WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance season 2, episode 8!After being absent from the majority of the season, Harmony Cobel finally returns in Severance season 2, episode 8, revealing how her mindset towards Lumon has drastically changed since the season 1 finale. Throughout Severance season 1, Cobel served as the antagonistic severed floor manager, with her unwavering dedication to Kier and Lumon at work making her motivations for secretly posing as Mark’s neighbor, Mrs. Selvig, all the more intriguing. It seemed like there was some untapped rebellion festering beneath Cobel’s outer appearance of devotion to the Eagan family, with these complexities being the focus of her season 2 story.

Cobel was last seen driving out of Kier to an unknown location, with Severance season 2, episode 8 revealing that she went back to Salt’s Neck, her impoverished hometown. Much of Cobel’s backstory and upbringing is revealed when she reunites with her old coworker and friend, Hampton, as well as Sissy Cobel, who helped raise her amid her mother’s illness. While hiding from Lumon executives like Drummond, Cobel reveals more about her child labor at Lumon’s ether factory, achievements with Lumon’s Wintertide Fellowship, and how she’s been silenced by the company, culminating in a long-awaited twist with Cobel’s loyalty.

Severance Season 2 Episode 8 Confirms The Theory That Cobel Would Turn Against Lumon

Cobel Officially Abandons Her Loyalty To Lumon In Severance Season 2 Episode 8

While Cobel was situated as season 1’s villain, there were subtleties to her character that led to theories she would eventually turn against Lumon. Throughout season 1, we saw her acting on her own accord with experiments that weren’t sanctioned by Lumon’s higher-ups, such as infiltrating the life of Mark’s Outie and testing whether Mark and Gemma’s Innies might recognize one another during wellness sessions. The reason for Cobel’s risky intrigue wasn’t clear back in season 1, but the revelation of her secretly being the mastermind behind Lumon’s severance procedure now explains her actions.

Additionally, Cobel clearly had a tragic history with her mother that was exacerbated by her dedication and upbringing in the Lumon system. Her home featured a shrine to Kier Eagan with her mother’s breathing tube and hospital bracelet, suggesting her mother’s fate had something to do with her fervent devotion to the Eagans. Though it’s not implied that Lumon was responsible for her mother’s illness and death, Severance season 2, episode 8 does reveal that the company took advantage of her family, such as sending Cobel to work at the ether factory as a child.

After essentially being fired by Lumon following Severance’s season 1 finale, Cobel finally snaps. She’s become disillusioned with Lumon, and can no longer support them or lie for them. Cobel finally begins to rebel against Lumon for turning her town into an ether-addicted wasteland, for stealing her severance designs and promoting them as Jame Eagan’s, and for failing to respect her severed floor contributions and sacrifices. When Cobel answers Devon’s call about Mark’s reintegration and wanting to try a new strategy together in Severance season 2, episode 8’s ending, her intrigue confirms her loyalty no longer lies with Lumon.

Cobel Is Now The Biggest Asset In Mark’s Rebellion Against Lumon

Cobel Knows The Most About Lumon’s Inner Workings & Secrets

Though former Lumon surgeon Asal Reghabi was already a huge asset for Mark discovering the truth about Lumon and becoming reintegrated, Cobel completely changes the playing field. As Reghabi says in Severance season 2, episode 7, Cobel was raised by Lumon. She knows the ins and outs of the company, so much so that her loyalty was never even questioned prior to her meeting with Helena Eagan early in season 2. Cobel doesn’t just know about Lumon’s plans with severance, but she also knows the truth about Cold Harbor and what Lumon has secretly been doing with Gemma.

Given how long she’s been working for the company and her history with Jame Eagan, the Wintertide Fellowship, and the creation of Severance‘s titular procedure, it’s possible that Cobel knows even more about the reality of the company’s inner workings than Jame’s daughter Helena Eagan. If there’s one way for Mark and Devon to really expose Lumon, free Gemma, and retaliate against their crimes against humanity on the testing floor and elsewhere all around the world, it’s to use Cobel’s knowledge, power, and anger at Lumon’s betrayal to their advantage.

Will Cobel Expose Jame Eagan For Lying About His Severance Inventions?

Cobel Now Has The Journal With Her Original Designs

One strong piece of ammunition that Cobel has against the Eagans is the truth about the invention of severance. While it’s always been touted as being Jame Eagan’s creation, Severance season 2, episode 8 confirms that it was actually Cobel who designed the codes, protocols, and circuit blueprint. However, Jame told her that if she ever tried to take credit for it, she would be banished. Since Cobel returned to Salt’s Neck to retrieve the journal that had her original designs, this could be key to helping take down Lumon in Severance’s future.