If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die
I was diving deep into Severance’s use of color theory, and I came across something interesting that might hint at what’s coming next.
In a video by Barrett Kaufman (Severance COLOR THEORY Deep Dive), he breaks down how the show masterfully uses color to manipulate our emotions and foreshadow events. In his accompanying PDF, I saw a reference to Patti Bellantoni’s book, If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die. Bellantoni, a color consultant for filmmakers, argues that purple often signals danger, transformation, or even death.
And here’s where it gets really interesting—there’s supposed to be a purple division opening at Lumon. 👀, now we already know that Severance is meticulous with its visual language. Green (innocence, compliance), blue (cold logic, control), and red (danger, rebellion) all play huge roles in the show. But purple? That color hasn’t been dominant—yet. If Bellantoni’s theory holds, this purple division could be something deadly or world-altering for the severed employees.
Could this be a department tied to reintegration? Something even darker? A clue to the company’s real endgame? Curious to hear your thoughts—do you think the showrunners are using purple as a deliberate warning? What could this division actually be?
