What is Wintertide in Severance?

Early on in Severance Season 2 Episode 6, Milchick has a discussion with Ms. Huang in which he speaks of Wintertide, which may have seemed like a mysterious reference. Let’s take a look at what exactly Wintertide is in Severance and why Milchick made a refer⭕ence to it in the episode Attila.

What exactly is Wintertide?

Wintertide is a school, university, or some sort of training program in the Severance universe, more than likely with a direct relation to the company Lumon. During promotional activities leading up to the start of Severance Season 2, the LinkedIn account Lumon Industries which is used for marketing purposes for the show, . Here’s what the post said:

“Felicitations are in order for this quarter’s Wintertide Fellow: Ms. Huang. Her green outlook is precisely what Lumon aims to cultivate as an organization. She will be invaluable on our severed floor.” The post is accompanied by an image of Ms. Huang with the note “New Hire Day! Please Welcome Ms. Huang”.

Now let’s compare this to the words of Milchick in Severance Season 2 Episode 6, in which he tells Ms. Huang, “I feel I should remind you, you cannot graduate from this fellowship until I have deemed you Wintertide material. This will mean using your time well, focusing on your own duties, and eradicating from your essence childish folly.”

So after some understandable confusion based on how the events of Season 2 have played out so far, it would appear Milchick is in fact in a leadership position of Ms. Huang, despite it looking possibly the other way around. It appears as though Ms. Huang is on some sort of fell💜owship/intern program at Lumon in order to gain access to either 𝓡an educational institution or training program named Wintertide.

And, according to Milchick, it is he who has the final say on determining whether or not Ms. Huang is in fact “Wintertide material”. It’s likely Ms. Huang was overstepping simply to try and prove herself management material to Lumon, but I’m sure we’ll see more of Ms. Huang and her intentions as we enter the second half of Severance Season 2.