"Hello, Ms. Cobel" is the first episode of the second season of the American science fiction psychological thriller television series Severance.

When he returns to his cubicle, he is shocked to find three new employees as his co-workers; Mark W. (Bob Balaban), Dario R. (Stefano Carannante), and Gwendolyn Y.

When he awakens the following day, Mark sees Dylan (Zach Cherry), Irving (John Turturro) and Helly (Britt Lower) arrive, explaining the situation to them.

However, Helly fabricates a story and does not reveal her Outie's identity as Helena Eagan, and Irving cannot bring himself to talk about his attempt to meet Burt.

Dylan tries to comfort him, and Irving whispers that he woke up in his apartment, finding a painting of a dark hallway with an elevator at the end.

"[2] The MDR group was always set to reunite in the first episode, with Erickson explaining "at the end of the day, they're the heart and soul of the show.

We did talk at one point about drawing that out a little bit more, and it was tempting, I remember the day that we shot the first scene with Stefano and Bob and Alia, we were like, “Oh, I would want to watch this show too.

This would also be a really fun show in an alternate universe.” But even as charming as that group is, I think there's a sense of relief that comes in that scene where Irving and Dylan and Helly do come out of the elevator, because we've invested so much in them, and we love them so much, and we want to see them together.

Bock explained that her character's intentions are that "she might be a little bit more in control than she seems, which was kind of my first clue into her odd but definitely strong-willed personality.

Irving's head catching fire is a reference to the Heat Miser character from the 1974 stop motion Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus.

But we've waited so long for the consequences, what's another week to see how Mark Scout is coping after learning that his wife might be alive or how Helena Eagan feels about her counterpart's on-stage declaration?

"[9] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "It's a striking image on which to end this thrillingly weird return to the world of Severance.

Despite placing us inside the head of Innie Mark, the hour also fiendishly allows us to see the world the way Lumon management does.

"[11] Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the episode an "A–" and wrote, "The Board certainly wants the MDR team to feel like they've won, or at least like they've made gains — hence all the hullabaloo about The Great Macrodat Uprising — but no corporation does all that out of the kindness of its nonexistent heart.

"[7] Erik Kain of Forbes wrote, "All told, a fantastic return to Severance even if we'll have to likely wait until next week to learn what's going on up above with Mark Scout and the rest of the characters outside the halls of Lumon.

"[13] Griff Griffin of Newsweek wrote, "The company says it has offered up some new incentives in order to benefit its employees, including free sweets, pineapple bobbing, and a room of funny mirrors.

"[14] Breeze Riley of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "After an almost three-year hiatus, Apple TV+'s sci-fi thriller Severance is back for Season 2.