Harmony innocent?
I loved the latest episode, and love that Cobel is likely gonna work with Mark. But I agree with what i've seen a few ppl post that she's not redeemed because of what we learned in Ep 8. She def has her own motives when it comes to helping Mark.
She did say "Get away from them Mark" in S1, and seem to care for him then, but I still think her motives supersede any compassion she has for mark.
We don't know what compelled her to invent this procedure (some of the theories I read about her doing it to create a separation from the factory she was working in that made her mother sick make sense).
But I always have the feeling, from the way she watched the innies so intently on the monitors, that there's something she's trying to figure out - like there's something she hopes the severance procedure will accomplish. Something that's completely different than what Lumon's plans and intentions with the chip are.
I also do think she seemed satisfied watching the monitors in S1 because she's like a scientist watching the experiment fueled by her research unfold. And I don't think she necessarily feels good or bad about signs that Mark's outtie is bleeding into his innie, but rather is just fascinating by the whole process. Because I'm sure when she initially did the research, she probably had times when she was skeptical that she would ever see it actually work.
Maybe there's more the chip is capable of that we haven't seen yet, or maybe her original intentions with the chips were not quite meant to be what we're seeing the current severance procedure to be.
I also think that so far we see severance as such a negative thing, esp with how it's being used on Gemma.
but what if there's a way it could be used for good? I don't mean the way that Lumon likely plans to automate the chips or "rid the world of pain" by making billions of innies suffer so that a portion of each humans brain can live pain free.
but think about how the innies we see are generally reasonable people despite being trapped. What if there's a way to expand a person's consciousness by creating innies, but integrate them with their current version, so they can coexist and perhaps have an easier time re-framing past painful experiences. So they are not completely rid of pain but somehow better equipped to deal with it through the process of severance and then reintegration shortly after?
I'm curious to hear theories on Cobel's initial plans for the procedure, and what her current motives might be.