinson as Felicia

• Mark’s Fish

• List of Episodes