Is John Turturro Leaving Severance?

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Severance’s season 2 finale!Despite being one of the biggest names in the cast when Severance debuted, the role of John Turturro’s Irving has drastically changed, leaving his potential return in season 3 up in the air. Though John Turturro appeared in Severance’s cast for all nine episodes of season 1, that wasn’t the case for the show’s sophomore outing. After the death of his Innie at the end of Severance season 2, episode 4, Irving’s Outie appeared briefly in three of the six remaining episodes. Unlike the other original MDR employees, Turturro’s Irving was entirely absent from Severance’s season 2 finale.

At the end of Severance season 2, episode 9, Irving’s Outie was mercifully sent away from Kier by Christopher Walken’s Burt, doing so out of kindness due to their Innies’ love for each other. Burt believed that Irving would have been killed if he didn’t flee town, so he gave him a ticket on a train that would take him “as far as you can go” while explaining he could never know where Irving gets off. Irving is last seen tearfully smiling on the train, and despite Severance season 3’s confirmation, it’s still unclear whether John Turturro will be back.

Why John Turturro’s Irving Is Absent From Severance’s Season 2 Finale

Cutting To Irving Wouldn’t Have Fit Well Into The Finale’s Main Story

While Severance season 2’s ending could have potentially shown viewers where Irving got off the train and what his new life was going to look like while hiding from Lumon, John Turturro’s character is completely absent from the finale. But, as disappointing as it is to not get an update on where Irving went, his absence makes sense for the finale. There was already so much going on in Severance’s season 2 finale that the show would have found difficulties naturally integrating scenes with Irving, whose story is so removed from the more pressing Cold Harbor conflict.

Severance’s season 2 finale was entirely confined to two locations (Lumon and the birthing cabins), and any additional storylines would have spread the episode too thin. It needed to remain at Lumon and focus on the potentially inevitable deaths of the remaining Innies, rather than distracting from that tense plot by cutting to the character whose Innie has already died. If Irving were to appear in Severance’s season 2 finale, it would likely have been at the very end to set up season 3. However, ending with the ambiguous freeze-frame of Helly and Mark was a stronger curtain close.

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Still, that doesn’t mean Irving’s character is irrelevant to Severance’s season 2 finale. The death of Irving’s Innie plays a role in Helly’s speech to the Choreography and Merriment department about losing people who they loved, reminding others of how suddenly being shut off can happen to them too. MDR’s anger and rise to rebellion in Severance’s season 2 finale is greatly informed by their response to Irving’s death, making him just as influential in their plans despite being gone.

Irving & Burt’s Goodbye Felt Like A Real Sendoff To John Turturro’s Severance Character

Irving’s Innie & Outie Stories Get Bittersweet Endings In Season 2

Based on Severance season 2’s final scene, creator Dan Erickson and executive producer Ben Stiller aren’t afraid to close on an ambiguous note. However, they ensure those ambiguous notes could still suffice for proper endings to the exploration of those characters. If Severance officially concluded with the freeze-frame of Helly and Mark running to “The Windmills of Your Mind” song, it would still make for a fantastic series closer despite how many questions remain unanswered. The same would also be true for the implications behind Irving, Dylan, Cobel, and Milchick’s last season 2 scenes.

If the scene of Irving riding away on the train is the last time he ever appears, it still makes for a strong conclusion to his story. Severance had already said goodbye to Irving’s Innie and left a powerful legacy for him in the show, having exposed Helena’s identity twist, sacrificed himself to save Helly, got revenge for Burt’s exit, and even left MDR with clues about how to uncover Lumon’s secrets on the Testing Floor. At that point, Irving’s Innie story and arc is effectively complete.

Meanwhile, there are still some loose ends for Irving’s Outie fighting Lumon, but they can still be addressed by the other Outies working against the company. By having Irving meet Burt, learn that they found love on the inside and still have feelings on the outside, and be saved by Burt via secret exile rather than killed by Lumon, Irving leaves the Lumon-run society with a bittersweet ending. He couldn’t be with the married Burt, he couldn’t return to Lumon after his Innie was fired, and staying would mean death anyway; there was no future in Kier for Irving.

If the two endings for John Turturro’s character are that his Innie dies sacrificing himself to save his friends and expose Lumon’s lies while his Outie is tragically saved but exiled by way of the love he found on the inside, then it’s an effective curtain close for Irving. There are always certain ways that Irving could come back and his story could continue, but his return isn’t as necessary to the narrative in Severance season 3 as that of Helly, Mark, and Dylan. Unlike Irving, their Innies and Outies can be found much easier to be punished by Lumon.

John Turturro Has Already Hinted This Isn’t The End For Burt & Irving In Severance

There Still Are Some Loose Ends To Tie Up

Though Irving himself is now out of Kier and seemingly too far removed from the other characters’ stories, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll never return. Following “The After Hours” episode, John Turturro discussed Irving’s potential return in an interview with TheWrap. Irving’s actor responded more vaguely, suggesting that there’s always the possibility of a Severance season 3 return without giving a concrete answer about his character’s future:

“When you’re doing scenes at the end of the season, it’s always tricky to find that sweet spot. Because you think it could be the end, but maybe it’s not the end. If there’s stuff that’s good and active and interesting to do, then I could see that, yeah. If people wanted there to be [a third season], there could be, and there could be big, big surprises too. You know, Irving’s left all those paintings behind. There’s a reason why they went into his apartment, why they’re looking around.”

It seems like Turturro played the scene of Irving on the train as if it truly could have been the character’s final moment on screen. However, Erickson and Stiller still left some unfinished business back in Kier with Irving’s secret work against Lumon and investigations into their severance program. After the train scene, Severance has still yet to provide answers about who Irving was calling in the phone booth, what his intentions were with his investigations, why he got severed in the first place, and how his Outie knew about the Testing Floor elevator seen in his paintings.

To that end, Ben Stiller has also been ambiguous about whether Irving and Burt will come back after Severance season 2, episode 9. In an interview on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, Stiller was asked more directly about whether there’s “more to the Irv and Burt relationship that hasn’t been [explored],” but he ultimately dodged the question in hopes of avoiding spoilers. A non-answer can often be an answer in and of itself, so Stiller’s lack of a direct response may hint that Severance season 3 will still follow up on Irving and Burt.

How Irving Could Still Return For Severance Season 3

Could Reintegrated Mark Track Down Irving?

Since Severance season 2 doesn’t reveal where Irving went on the train, his return in season 3 could focus on the location where he settles as he hides from Lumon, as the Eagan family will likely be sending some of their lackeys to track him down. Similar to Gemma and Mark’s flashback episode and Cobel’s solo Salt’s Neck episode in season 2, the return of Irving in Severance season 3 could involve him getting his own episode dedicated to his new life and whether he’s still looking into Lumon’s dark secrets.

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Additionally, Mark’s reintegration in Severance season 2 could lead to him trying to find Irving’s Outie to get more answers about Lumon, similar to when Petey sought out Mark back in season 1. If that’s the case, then the reintegrated Mark could work with Irving, Gemma, and potentially even Cobel to expose Lumon on a broader level. Alternatively, he could be brought back into the fold in Severance season 3 if Irving’s mysterious contact who he called about Lumon reveals themself.

Sources: New Heights, TheWrap

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Severance

8/10

Release Date

February 18, 2022

Showrunner

Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman

Writers

Dan Erickson