Breakup season two is finally here and we can’t keep quiet. The fact that we have over two months of new episodes on the way is definitely one of the best things that a very bad 2025 has brought so far, and things started off with a bang in the premiere. We spent a lot of time with the innies on the separate ground of Lumon and saw some very tantalizing new mysteries unfold.
Last month, we talked about the episode with showrunner Dan Erickson because we knew you would have I want to know what he had to say about certain things. Here are the spoilers we initially cut from our full interview.
Germain Lussier, io9: I was shocked when Helly lied about who she considered her partner to be, and then it kind of triggered so many questions about who is this person, what does she want, etc. How important is that part of the season and where did the idea come from?
Dan Erickson: Well, that’s a pretty big part of it. Something we talked about in this scene is, would each character be honest and to what extent would they be? We talked about “Would Helly be telling the truth?” » or “Would she hide it?” I think even if nothing else happened, Helly would be a little ashamed of what she learned. So there’s definitely a reason why each character might want to be dishonest to others. Marc too. I think it’s questionable whether he would want Helly to know what he learned, or would he feel he needed to take his time admitting it and presenting it to her? So we had this conversation for each of the three characters who had risen through the ranks.
io9: Another big surprise is Miss Huang, who is simply the most interesting and strangest character. What can you tell me about her?
Erickson: Yeah, there was always something interesting about the idea of having a child in this role and there’s this big question of why? Why is Lumon doing this? What is this? What are the biggest implications? But I think his presence really bothers the characters. I mean, they’re definitely all weirded out by her presence because of the fact that she’s this child (and) she has this disarming quality about her where it’s hard to hate a child, you know? But at the same time, she fulfills this leadership role and she is also, at least from experience, older than them because each of the innies has only had, at most, two years of life and even that only represents eight hours per day. So it was a very strange power dynamic that you could really only have on this show. And we were lucky enough to find an actor who could really play the role of the corporate smile and then all of a sudden it passes and you see this strange darkness underneath her. And so, in a way, she is Lumon incarnate. She is both at the same time.
io9: Another exciting new feature this season is the “outdoor family visit suite.” How crucial is this this season and, again, where did this idea come from?
Erickson: The problem with Lumon and some of their evil genius is that they will encourage what is most important to you. And for Dylan, in the first season, he was very happy with this sort of artificially created meaning of pencil erasers and finger traps and these little prizes that represented achievement. By the time he finds out he has a family, a finger trap is just a finger trap. All of a sudden, it completely reshapes one’s sense of importance in life. So what will Lumon do? They will encourage this. They’re going to tell him that you can see your wife if you do your job and you kind of toe the line because that’s the most important thing to him. He is ready to do this even at the expense of his work and his family. And it is in this difficult situation that he finds himself.
The first episode of Breakup the second season is now on Apple TV+. New episodes are released every Friday.
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