Severance creator Dan Erickson reveals creepy real meaning behind 'eggs' in the show
It's a mystery fans have been dying to 'crack'
Featured Image Credit: Apple TV+
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and whether that be a hearty bowl of porridge, quick slice of toast as your head out the door, or something more substantial, eggs are a staple on many the plate of a substantial breakfast.
It's not just as part of a balanced breakfast that we tuck into eggs, and whether they be poached, scrambled, fried, or even deviled, we just can't get enough of them - even if it feels like you currently need to take out a loan to afford eggs in America.
Despite Apple TV+ reportedly losing a billion a year, it's been splashing the cash on Severance's egg budget, as the hit sci-fi series is seemingly obsessed with them.
Back in Severance season 1, Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) told us, "The egg bar is coveted as f**k," so it was something of a coup when Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) rolled out a pre-waffle party egg bar for the Innies.
Advert
Like we saw the show's melon madness return in season 2 in the form of a giant watermelon head of Irving B. (John Turturro), eggs made a bizarre return. It was during March 14's "The After Hours" that Helena Eagan (Britt Lower) tucked into a singular boiled egg under the watchful gaze of her father. Slicing the egg into six equal pieces and nibbling away at the white while leaving the yolk, Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) says, "I wish you’d take them raw." This is seemingly in reference to a season 1 throwback from Mr. Milchick that raw eggs and milk were the favorite breakfast of the beloved Kier Eagan.
Asking series creator Dan Erickson what the deal with eggs is, he explained: "Well, it's, it's one of those things that that is very normal, and we take for granted as a normal thing. And then the more you think about it, the weirder it is that we all eat eggs."
Even though some are trying to unearth some hidden meaning beneath the recurring egg motif, Erickson maintains: "I mean, when you think about what an egg really is and where it comes from and all that. It's just, it's a bizarre thing that we've all agreed to pretend is chill. So that's the, Yeah, that's the main moral of Severance."
Erickson himself wrote season 2's penultimate episode, and back when it aired, some theorized that Helena refusing to eat raw eggs was because she's pregnant. In reality, it seems that the Lumon heiress' hatred of eggs (boiled or raw) is just a matter of taste. Still, with eggs typically being a sign of fertility, this egg-citing theory could be revisited in season 3.
Lower herself has expanded Helena/Helly's thoughts on eggs to Vanity Fair, noting how one of them loves them whereas the other can't stand them. Saying that while Helly couldn't get enough of the egg bar in season 1, Helena can't stand them, it feels like just another way of showing the contrast between her Innie and Outtie personas.
With Helena refusing raw eggs, it might be another reason why Jame only 'sees' Kier in Helly.
Helena isn't the only one who can't stand eggs, with executive producer Ben Stiller previously referring to season 1's egg bar and saying he nearly changed the scene because "I abhor eggs." Stiller says it was 'necessary' for the story, and although we had to wait almost three years for the payoff, Helly's season 1 love the egg bar finally makes sense after 'digesting' season 2.