obsessed with tv shows

Lumon has been working to create this smoothed-out emotionless product to market to the world, this Gemma who has been refined out of all her “tempers”. A medical company trying to create the ultimate opioid. We can guarantee YOU never have to feel pain again, just please don’t worry about the other version of you that only exists to feel the pain.

even though outie!Mark is apologetic and sympathizes with innie!Mark’s suffering in LUMON, he doesn’t really understand it. it’s all innie!Mark has. helly is all he has. so when he undercuts his life by telling him that they can just “share”, he is showing his ignorance and inability to comprehend what innie!Mark is going through.

that’s where the distrust that bubbles to the surface comes from. innie!Mark is a fully formed person, but his other self sees him as lesser. why wouldn’t he want to assert what little power he has in order to enjoy what’s left of his life? he and helly might just die in ten minutes. he has no idea, but for once, he isn’t being dictated to by LUMON, or Milchick, or his outie.

and of course he saved gemma. it is the right thing to do, and she didn’t deserve to suffer. but other than that, he has no ties to her. she isn’t what he wants. he wants helly, and for the first time he has the complete freedom to enjoy his time with her.

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.

To be entirely clear off the top, while I’m more invested in Mark and Helly’s relationship, I think the show wants you to feel genuinely conflicted. This is not a ‘Why aren’t you guys on my team’ post or me indicating that every Mark and Gemma fan feels this way. They’re genuinely tragic, I’ve seen many great reads and insights on them, they’re a key part of the show.

But even tracking back to season one, it feels like people were looking for a reason to invalidate or dismiss Mark and Helly’s connection simply because ‘Prestige TV shouldn’t revolve around romance’ or the idea that they were too good for a show about a couple getting together. Mark and Helly and Burt and Irving’s relationship both say something essential about the show and the innies, the idea that people cannot help but fall in love with each other even when every force around them attempts to prevent and stifle that feeling. And I thought the show put some groundwork in on them! Even from the start (“I think we should kill Mark” etc), Helly’s clearly fixated on him and more interested in antagonizing him specifically, and Mark’s willingness to bend rules he used to believe in for her comfort is a pretty key aspect of his path. It’s shown in a veiled way, but I think the show made it earned and a lot of people just basically went ‘Ugh now there’s KISSING?’ And it’s not like there weren’t essential displays of platonic love between the innies either, the show makes time for those as well.

And then this season, I see SO many takes about how Mark and Helly represent lust compared to Mark and Gemma’s genuine love, and it’s hard to feel like that’s not just because we’ve seen one couple have sex and the other hasn’t? There have been so many displays of genuine understanding between Mark and Helly, from him trying to break rules to make her more comfortable in season one to her realizing he was just lashing out after the ORTBO. I mean, even earlier in the episode, she basically said he should leave her behind to have a chance to live! Sure, there’s no wedding band, but how is that not an ultimate display of devotion!

Even if you want to bring up that Mark couldn’t tell Helena and Helly apart, it feels hypocritical to then turn around and say innie Mark should have chosen Gemma because it’s *his* wife. Innies and outties are either one being or two, we can’t just flip-flop for morality and shipping.

[ID: Gifs (left side) of Helena saying "I am a person. You are not." and Helly's reaction. Then gifs (right side) of Mark Scout saying "Honestly, I love that you had that experience. So now, you can imagine...like what you and Heleny had, but multiplied." and Mark S.'s reaction. End ID]