On the Role of Mark's Mother
I really hope this isn't too much of a stretch, but I wanted to bring up something that got me thinking. Many people seem to have concluded that "Cold Harbor" is about Gemma—possibly her mind or consciousness.
However, earlier on, many suspected "Tumwater" as the file connected to Gemma, especially since Mark completed it extremely fast and was even rewarded for it. Gemma's file, however, does not seem finished and "Cold Harbor" still need that completion from Mark. So it seems unlikely that "Tumwater" was Gemma’s file.
From what we've learned so far, Mark is either naturally an excellent refiner, or his performance is tied to how close he is to the person whose mind he’s refining. If that’s true, then Tumwater might belong to someone else close to him.
In the last episode we have learnt that Mark’s mother’s name is "Fern Scout." Here’s where it gets interesting:
Tumwater is a real city in Washington.
That city has a notable connection to “ferns and waterfalls.”
Water is a recurring theme in Severance, and Fern Scout’s name connects directly to this imagery.
Could it be that "Tumwater" is connected to Fern Scout in some way?
Another thing that stood out was the moment of hesitation when Mark was asked about his mother’s eye color in the final moments of the episode with Reghabi. Was this just a gimmick that should get us questioning, like "Oh, is he already Innie Mark and forgetting his mother’s eye color?" Or could it be a clue we should keep in mind?
That got me wondering—is there someone with brown eyes on the Severed floor? We haven’t seen many people:
Felicia is one of the few who might be in the right age range, but she doesn’t really look like Mark’s mother and has blue eyes. Refined individuals (like possibly Gemma) also don’t seem to be part of regular departments. Cobel? Yeah… I think she’s off the table.
So What Do You Think?
Could "Tumwater" be linked to Fern Scout? Was the eye color hesitation just a small detail, or does it hint at something bigger?