Harmony Cobel's presence hasn't really been necessary this season at all despite Patricia Arquette being an executive producer. In the first season, she was the mysterious manager of the severed floor. She sought to invade every aspect of Mark's life. She knew how important he was to the overall ambitions of Lumon. She strived to keep him on track. Yet the company was alarmed by her tactics. They were concerned she was jeopardizing the mission. Everyone understands her importance. However, it immediately felt like a plot contrivance when Devon suggested contacting Cobel after Mark received his latest reintegration treatment. It offered a way back into the narrative for the villain. Mark and Devon shouldn't trust her at all. She has been aloof with everything she has done. She deceived them. She endangered their lives. She was a true believer in Lumon. And now, that belief has been shattered. The company no longer views her as essential. And so, she sets out to prove how important she is. She came from nothing. She delivered everything for this company. That's a significant piece of her backstory. It's also just odd to place this revelation here when so much of the narrative has been escalating recently.
The season has delivered two flashback episodes in a row to reveal more crucial details about the characters. These backstories inform who these characters were. It was necessary to see life with Mark and Gemma. The audience needed a reason to root for them. The ambitions of this focus on Cobel are much more vague. The ending declaration sets up the promise of working with Mark and Devon. As a team, they have the potential to take down what Lumon has been plotting. The show has the potential to offer a full redemption arc to Cobel. It's just a sudden development. It's more natural when the focus is on Milchick as he struggles with the responsibilities of being floor manager. The company has asked him to change vital parts of his identity. He has done so out of pure devotion. The company doesn't recognize him as an individual. That's the must crucial understanding of how Lumon operates. Everything is being done for a collective greater good. Everyone has to be satisfied with that response to every question. It's frustrating. It doesn't trust that people can handle the totality of the information. It's driven by fear. Lumon worries how Cobel will act if she decides to weaponize the fact that she invented the severance procedure. That's all she needs when she returns to her home town.
Cobel also seeks clarity about her mother's death. That is the only personal tragedy she carries. She never got to say goodbye. Instead, her future with Lumon was prioritized. Nothing could compromise the upward trajectory she was on. Salt's Neck is older and frailer than she remembers. The Lumon factory brought prosperity once. After it closed, nothing but despair and vitriol remained. Moreover, the citizens are addicted to the product they were mining. Lumon destroyed this community. People are stuck. They have no where else to go. They can't escape the tragic cycle. Cobel is the only one who did. The rest are slated to die. Lumon doesn't care. The only remaining follower is Cobel's aunt Sissy. She believes she will be rewarded for her faith eventually. Cobel operated from the same position. She once had a shrine to Kier Eagan in her home. She worshiped the Eagan family. She wasn't special because of what she gave the company. She was disposable just like everyone else. She refuses to go quietly. She lingers over past regrets. The relationship with her mother was always significant. It's the only thing she cared about outside of work. Sissy proclaims Cobel to be just like her. That's in direct contrast with what Lumon hopes to be. As such, it's sensible to now view Cobel as a threat to what the company aims to achieve.
Despite all of this, the narrative doesn't lay out a clear reason for Cobel's importance. It essentially hopes that the reveal about the severance procedure carries that entire burden. It was an amazing invention Cobel came up with a long time ago. Jame took credit. As an individual, he was allowed to step forward and bask in the glory of what was now possible. Cobel never had that luxury. She was fine with that previously. All she wanted was the severed floor. She wanted to oversee what she started. It was taken away from her. It wasn't good enough to simply lead a commission studying the procedure. She demands to be taken seriously. She worries the company is monitoring Sissy. She takes precautions. However, her dynamic with Hampton only offers a glimpse at the path not taken. It's what could have been possible. They are no longer kids working in the factory together. They have grown up. They can't restore these possibilities. Cobel must take what she came for and leave. Lumon is after her. The company doesn't even suspect that Mark has been reintegrating. Cobel now wields that information. That amplifies her power and influence further. Anything is possible. That has always been true with the character. That hasn't changed after this intense focus. The audience shouldn't be surprised by any outcome with her. As such, it's hard to root for any in particular. The stakes are high elsewhere. Cobel's journey simply doesn't match the same pacing and intensity. Her life is put in better context now. But that remains a case of plot being prioritized over character when the narrative has typically been so good at leading with the people caught up in its story.
