Irving is the only MDR member to have tissues on his desk (and why I think this is)
I thought this was interesting.
I think I know why this is, but here’s what I think it’s not:
While there are signs of outie Irving being depressed, I don’t think it would carry badly enough to affect him. We’ve seen Mark cry before work and when he went inside, he just threw away the tissue, no longer needing it.
It probably wouldn’t be related to allergies. Firstly, it’s the winter time, and second, I doubt Lumon would put in a bunch of plants that people are commonly allergic to. I also don’t know how this would be relevant to his character and the overall narrative.
If it was related to his sinuses, we would have seen him sniffling more and using the tissues. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe we’ve ever seen him use the tissues.
I think it’s actually related to an ear infection in his left ear (credit to u/tdciago for bringing up the left ear thing):
In the ORTBO, Irving had his hat titled to cover his right ear, as if he doesn’t feel anything in his left.
He only places his phone to his right ear.
He listens to music from his right.
He tends to keep people to his right (think: While having dinner with Burt and Fields, while walking to the Perpetuity Wing…)
Dylan whispers in his right ear and eats the watermelon’s left ear, indicating he knew about Irving’s condition, and/or symbolism that he ate the deaf ear because he didn’t listen to Irving when he should have.
Also, you shouldn’t be cleaning out drainage of an ear infection with a cotton swab, as it would be more likely further damage the ear canal. Tissues would be a better choice, as they’re a common office item and are broad and soft.
This incident may have been caused by an incident in water, so Irving would have “surfer’s ear”, which is an ear infection that greatly affects your ability to hear. We know that Irving is already connected to water, due to Wellness Fact of “your outie values water” and probable past in the navy, so this would fit.
Irving’s condition may be a reference to It’s a Wonderful Life, where the main character, George, saves his brother from drowning, but in doing so, becomes deaf in his left ear. Coincidentally(?) in the movie, one of George’s friends is named Bert, and in Severance, Dylan’s last name is George. So considering this reference, Irving may have saved someone from drowning… but who? Dylan’s son, Merrick.
Why Merrick? First of all, Ms. Casey states to Irving: “Your outie is a friend to children.” So besides the Arteta’s kids (which I doubt Irving would be friends with), Dylan’s kids are the only other children in the show. And Merrick also has a “left ear thing”. Due to how Gretchen brings this up, it seems like a recent development. Given that Irving has tissues at his desk since the first episode, and how young Merrick is (2 years old), and the development rate of an ear infection, this happened no earlier than a week prior to the first episode, and no later than a few months. We’ve also seen Irving at the park by the bridge and his apartment complex: “Leonora Lake”. That park was also the same park that Devon was at. So considering that children would be there, there’s a good chance that Dylan and his family were there and Merrick slipped into the nearby lake, and Irving saw in time and saved him. That would explain Dylan’s odd scuba diving lessons in a pool: a wetsuit keeps you warm in cold water, and perhaps he wanted to swim better to prepare himself as fast as possible in case it happens again and someone like Irving isn’t there. That would also explain why Dylan, Irving, and Merrick’s name all mean river/ocean/water. It would also give a connection between their outies in case they would need to connect with Dylan (perhaps Mark talks to Irving and tells him about Dylan, and Irving is already familiar with him).
So if this is true, then yes, I was able to predict that Irving saved Dylan’s son from drowning because he had tissues on his desk. Hire me Ben Stiller pls 🙏
I thought this was interesting.
I think I know why this is, but here’s what I think it’s not:
While there are signs of outie Irving being depressed, I don’t think it would carry badly enough to affect him. We’ve seen Mark cry before work and when he went inside, he just threw away the tissue, no longer needing it.
It probably wouldn’t be related to allergies. Firstly, it’s the winter time, and second, I doubt Lumon would put in a bunch of plants that people are commonly allergic to. I also don’t know how this would be relevant to his character and the overall narrative.
If it was related to his sinuses, we would have seen him sniffling more and using the tissues. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe we’ve ever seen him use the tissues.
I think it’s actually related to an ear infection in his left ear (credit to u/tdciago for bringing up the left ear thing):
In the ORTBO, Irving had his hat titled to cover his right ear, as if he doesn’t feel anything in his left.
He only places his phone to his right ear.
He listens to music from his right.
He tends to keep people to his right (think: While having dinner with Burt and Fields, while walking to the Perpetuity Wing…)
Dylan whispers in his right ear and eats the watermelon’s left ear, indicating he knew about Irving’s condition, and/or symbolism that he ate the deaf ear because he didn’t listen to Irving when he should have.
Also, you shouldn’t be cleaning out drainage of an ear infection with a cotton swab, as it would be more likely further damage the ear canal. Tissues would be a better choice, as they’re a common office item and are broad and soft.
This incident may have been caused by an incident in water, so Irving would have “surfer’s ear”, which is an ear infection that greatly affects your ability to hear. We know that Irving is already connected to water, due to Wellness Fact of “your outie values water” and probable past in the navy, so this would fit.
Irving’s condition may be a reference to It’s a Wonderful Life, where the main character, George, saves his brother from drowning, but in doing so, becomes deaf in his left ear. Coincidentally(?) in the movie, one of George’s friends is named Bert, and in Severance, Dylan’s last name is George. So considering this reference, Irving may have saved someone from drowning… but who? Dylan’s son, Merrick.
Why Merrick? First of all, Ms. Casey states to Irving: “Your outie is a friend to children.” So besides the Arteta’s kids (which I doubt Irving would be friends with), Dylan’s kids are the only other children in the show. And Merrick also has a “left ear thing”. Due to how Gretchen brings this up, it seems like a recent development. Given that Irving has tissues at his desk since the first episode, and how young Merrick is (2 years old), and the development rate of an ear infection, this happened no earlier than a week prior to the first episode, and no later than a few months. We’ve also seen Irving at the park by the bridge and his apartment complex: “Leonora Lake”. That park was also the same park that Devon was at. So considering that children would be there, there’s a good chance that Dylan and his family were there and Merrick slipped into the nearby lake, and Irving saw in time and saved him. That would explain Dylan’s odd scuba diving lessons in a pool: a wetsuit keeps you warm in cold water, and perhaps he wanted to swim better to prepare himself as fast as possible in case it happens again and someone like Irving isn’t there. That would also explain why Dylan, Irving, and Merrick’s name all mean river/ocean/water. It would also give a connection between their outies in case they would need to connect with Dylan (perhaps Mark talks to Irving and tells him about Dylan, and Irving is already familiar with him).
So if this is true, then yes, I was able to predict that Irving saved Dylan’s son from drowning because he had tissues on his desk. Hire me Ben Stiller pls 🙏