What's the Deal with the Goats in Severance? Every Theory Explored

You're watching Severance, fully immersed in its corporate dystopia, and suddenly—goats. Just wandering the severed floor. Being tended to by a mysterious employee. What?

The goats remain one of Severance's most delightful mysteries, and while the show hasn't fully explained them, the theories are as wild as Lumon itself.

What the Show Has Revealed

• Goats are kept on the severed floor, tended by at least one worker
• The goat room exists somewhere in Lumon's labyrinthine corridors
• The caretaker seems to have a genuine bond with the animals
• Lumon treats their care as routine, not exceptional

• The goat population appears stable
• Some goats may be used for... something
• The goat room connects to other mysterious areas

That's it. That's all we know for certain. Everything else is theory.

Theory 1: Failed Severance Experiments

The darkest theory: the goats are former employees whose severance procedures went wrong.

• Lumon clearly experiments with consciousness
• The goats are kept hidden but cared for
• Their presence on the severed floor suggests connection to the work

• Pretty elaborate way to handle failed experiments
• No hints at human-to-animal transformation technology
• The show tends toward psychological horror, not body horror

Verdict: Probably not literal, but possibly metaphorical—the goats represent what happens to consciousness when it's manipulated.

Theory 2: Biological Data Storage

Some fans theorize the goats are living data storage—biological hard drives for whatever information MDR processes.

• Lumon's technology seems decades ahead in some areas
• The reverence for Kier Eagan has religious undertones
• Bio-computing is a real emerging field

• Seems overly sci-fi for the show's grounded horror
• No explanation for why goats specifically
• Would require technology we've seen no evidence of

Verdict: Creative but unlikely. The show keeps its weirdness more psychological than technological.

Theory 3: Just Regular Goats

The most boring theory is sometimes the right one: they're just goats. Lumon, for whatever reason, keeps goats.

• Sometimes a goat is just a goat
• Corporate campuses sometimes have weird features
• Could be milk/cheese for the cafeteria

• Nothing in Severance is random
• The show deliberately highlights them
• Would be anticlimactic after all this buildup

Verdict: Unlikely to be the full story, but probably contains truth. The goats exist for a mundane reason that gains sinister undertones in Lumon's context.

Theory 4: Religious Significance

Kier Eagan's quasi-religious philosophy might require literal sacrificial animals.

• Lumon functions like a cult
• Goats have biblical significance (scapegoats, sacrifices)
• The Perpetuity Wing has shrine-like qualities

• The show hasn't shown religious rituals requiring animals
• Seems too literal for Severance's subtle approach

Verdict: The scapegoat symbolism is almost certainly intentional. Whether it's literal sacrifice or metaphorical remains unclear.

What They Really Mean

• Deepening the severed floor's mystery
• Creating dissonance (cute animals in corporate horror)
• Symbolizing innocence trapped in the system
• Reminding us that Lumon's full scope remains hidden

Sometimes the best mysteries are the ones that stay mysterious. But if Season 3 reveals the goats are alien ambassadors or reincarnated Eagans, don't say the internet didn't warn you.