The REAL Conspiracy in “Severance”

I promise this is Arsenal-related.

I’ve watched a lot of TV in my time. Some good — Atlanta proved a clever marriage of dramedy and magical realism, BoJack Horseman is a masterpiece of a journey through depression and redemption, and Community might be the most underrated comedy ever created. And some bad — Dexter ruined everything with one of the worst finales of all time, Iron Fist featured a sniveling twerp of a protagonist and made a mockery of great intellectual property, and The Big Bang Theory is plainly and simply unfunny garbage.

But truly great TV always goes a level beyond simply being an enjoyable experience. It redefines genres, reinvents methods of storytelling, and changes the way we think about aspects of life itself. In one way or another, the best shows are transcendent. For me, that includes shows like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Wire, and The Sopranos. I think I’d also include the American version of The Office (at least, the first seven seasons) in that list because of how it transformed sitcoms.

Obviously, such shows are few and far between, although the general quality of programs during the “golden age of television” has been fairly impressive. There are plenty of very good shows out there that are extremely worthwhile watches. But in recent years, another contender for that pantheon of excellence on the small screen has emerged: Severance.

I love Severance for two reasons. The first is simply how good it is. The concept of “innies” and “outies”, and the really unique storytelling conventions and character development that leads to, is fascinating. The attention to detail as well is immaculate, from Mark, Helly, Dylan, and Irv representing the Four Tempers of Kier to the symbolism in what people wear and eat to the subtle hints at a season’s plotline in the show’s very own opening credits. It’s a magnificent show quality-wise, the kind that leaves you parsing through it for ages afterward just to admire the craftsmanship.

The other reason why I love Severance is a little less conventional. And it has to do with one of the main loves of my life — Arsenal Football Club. Luckily, my readership is mostly fellow Gooners so a) I won’t get questions about having just used the word “Gooners” from people who only know it from an American pop culture vernacular, and b) I won’t have fans of other Premier League clubs rolling their eyes and saying something like, “Classic Arsenal fan, making everything about them.” But it’s true: Arsenal figures into my love for Severance. And that’s because I’m pretty convinced that Arsenal is figuring into the writing of Severance.

I was originally going to write this after the second episode of season two for reasons I’ll expand on shortly, but then Michael Oliver sent off Myles Lewis-Skelly for no reason at Wolves and I had to turn my attention to that. And after my annoyance at that development subsided, I realized that it might be best if I waited until the end of the most recent season of Severance. I figured the Arsenal references would continue throughout the next eight episodes, and I want to cover this phenomenon in its current entirety.

That’s right, Arsenal references. Over the course of the first two seasons of Severance, characters have popped up named after figures in or related to the current Arsenal men’s team. Not just one or two, either. Several. And despite the show’s creator and main writer, Dan Erickson, flatly denying any purposeful effort to connect the show to the Gunners, it feels like too many instances to be a coincidence. So I’m going to lay out each current Arsenal reference in the show and explain why the odds this is premeditated in some fashion are far higher than the chances that this is just the stars aligning to shine red and white.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MASSIVE, TITANIC, GARGANTUAN SPOILERS FOR SEASONS 1 AND 2 OF “SEVERANCE”. I’M TALKING SPOILERS THE SIZE OF NORTH DAKOTA. IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP, I URGE YOU TO TURN BACK.

SERIOUSLY, DON’T SCROLL PAST THIS POINT.

FINAL WARNING. YOU CAN’T BE MAD AT ME IF YOU KEEP READING AND SPOIL THE WHOLE SHOW FOR YOURSELF.

Okay, let’s begin.

Reference #1: Angelo Arteta

In S1E6, we meet Angelo Arteta, a state senator who serves as an ally to Lumon, the sinister company for which the show’s main characters work (if you’re going to sacrifice your future enjoyment of the show to read this piece, the least I can do is explain the basics) by publicly supporting legalization of the severance procedure. That means shmoozing with Lumon higher-ups, as we see him do in the penultimate episode of the first season. But I figured I’d start with Angelo here because not only is he one of the first of this batch of characters to show up in Severance, but his suspected namesake is a cornerstone of today’s Arsenal. The Arteta we know is the brains behind the project that has taken the Gunners from the purgatory of eighth place to challenging consistently for the Premier League title. A character who shares a surname with Mikel Arteta is maybe the best way to start if you’re trying to create a trail of Arsenal-themed Easter eggs.

However, while the manager of the Gunners might be the most famous Arteta around, he isn’t the only famous Arteta. There is also Miguel Arteta, a film and television director. He has worked on shows such as The Office, Freaks and Geeks, Ugly Betty, and Succession as well as movies such as Youth in Revolt, Beatriz at Dinner, and Like a Boss. So maybe, in a vacuum, the name of this character alone isn’t all that indicative of anything.

Reference #2: Gabriel Arteta

But then there is Angelo Arteta’s wife, Gabriel — or Gabby, as she introduces herself to Devon Scout-Hale in S1E5. Gabby Arteta takes her support of severance a step further than her husband does by undergoing that process while birthing her third child in a cabin at the Damona Birthing Retreat (a property owned by Lumon). As a result, when Devon runs into her once more, away from the birthing cabins, Gabby doesn’t remember her.

There are three Gabriels in Arsenal’s first team currently: Magalhaes, Martinelli, and Jesus. So it’s hard to know which, if any, of these players is being specifically referenced to (although timing-wise, it’s probably not Jesus). Personally, I think Arteta’s wife being named Gabriel is a subtle dig at the idea that the Arsenal gaffer loves signing players with that name. But all three Gabriels have been important players for the team; Big Gabriel has become one of the best center backs in the world, Martinelli has 74 goals and assists in over 200 appearance for the Gunners, and Jesus helped elevate Arsenal from a Europa League team to a title contender. It makes sense to find a way to refer to the Brazilian trio.

Reference #3: Declan and Kai Arteta

The Arteta family has two more names that raise eyebrows for Arsenal fans: Angelo’s and Gabby’s two older sons Declan and Kai. They make their sole appearance of the show in S1E6, when Devon meets the Artetas out in a non-Lumon-owned setting. Arsenal, funnily enough, have two players named Declan and Kai. One is club record signing Declan Rice and the other is the club’s third-most expensive signing ever in Kai Havertz.

There are, however, a couple reasons why these two might admittedly be something of a coincidence. The first is that the episode in which they appear premiered on March 18, 2022, well over a year before either Rice or Havertz made the move to north London, meaning that naming the first two Arteta boys Declan and Kai as a reference to Arsenal would involve some otherworldly clairvoyance. Secondly, the third Arteta son in Severance is named Bradley, and there isn’t really a prominent figure at the club currently with that name. Of course, there’s every chance that whoever predicted Rice’s and Havertz’s Arsenal signings may have also correctly foreseen Arsenal acquiring Barcola from PSG.

Quick note: I’m going to move on to references from season two now, but I want to quickly mention a character named Alexa who shows up in the first season. She is a midwife for Devon who goes on a couple dates with Mark Scout, our main protagonist, before realizing that Mark has not moved on from the (apparent) death of his wife, Gemma. The reason I want to mention Alexa is because a couple months ago, when I originally started writing this piece, I looked up the cast of Severance on Google and found that character’s last name listed as Isak — presumably in reference to Alexander Isak, the Newcastle forward the Gunners have been interested in signing for years. However, that’s no longer the case today. So I wanted to mention what I remember at the risk of sounding even more like a crazy person. But I can’t prove that Alexa’s last name is Isak, so I’m not listing her as a specific reference to Arsenal per se. And it looks like I’m not the only one who saw that:

Reference #4: Mr. Saliba

In S2E2, Dylan is terminated by Lumon for being involved in a physical altercation with another employee in which he was the aggressor — this didn’t really happen, but Seth Milchick, floor manager for the protagonists’ unit, needed an excuse to get rid of Dylan after his defiant acts in the season one finale. This leads Dylan’s outie to go interview for a new job. He tries his luck at a company called Great Doors, where he ends up across a desk from a man named Mr. Saliba. The interview goes pretty well until Dylan reveals he was a severed worker, which Mr. Saliba ultimately finds disqualifying.

Obviously, I’m trying to suggest that this character is meant to invoke William Saliba, star center back for the Gunners. And again, if you’re trying to subtly refer to Arsenal players with character names, Saliba is another pretty good choice. It’s a fairly uncommon surname belonging to one of the best defenders in football. Sure, there are a few other notable Salibas if you go back through history — politicians and policymakers from different parts of the world, a couple athletes, a few artists. Maybe it’s another coincidence. But for me, the introduction of a character named Saliba in Severance is when this started to feel like a genuine pattern to me, and when I first considered writing about it before the PGMOL snatched my attention like they always try to do.

Reference #5: Bukayo from Choreography & Merriment

In the season two finale of Severance, Mark completes the file for a project called “Cold Harbor” (we’ll get to what exactly that’s supposed to entail in a second). As a reward for his efforts, Mr. Milchick brings in the marching band from another department of Lumon called Choreography & Merriment. This is meant to provide entertainment — and Milchick once again breaking out the dance moves is plenty entertaining — but for Mark and Helly, it’s just confusing and a little terrifying.

Anyway, one of the members of the C&M band is apparently named Bukayo. I admittedly could have been paying too much attention to Milchick cutting a rug, but I don’t believe Bukayo is ever referred to during the episode. However, he is mentioned in the end credits, as shown below.

I mean at this point… come on. Bukayo? As in Bukayo Saka, who has essentially become the face of Arsenal? Who is one of the most famous footballers in the world? Who’s in New Balance commercials with American athletes on American TV pretty regularly? I know Bukayo also means “to add to joy or happiness” in Yoruba, and that is essentially the aim of the C&M band in this scene, but I wouldn’t put a double meaning past the writers of Severance.

Reference #6: Emile the goat

With Cold Harbor completed, there is no longer any need for Gemma Scout, who has been alive this entire time and given 25 different innies by her own husband’s innie in a rather cruel twist of fate. Lumon plan to extract the severance chip from her brain to develop a mass-marketable version of the severance procedure, which would kill her. And because Lumon is a weird, twisted cult of a company, they have to sacrifice a baby goat so that it may guide Gemma’s spirit to “Kier’s door”. Lorne, who heads up the Mammalians Nurturable department of the company, brings a baby goat to Mr. Drummond, a Lumon executive who is also something of an enforcer, to complete the ritual. After an intense and murderous scuffle between Lorne, Drummond, and Innie Mark (who gets caught trying to break into the secret elevator across the hall as he attempts to rescue Gemma), Lorne reveals to Mark that the goat’s name is Emile.

Someone clearly wasn’t a Fabio Vieira fan. While he no longer is an Arsenal player, I’m of course positing that the footballer being referenced here is Emile Smith Rowe, who now plies his trade at Fulham. But given the fact that it took three years for season two to be released, odds are pretty good that Emile the goat was named while Smith Rowe was still featuring for the Gunners.

So at the conclusion of the second season of Severance, the following characters in the show share names with Arsenal-related figures:

• Arteta

• Gabby

• Declan

• Kai

• Saliba

• Bukayo

• Emile

• Alexa Isak (unsubstantiated at this time)

If you ask me, it’s hard to buy that being a coincidence. A few of the names being in there, sure. But seven or eight is a genuine pattern. For that to happen on accident is a ridiculously improbable longshot. Not impossible, but rather unlikely. Either this is a one-in-a-million occurrence, someone is successfully using subliminal messaging to get the show’s creators to name bit-part characters after Arsenal players, or there is a Gooner with input regarding the script.

I don’t know if anyone on the writing staff for Severance is an Arsenal fan, and you’d be hard-pressed to find information on the pro sports allegiances of Dan Erickson or Mohammed el Masri. I couldn’t find anything on Ben Stiller being one either, same goes for Adam Scott. So we have no way of knowing for sure what the truth is. And we probably never will. It’s just a matter of whether you want to take Erickson’s word for it when it comes to whether there is an Arsenal influence on the show.

Either way, I think I’m going to keep pretending there is one. I think it adds another layer of fun to what is already a truly special viewing experience. Not only do I get to theorize about what Gemma does next after being freed (hopefully) from Lumon’s clutches, or how Mark, Helly, and Dylan will escape maximum punishment on a severed floor that’s in a code red lockdown, or what Harmony Cobel’s endgame is, but now I can do the same regarding the next Arsenal name that will pop up in the show. Who will it be? Another severed worker named Jurrien? Perhaps a local sheriff on Lumon’s payroll with a surname of Trossard? Maybe they’ll hit us with a throwback and introduce a character named Walcott, or Fabregas, or van Persie?

Maybe it’s weird on my part to find excitement in that. But I’m just trying to enjoy the journey. One day, this magnificent show will end, just as a severed employee’s workday or a 5-1 beatdown of City does, and with it the supposedly coincidental Arsenal connections. And that will feel like saying goodbye to my own innie.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following me on Twitter @Shamsdale or on Bluesky @shamsdale.bsky.social. You can also listen to me on “Not That Kind Of Gooner: An Arsenal Podcast”, which you can follow on Twitter at @NotThatGooner and on Bluesky @notthatgooner.bsky.social.