‘They only told me’: Severance actor Dichen Lachman reveals how long she’s known about Cold Harbor’s true purpose in the Apple TV+ show

Severance‘s Dichen Lachman has revealed what she knew about Project Cold Harbor before this season’s finale
The Lumon experiment has been one of season 2’s biggest mysteries
Lachman says she wasn’t told about what lay behind its test room door for a long time

Severance actor Dichen Lachman wasn’t aware of what the show’s creative team had planned for one of season 2’s biggest mysteries for a long time.

Project Cold Harbor has dominated fan discussions ever since it was first mentioned in Severance season 2 episode 1. Indeed, one of the biggest enigmas of the Apple TV+ show has been speculated about since the series returned in mid-January.

I too have spent countless hours coming up with my own ideas on what Project Cold Harbor was. I’ve discussed the Lumon experiment in numerous articles over the past nine weeks, beginning with my season 2 episode 1 theories piece and recently in my season 2 episode 9 recap.

With the Severance season 2 finale, ironically titled ‘Cold Harbor’, making its long-awaited debut, we finally know what it’s all about. Full spoilers immediately follow for season 2 episode 10, so turn back now if you haven’t watched it yet.

This is what was hiding behind Cold Harbor’s door all along (Image credit: Apple TV+)

The test room known as Project Cold Harbor is a near-empty space with a solitary baby’s crib at its center.

That bassinet will be instantly recognizable to Severance diehards. It’s an exact replica of the one Mark and Gemma owned, which we saw in season 2’s Gemma-focused seventh episode.

So, what’s it doing here? Well, it’s the final test that Gemma has to complete – one that’ll help Lumon determine if its severance procedure can be used to create multiple ‘innies’ within the same person. Gemma has been the test subject for these experiments and, once she completes this 25th and final one, Lumon will have the requisite data to prove it can sever someone numerous times.

Lumon won’t need Gemma’s services anymore, so they plan to kill her once she’s finished. All she has to do, then, is – per Doctor Mauer’s instructions – take apart the crib using the screwdriver she’s given.

Gemma’s Cold Harbor innie doesn’t recognize the crib that she and Mark owned in the real world (Image credit: Apple TV+)

Unfortunately for Lumon, Mark – Gemma’s husband – comes to her rescue and prevents her from completing Project Cold Harbor (NB: read my Severance season 2 ending explained piece for more details on that).

That’s more than enough rambling on my part, though. When did Lachman learn more about Project Cold Harbor? Funnily enough, just like Gemma, she was kept in the dark for a long time by creator Dan Erickson and executive producer Ben Stiller.

“I didn’t read [the script for] episode ten until we were almost filming it,” Lachman told me ahead of the Apple TV Original’s latest episode. “I didn’t find out until a few weeks before [filming began], whereas I’d had [the script for episode] seven for quite a long time. So, I had a lot of time to let seven’s events sink in.

“I got ten’s script relatively soon before we started filming it, but I never really dove into it with Dan because they [Dan and Ben] only told me what I needed to know,” Lachman added. “I’m not sure why they [Lumon] put her [Gemma] in that particular situation. Obviously, they’re trying to see if the severance technology holds, but I’m not sure why Mauer says to her [in episode seven] that this is going to change the world. I guess it’s just like a final drug trial, which is that final step they [Lumon] have to cross.”

Where will Gemma’s story go next? (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

That isn’t the only information that Erickson and Stiller have withheld from Lachman. She also told me that she has no idea when filming on season 3 will begin, nor has she seen any of next season’s scripts that Stiller says Erickson and his fellow writers are currently working on.

Nevertheless, Lachman has some ideas of her own about where she’d like Gemma’s story to go in one of the best Apple TV+ shows’ yet-to-be-announced third season.

“It’s interesting that she has so many different innies,” Lachman mused. “I wonder what they’re all like and what that means for her in the real world. Mark only has [one innie in] Mark S. She has… I mean, I don’t know how many rooms are down there. I stopped counting and focused on other things!

“But, how many different compartments are there in her brain?” Lachman added. “I do wonder if they [the writers] will explore that. But, you know, the possibilities with the show are endless.”