In Severance Season 2 Episode 10, titled “Cold Harbor,” there’s a term used, “efficacy test,” making many curious about what it means. The episode focused on Mark’s successful completion of the Cold Harbor file. It further leads to Eagan conducting a special test involving Gemma. With the mention of a seemingly new concept in the finale, fans are eager to know how an efficacy test works and its connection to the Cold Harbor room. Here’s all you need to know.
What does Severance Season 2’s efficacy test do?
The efficacy test in Severance Season 2 evaluated Gemma’s trials. It checked whether her chip managed to seamlessly protect her from her traumatic memories.
In the real world, an efficacy test ensures that a product delivers its intended benefits and is safe to use. The test plays a key role in monitoring the product and whether it’s fit to use before it’s out in the market.
Similarly, in the show, Gemma serves a key part of Lumon’s experiments with the severance procedure. This has been evident ever since she vanished after the Season 1 finale. Later, Mark was tasked with the completion of the Cold Harbor file in MDR. At that time, he unknowingly created various severed personalities of Gemma. Therefore, viewers may have noticed Gemma repeatedly doing bizarre tasks, like writing Christmas letters. Eagan used an efficacy test to assess Gemma’s severance chip accurately before potentially expanding its use.
Severance Season 2’s cold harbor room explained
Gemma took the efficacy test in the Cold Harbor room, which Eagan closely monitored, ensuring the chip’s effectiveness in blocking her trauma. She is asked to enter the room, where there is a crib, which Mark purchased before her miscarriage. The crib could have ignited her trauma, however, it didn’t, because Lumon’s experiment was potentially successful in muting her emotions.
The test demonstrated how the chip has suppressed her emotions entirely, given she has no idea of her real-world life. As she heads toward the crib, Dr. Mauer asks her to dismantle it. She eventually does it, which indicates that the procedure worked. The series ends with Dr. Maeur surprised by the effectiveness of the procedure. He says, “The barrier is holding. She feels nothing… it’s beautiful.”
