“Tumwater”

My desire for comfort usually outweighs my desire to experience new things. But I thought, now is the time, it’s February 2025, season two has come out, so why not finally watch season one of Severance?

Obviously, the show has many mysteries and layers and Easter eggs and all of that. But what made my ears perk up was the mention of the “Tumwater file.” Tumwater is a Chinuk Wawa word; it’s the indigenous name for Oregon City, and it means waterfalls.

Like…..why would the writers include a random Chinuk Wawa word? Had to be a coincidence?

A very brief search led me to Reddit, which explained that the show uses a lot of “water” names. Tumwater is a city in Washington, as well as a dam. The city is near Olympia and one of the show’s creators is from Olympia. (That last link has spoilers for season one.)

Soooo……kind of a coincidence, kind of not!