‘Severance’: Jen Tullock Breaks Down Devon’s ‘F— It’ Plan With Cobel, Android Phone Theories and Why the Character Has ‘Always’ Been Queer (2025)

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 9 of “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

It all started off with an urgent phone call to Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), who had been noticeably absent throughout most of “Severance” Season 2.

In a season that has focused extensively on the dynamics between the innies and the outies and questions about ownership over one’s body, it’s Devon (Jen Tullock) who understands that Harmony is the key to outie Mark (Adam Scott) getting his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman) back.

Devon’s plan is for Harmony and her to take Mark back to the severed birthing cabin, which was referenced back in Season 1, so that Mark can talk to his innie and devise a plan before the Cold Harbor file is complete.

In the penultimate episode of Season 2, titled “The After Hours,” Devon drives a reluctant, conflicted Mark — who is expected to be at work completing the Cold Harbor file — to meet with his former boss. Tullock recalls how when they shot the scene on the cliff where Devon and Mark come face-to-face with Harmony, the sun shined right in their eyes.

“I was trying to play through that so I could feel the tension and anger — I think it ended up working,” Tullock tells Variety. “At this point, Devon and Mark haven’t slept in like 24 hours. She’s exhausted, she’s still breastfeeding, Eleanor is still a newborn at home, so she’s stepped away from her family. And she’s just gotten this huge bombshell of information dropped on her about Gemma — in that moment, there’s just so much electricity in her body.”

Below, Tullock discusses competing with her childhood hero Arquette in a stare-off, her reaction to the internet finding out about Devon being queer and how her character’s own grief over Gemma and disappointment in her husband Ricken led to her “fuck it” moment.

It’s so interesting that Devon is the person to recognize that they need Harmony Cobel’s help. What makes her decide to trust her this episode?

I don’t think that she does trust her. I think she’s in a moment of abject desperation. One of the only situations in which she would be willing to work with someone she now hates as much as Cobel is a family member being in danger, which she now knows Gemma is. And Mark is too, because he’s still attached to this corporation that Devon used to think was weird, but now knows is nefarious. She never wanted to see that woman again, but she knows she’s the only one that has the key. And having that stare down on that snowy cliff was intense. I was grateful that there wasn’t a ton of dialogue and how [director] Uta Briesewitz teased the tension out of that scene. She let all of that unspoken anger and resentment hang in the air.

We know that outie Mark is driven, more than anything else in his life, to reunite with Gemma. But how much is Devon driven by her own personal desire to see Gemma again?

It became really important for me and Dan [Erickson] when we were talking early on about what that relationship might have looked like. When we realized that we were going to see it, I was thrilled, because we had built a pretty rich backstory for the Mark, Gemma, Devon and Ricken quartet. But it was really special to get to play it physically with Dichen [Lachman], who I love so much in real life, and get to touch her and hug her and laugh with her, because that had all been unspoken. As an actor, to build a season’s worth of love and backstory with a person you’ve never seen is really interesting when you get to finally sit down with that person and play it. It felt very natural. It was important to me that Devon’s own personal grief be a part of her journey this season. I think we see it a little bit in that diner scene in Episode 2, when she says she was my family too.

The last time we see Devon and Ricken (Michael Chernus), things end on a pretty tense note as Ricken tries to write his book for innies. Even though he’s not in Episode 9, do you think Devon is channeling any of those intense emotions into her plan with Mark and Cobel?

Absolutely. You know when you’re on the cusp of making a decision that may be complicated, and say it involves a partner, and then you and that partner have a fight? And you think, “Fuck it, I’m doing it!” I think that extra boost that she got from being so disillusioned and disappointed by Ricken in that moment was like, no holds barred: “Let’s do this. Hold my earrings.”

Devon is such an interesting character, because she’s on the outside looking in as someone who doesn’t have an innie version of herself, yet she is still so affected and devastated by the decisions made by Lumon because of her connections with Mark and Gemma.

Right? Yeah, being confined to the information available to the outside world is an interesting hubris for Devon. She wants to know everybody’s business and she, of course, wants to know all of Mark’s business because she loves him. It’s interesting because as an actor, we’re all friends, everyone is so lovely. But there are times when I do feel a little isolated because of the nature of the show. I don’t work with the innies, I’m never in Lumon. The lovely John Turturro, I’ve never had a scene with him. That is unique to our show, and did inform a little bit of not knowing what’s going on in Lumon. And it also informed my chemistry with Michael as Ricken because we were in that together.

Do you see any parallels between Devon’s connection with Mark and Ricken, and Dylan’s connection with Gretchen (Merritt Wever) in how these relationships get fractured by Lumon’s influence?

Merritt is a friend, and we talked a lot about the experience of being on the outside, but then having a little bit of access to seeing what was going on and interacting with the innie version of a loved one and how intense that was. And I do think in that way they definitely have some similarities. I thought that was such a brilliant storyline to include this season to see the difference in how the same two people might interact. [Dylan’s] storyline broke my heart.

Of course, the fan theories for ‘Severance’ have gone wild this season. How often do you keep up with them?

It’s funny. Since the show has widened its reach in the zeitgeist compared to Season 1, I’ve been sent things more from people I went to high school with. For example, on Instagram people have said, “Hey, I haven’t talked to you in years, but here’s this thing on Reddit.” It’s fun when people send me things. I don’t go seeking it out, but I have been sent a couple of funny Reddit threads, some of which I thought, “Well, that’s a stretch,” and some of which I thought, “That’s close.” I have to say, I’m so grateful to the fans. It really feels like [Season 2] grabbed a moment in culture in a way that was both surprising and totally fun.

Have you heard about the theory that because Devon is shown using an Android phone, she will become a villain later on? Apple is rumored to not allow bad guys to have iPhones.

Interesting. Interesting. I have nothing to say about that.

In a recent interview, you discussed Devon being queer with the line in Episode 6 about having a crush on the pregnant lady.

I know this was coming from a good place, but I’ve seen people say, “Oh, well the actor was gay, so that’s why she wanted to make her character queer.” That isn’t true. I always want to do what’s right for the character. I play plenty of straight people, believe me. Devon happens to be the closest to my personality I’ve ever played, and it’s been nice to know that I can imbue her with a similar sense of humor. But I was thrilled, because Dan and I had spoken early on about her backstory, and part of that backstory had always been that she was queer and had dated people of all genders. I think she’s just an equal opportunity, “I love who I love, gender is irrelevant” person, and it ended up being Ricken.

I didn’t have some grand plan to normalize queer women in straight relationships, but that also accidentally became a conversation that I was grateful for. But I also was like, “Dan, is this OK?” I didn’t mean to out [her]; I had no idea the internet was going to explode with headlines. But yes, she’s absolutely queer and she absolutely loves her husband, and both of those things can be true.

Absolutely. Is there anything else you want to add or say about the episode or what you’re excited for people to discover as they watch?

I’ve still not outed myself to Patricia Arquette as her biggest fan. I’ve been lying in wait until I feel like we have enough years of friendships under our belt that I can casually say, “You’re one of my childhood heroes.” That time is not yet. Maybe it goes in this article and you do it for me. That’s up to you.

This interview has been edited and condensed.