Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Mark wakes on Lumon’s severed floor and runs through the halls to find the wellness room gone. In MDR, three unfamiliar workers have taken the places of his friends. Milchick welcomes him back and says five months have passed since the uprising. He presents the changes as reform, introduces young deputy manager Miss Huang and says Cobel was dismissed. Mark presses for his former team, but Milchick insists their outies chose not to return.
Mark tries to warn his new coworkers by slipping a note into Mark W.’s coat. The attempt backfires when the new hire reports him, and Milchick removes Mark as department chief. Mark then tricks Milchick into leaving his office and tries to reach the Board through the speaker, but gets nowhere before Milchick catches him. Mark says he only wants his team back, and Lumon eventually gives him another chance to see them.
Helly, Irving and Dylan return, and Milchick plays them a film celebrating the so-called Macrodat Uprising while presenting new workplace perks. He lets each innie choose whether to quit. Mark tells them about the outside world and Ms Casey, while Helly hides that her outie is Helena and Irving keeps his encounter with Burt to himself. Irving first decides to leave, then changes his mind. The four resume work together, and the Cold Harbor file appears on Mark’s screen.