Mark Scout and Helena Eagen in the Season 2 Finale - Analysis.
He said “Helena Eagen, right?” like a some old dude flirting with his son’s girlfriend. Lol.
Mark Scout sees Helena Eagen as a sexual object, since he’s only seen her in sexual contexts (reintegration flashes) and flirted with her at the Chinese restaurant. “Taking me home, already?”
Helena Eagen and Mark Scout are similar. They both think with sex. They dehumanize Innies. They get their names wrong. They are both self-serving. They’re both somewhat dishonest.
This is the smile of a man who didn’t hate the flashbacks he was getting. But also didn’t take their relationship seriously, and diminishes his own experiences as an Innie.
But then Innie Mark says something unexpected: “Helly, actually. It’s the person I’m in love with.”
This moment forces Outie Mark to look at himself. He has a moment of shock. He’s speechless for a while, for the first time in the conversation, then he starts apologizing. One of the few times he’s actually honest during the entire exchange. (Even the first message of him being “nice” was followed by his fake smile disappearing as he stopped recording.)
This moment potentially makes oMark re-evaluate the way he flirted with her at the Chinese restaurant. The fact that’s it’s love and not just lust for his Innie is a terrifying thing for oMark, who’s been trying to diminish all these flashes.
Not just to diminish his Innie, but also diminishing whatever he felt when he looked at Helena.
Them flirting was confirmed by both Adam Scott and Ben Stiller. They said there was a heavy flirtatious charge in the air. (Partially due to Britt Lower and Adam Scott’s chemistry, but also because this is just the dynamic between Helena Eagen and Mark Scout.)
Ben Stiller: “Its a question of what permeates, what pheromones are there, what’s the love feeling like…”
Finally, when Mark Scout gets the name wrong, which is exactly what Helena did, this is ultimately what seals his fate. Being similar to Helena Eagen is what seals his fate. Now, he’ll be trapped down there as their Innies take control over the floor.
But the Outies aren’t exactly invincible to the way their Innies feel about eachother, either.
That’s why Mark and Helena felt something for eachother at the restaurant, when Innie Mark and Mrs. Casey felt nothing at all.
It’ll be interesting to see where Season 3 goes.