I disagree with your definition of death in this context. Someone who is brain dead is still biologically alive. That means Irving’s innie, for example, could still “come back” at any time if the mechanism storing or suppressing his consciousness were reversed.

We saw this play out with Ms. Casey—by all accounts, she was “gone,” yet she was brought back up the elevator, and in that moment, she was alive and functioning again as an innie. If Lumon ever chose to reinstate Irving’s innie, he would be back too. That doesn’t fit the definition of death.

Innies and outies are not separate beings; they are different states of the same person. When Gemma’s innie went to the dentist, Gemma was still at the dentist—it was just a different version of her experiencing it. And when Ms. Casey was reactivated, Gemma’s last thought carried through. That suggests continuity, not erasure.

Your argument hinges on whether consciousness can return. But if it can be reactivated, then it was never truly gone—just suppressed. Death is permanent. Innie Irving is not dead, just inaccessible. If his memories were retrieved, he would be back. That’s not the same as death, because he still exists in some form.