2025 was one of my favorite years of television because it’s the year I (and many others) went three degrees beyond apeshit for Severance Season 2 after a three-year wait that felt more like 30. Thankfully, the presumably long wait for the in-the-works Season 3 across the 2026 TV schedule was made slightly less painful thanks to The Simpsons’ solid half-parody episode, fit-rightingly called “Seperance,” that was filled to the Gil (Gunderson) with easter eggs for fans to gawk over.
My expectations were admittedly kept low on purpose before watching, as I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment. Thankfully, “Seperance” stands alongside Season 37’s superb “Treehouse of Horror” ep that sent up Late Night with the Devil among The Simpsons’ more recent pop culture spoofs that hit the upper echelon. (I can’t speak for how it hit for non-Macrodats, though.) Check out all, or at least the majority of, the A+ references peppered throughout the episode. (SPOILER WARNING for anyone who hasn’t yet watched on Fox or via Hulu subscription / Disney+ subscription.)
The Ms. Cobel-esque Consonance And The Lumon-ish Enthusiasm On Demand
Julianne Moore served as the voice of the jargon-spewing Consonance, a lower-nuance take on Patricia Arquette's Ms. Harmony Cobel. The company Enthusiasm On Demand is a more extroverted version of Lumon, and even though we've never heard of this century-old company in Springfield before, it clearly has the same kind of surveillance capabilities that Lumon does. How else could Consonance have had an eye on Homer at the bowling alley?
Later in the episode, Consonance taps into the Innie/Outie dynamic by saying EOD's workers are "Uppies," and that their less-energetic home selves are "Downies."
Super-Specific Snacks As Perks
Much as Lumon fills its vending machines with prepackaged sustenance like nuts, dried fruits, and cubed meats, with Season 2 upping that to include fruit leather, cut beans, Christmas mints, and salsa. The Simpsons features the above bee capsules, as well as pickled blueberries (that are a li'l pickled) and candied squid ink.
Riffing On Severance's Piano Theme
One cannot think of Severance without also hearing Teddy Shapiro's welcomed earworm theme, and this episode played that up winningly, and used it with a similar frequency. Severance never actually showed anyone playing a piano, though I wouldn't doubt that Choreography and Merriment has one somewhere in the building.
EOD's Exterior Mirrors Lumon's, Springfield Geography Be Damned
I couldn't tell you exactly where EOD is supposed to be located in or around Springfield, but I do love that this just adds another bonkers piece of geography for fans to puzzle over. It's also fitting, given Severance has yet to reveal where the town of Kier is located.
The Giant Face In The Lobby
One of Lumon's most eye-catching features is the massive wall depicting founder Kier Egan's face. I love that this was only seen in the episode for a second or two, but that everyone involved still took the time to craft it and other totally new and non-reusable locations. It matters.
The Haunting Hallway Portraits
A send-up of the bloody and war-torn portraits canonically created by Lumon merely to instill foul feelings between MDR and O&D workers. (Not that it helped.) I'd love to get this actual poster for my house, To-Be-Determined Website That Does Such Things.
Homer Gets An Elevator Zolly Shot
One of Severance's signature pops is the zoomed dolly (zolly) shot of characters going from Innie to Outtie, or vice versa, in the Lumon elevator, combined with the choppy audio sting. Homer (and later Marge) get their own versions here, even though there aren't actually any implants being affected. Oops, I'm skipping ahead.
Even beyond the idea of Work Self and Non-Work Self, Severance also threw in the haunting AF concept of shadow versions of Team MDR during the ORTBO excursion. I'm very grateful that this Other Homer's big difference is having hair, and not that he's a weird misshapen monster.
Zach Cherry Voices A Diamond Desk Co-Worker
First, Severance star Zach Cherry is one of the guest stars, which is less of an easter egg, and more of an Easter basket full of candy, since the actor is excellent at all times. His animated character Farley perhaps strangely doesn't specifically spoof live-action's Dylan G., but he's still a true friend to Homer.
Also, another A+ animated addition (that was technically shown empty earlier in the episode) is the custom-made "diamond desk" workstation where Mark, Helly, Irv and Dylan do their number-sorting. I'd be remiss not to bring up the green carpet, as well as the outdated computers and other tech. Dot matrix printers with perforated edges? Yes, please.
EOD Gives Employees Walnut Parties
Lumon is quite the people-pleaser for its various food-themed parties, and one of Severance's all-time best quotes is Dylan's "The egg bar is coveted as fuck." Naturally, EOD follows suit and offers...walnut parties. With such selections as "whole walnuts," "walnut halves" and "mixed whole and half walnuts." I'm starting to want some of those bee capsules now.
Woe And Contrition Corner
Another layered reference here. Much like Lumon makes employees repeat guilt-assuming statements to the point of misery, EOD seems to have a less traumatic approach: a stool in a corner for reflecting.
Beyond that, "woe" is a very important concept in the sci-fi-ish thriller. It's one of Kier Eagan's "Tempers," and inspired the name of Woe's Hollow, the waterfall-adorned destination for the ORTBO trip, as well as the title of that episode. (And yes, I almost counted the waterfall the family visited early in the ep.)
Duffman Is A Petey Surrogate
Duffman, one of the ep's consistent highlights, shows up later in the episode all disheveled and confused, referencing Yul Vasquez's former Lumon employee Petey. Later, an even more direct reference is made when Duffman shows the scar where he'd removed his non-existent implant, just as Cobel did to the existing implant in Petey's corpse.
Lisa Actually Referencing Severance
This isn't much of an easter egg, either, but rather a fourth wall-shattering namecheck alongside amusing spoof titles. I dunno that I'd call Severance a puzzlebox show, since there's a whole building at play.
Homer And Marge Are Dressed Like Mark And Helly
Once Marge is convinced to jump aboard EOD, she dons a green-leaning sweater and skirt that looks very familiar next to Homer's blue suit. I mean, Marge S/Mark S and Helly R/HomeR are basically the same.
Lumon Has Goats, But EOD Maybe Has Human-Breeding Kangaroos
For all the human characters that make Severance, the goats are also, well, GOATs. The Simpsons spun that by having the kids and Duffman find a room with an interruption-hating kangaroo feeding a human baby via bottle. What's in that bottle?! What's behind that other door?!
Running Down Red Hallways
Season 2's harrowing finale delivered some of the show's most arresting visuals thanks to those blinking red lights, and this episode even evokes that imagery when the kangaroo rats them out.
Most Of The Lumon CEOs' First Names Are Used
The Hall of Perpituity is where Lumon employees go to learn more about the presigious line of former CEOs, and most of EOD's past execs share the same first names.
- Kier Eagan / Kier Puzzlebox
- Ambrose Eagan / Ambrose Worldbuilding
- Myrtle Eagan / Myrtle Backstory
- Baird Eagan / Baird Retcon
- Gerhardt Eagan / Gerhardt Rethink
- Phillip Pip Eagan / Phillin Timeline
- Leonora Eagan / ??
- Jame Eagan / Jame Overthink
The main change was for the gag "Phillin Timeline," and I'm going to allow it.
Much like Kier Egan was revealed to have his own animatronic, and one that is somehow able to put on scripted comedic skits with Mr. Milchick, EOD's The Visionary is also a slow-moving bot. No laugh track, though.
Praise N.R.O.I.!
Throughout "Separance," characters voice their version of Lumon's cultish "Praise Kier" motto. But instead of them praising someone named Enroy, it's actually an abbreviation for "Net Return On Investment," as EOD is actually just a normal greed-based business, and not one invested in secret surgeries and other possibly nefarious acts.
Did I miss any of the references? Let me know, and get lost with Lumon by streaming both seasons of Severance via Apple TV subscription.
