Relationship Timeline
A Complete Relationship Timeline of Burt & Irving’s ‘Severance’ Love Story (So Far)
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Severance Season 2 Episode 9, “The After Hours.”]
When it comes to Severance‘s romances, none hit as sweet of a note as the lovelorn duo Burt (Christopher Walken) and Irving (John Turturro).
While they may not officially be a couple, their romance has spanned across the show’s two seasons, and most notably resurfaced, albeit briefly, in Season 2’s penultimate episode, “The After Hours.” Having gone through the procedure known as Severance, which separates consciousness between work (innie) and home life (outie), Burt and Irving initially connect at Lumon, but Season 2 sees their outies meet as well.
Their reunion in the outside world only serves to further confirm their strong connection, making us swoon all over again. Below, we’re breaking down the definitive Burt and Irving relationship timeline, reexamining the highs and lows of their connection, picking up with their first meeting to their latest farewell.
Scroll down as we take a deep dive into Burt and Irving’s romantic tale.
Severance, Season 2, Fridays, Apple TV+
(TV Insider)
Burt & Irving Meet (Season 1, Episode 2)
These two were seemingly smitten from the beginning. Irving and Burt meet in the waiting room at the Wellness Center. Burt is exiting his session just as Irving is about to head into his, and the pair strike up a conversation about the painting hanging in the space, quickly bonding over their shared love of design. The moment lights a spark that begins to burn in earnest when Season 1 hits its midway point.
Irving Visits Burt at O&D (Season 1, Episode 4)
After their initial meeting, Burt and Irving reconnect when Burt drops by the Macrodata Refinement Department to drop off some tote bags. While he’s greeted with indifference by Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Mark (Adam Scott), Irving lights up upon Burt’s arrival and considers his invitation to the Optics & Design Department. Stepping out of his comfort zone, Irving follows the directions Burt left in the tote bag to find the department, where he and Burt continue to speak about the paintings hung around the building. Their views of the scenes depicted lead to a deep conversation that pushes Burt to reach out for Irving’s hand. And while Irving briefly embraces it, he’s startled and excuses himself from the situation. But this is just another sign of their growing attraction.
Irving & Burt Admit Their Feelings (Season 1, Episode 6)
When Burt brings Irving to a secret spot he usually escapes to by himself, he suggests it could become their secret place to be alone together. Irving is moved by the gesture as the pair stand in the plant-filled room, but his adherence to Lumon’s rule book impedes him from fully giving in to the feelings Burt so readily wants to explore. Backing away from an almost-kiss, Irving tells Burt he’s just “not ready,” but there’s hope in the air as they finally let their true feelings for each other be known.
Burt Is Forced to Retire (Season 1, Episode 7)
Following the surfacing of Burt and Irving’s workplace romance, Irving visits Burt only to discover he’s retiring, or at least, his outie has decided to retire, meaning innie Burt won’t return. Stumbling into the retirement party by surprise, Irving struggles to accept this reality. He is vocal about his feelings surrounding the predicament, but Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) forces Irving to rein in his emotions so that the festivities can proceed. Ultimately, the men shake hands in a heartbreaking farewell.
Irving Finds Outie Burt (Season 1, Episode 9)
When innie Irving finds himself activated in the outside world, the first thing he does is search for Burt and follow a map that his outie seems to have drawn up. But when he arrives at the house assigned to Burt, Irving observes through the window his work love is seemingly married in his outie life to a then-unknown man. Just moments before Irving’s innie loses control, he begins knocking on the door, yelling Burt’s name. It’s an anguished sound that still hurts to think about even now.
Burt Invites Irving to Dinner (Season 2, Episode 5)
After outie Burt has been suspiciously following outie Irving as the man makes mysterious calls from a solitary phone booth, Irving finally confronts his stalker. It turns out that Burt wants to invite Irving to dinner as he relayed details he’d learned about their work life together. As Burt puts it, he was forced to retire after he became entangled in an erotic workplace entanglement. When he discovered Irving knocking on his door without much to go off of, Burt figured he should invite Irving for dinner at his house. While these are the outie versions of these characters meeting, it’s seemingly clear that their underlying chemistry remains unaltered.
Irving Meets Burt's Husband (Season 2, Episode 6)
When Irving does attend dinner at Burt’s house, he meets Burt’s husband, Fields (John Noble). Again, the chemistry between Irving and Burt is palpable. The evening does lead to some interesting revelations as Fields gets deeper in his wine, hinting that Burt’s worked for Lumon a lot longer than he’d let on and that he’d originally decided to undergo Severance in the off chance that his soul could be saved because their church views innies and outies as two separate entities. Apparently, outie Burt had a bit of a bad boy reputation that needed a spiritual rehaul, and even in his innie form, he was led from loyalty to his outie husband by pursuing Burt. While the dinner ends with Burt hinting at a desire to meet again, the peculiar nature of their meeting definitely delivers a mix of red and green flags for Irving.
The Train Station (Season 2, Episode 9)
The red flags were certainly valid by the time Irving returned home one day to find Burt sitting in his living room with a threatening aura, having rifled through his belongings. Notes found in Irving’s place suggest he’s been keeping tabs on Burt, believing him to be some kind of enforcer, and it seems the calculation was spot on when Burt asks Irving to take a ride. Irving is reluctant, but he tags along with his dog. While in the car, Burt explains that he used to drive people places for Lumon, but he never physically harmed anyone. That doesn’t really reassure Burt, who sits tensely for the rest of the ride until they pull into a train station. There, Burt buys Irving a ticket, and he admits that he chose to undergo Severance to potentially save the innocent part of himself: “My innocent part fell in love with you.” Upon hearing Burt’s words, Irving confesses he’s never really been loved before, and the pair get quite close.
In a moment calling back to Season 1’s near-kiss, Irving leans in and says, “I’m ready,” unaware of how his outie’s words juxtapose his innie’s former sentiment of not being ready. But Burt shuts the exchange down, advising Irving to board the train and noting that he can never come back to avoid Lumon’s clutches. Ultimately, he is seen speeding away on the train with his dog, having been saved by Irving. But will the love between them be enough to change his mind? Only time will tell, but for now, the pair have bid each other farewell in the most bittersweet way.
