Seth Milchick is the former supervisor-turned new manager of the severed floor at Lumon Industries.
History[]
Milchick was pleased when Helena Eagan came to Lumon to be severed to begin working on the severed floor. He greeted her and explained how the process would go. Then he stayed with her as she underwent the procedure to have the implant placed in her brain. Once that was done, he sent her to the severed floor to begin work. He greeted her when she returned shortly after through the stairwell. He explained that it sometimes took innies time to adjust to their reality and encouraged her to go back in. He had to send her back in a few more times before she finally stayed. At the end of her first day, he greeted her with flowers.[2]
When Petey didn't come to work one day, Milchick came to MDR and asked to talk to Mark. He led Mark to Ms. Cobel's office, where Cobel told Mark he was the new department chief because Petey no longer worked for Lumon. She was unable to tell him more than that. Then Milchick gave him a binder and they sent him to train the new employee, Helly R. They watched this process on a monitor and when Helly tried to escape, Milchick asked if he should go help. Cobel told him no. During the training, Helly threw a speaker at Mark's head, causing a cut. Milchick bandaged it while Cobel talked to Helly. Once they were done, Milchick took Helly to MDR to watch the video that was the last part of her training, a video of her outie consenting to being severed. Once it was over, Milchick sent Helly to her desk to start work.[3]
To welcome Helly to the team, Milchick brought in a melon bar and had them play a game to get to know each other. When Helly claimed she didn't know anything she could share, he showed her that he could by saying some facts about her. The game continued until Mark confessed to breaking protocol because seeing the picture of Petey made him sad. Milchick questioned why he had those feelings about Petey, but not other workers who had left. Mark said they knew ahead of time that the others were leaving, but Petey was just gone. Milchick said that things like death only happened outside Lumon and they should feel gratitude for that. Then he transitioned them to the melon bar.
While they ate, Milchick called them over to take the new group photo. He took several shots until Helly stepped away. She wrote her outie a note and said she was quitting. She ignored their warnings about the code detectors and went to the elevator, which set off an alarm. Mark took the blame and was sent to the Break Room in Helly's place.
The next day, Mark called in sick to work. When Milchick told Cobel and Graner about this, they agreed the timing was suspicious. Later that day, Milchick came to MDR when Irving fell asleep at his desk. Milchick took Irving for a Wellness check with Ms. Casey.[2]
When Cobel brought a wrapped package from Mark's porch to work and found out it was his brother-in-law's fifth book, she had Milchick review it for any hidden messages. He was reading the book when an alarm went off because Helly tried to get a message out while visiting the Perpetuity Wing. Milchick greeted Helly in the Break Room and cleaned up her arm, which had been cut by glass. Then he had her sit down with her palms flat on the table and recite a statement of contrition. When he wasn't satisfied that she meant it, he had her read it again and again.[4]
By the end of the work day, Milchick still wasn't satisfied, so he told Helly they'd try again the next day. In all, he made her recite the statement 1,072 times before he let her go back to MDR. Still dissatisfied with her existence, Helly took a paper cutter to Cobel's office and burst past Milchick to enter and threaten to cut off her own fingers if Cobel didn't let her record a message to her outie. Milchick recorded that video and then they escorted Helly to the elevator with the disk. Helly returned soon after with a disk that contained her outie's reply, refusing to let her quit and saying that while she, the outie, was a person, Helly was not.
After Cobel went to Petey's funeral to retrieve his severance chip, she brought it back to Lumon and handed it off to Milchick to take it diagnostics.[5]
When Helly attempted suicide, Milchick went with Cobel to greet Mark, who was returning to work after discovering her hanging. Cobel told him that Helly was in the hospital, but would be okay, then implied that he was at fault because it happened on his watch. When Helly returned to work, Milchick coached Mark to have kind eyes, as it would be the first time innie Helly was conscious since her suicide attempt.
Milchick found Irving trying to make a copy and discovering a painting being printed instead of what he copied. Milchick told Irving it was meant as a joke for Cobel and said that the coup depicted in the painting had never happened. Milchick then told Cobel he'd done it to discourage Irving from seeing Burt more.[6]
Despite Milchick's subtle warning, the team from MDR continued to visit O&D. Milchick came in and interrupted a meeting between the two teams. He led the MDR team back to their department, where Cobel was waiting. She sang a loyalty song to Kier and then sent Mark to the break room.
After seeing footage of Dylan stealing an idiographic card from O&D, Milchick went to Dylan's home and activated a process that allowed him to speak to Dylan's innie outside of Lumon. Dylan was surprised to find himself outside Lumon and told Milchick that it was in the bathroom behind a toilet. When Jim George came in and hugged Dylan, Milchick pulled him back and reminded him that their deal was to count to 1000 and stay out. Milchick then ended the session and allowed Jim to hug Dylan. Dylan asks if they were good and Milchick said they were and left.[7]
After the new door was installed at MDR, Milchick tested it out and then greeted each member of the team as they arrived and escorted them to MDR. Milchick then went to O&D, where Burt was already there working. He said that they could focus on final preparations for the day and said Burt had been a great leader for O&D and Milchick had something special planned.
When Dylan arrived, Milchick explained that what he'd experienced was called the Overtime Contingency, but he declined to tell Dylan anything about his life, saying it was better if he didn't know. Later that day, Milchick brought in a cart for a Music Dance Experience to celebrate Helly getting to 75%. When Irving pointed out that she was only at 73%, Milchick said they all needed something nice. He put the music on and all of them except Dylan started dancing. The Music Dance Experience abruptly ended when Dylan lunged at Milchick, knocking him over and biting him. Milchick left to tend to his bite.
Later that day, Milchick attended Burt's retirement party in O&D. He showed a video of Burt's outie thanking everyone for the experience and saying goodbye. When Milchick noticed Irving there, he ordered him back to MDR. Burt convinced Milchick to let him stay for the party. Milchick agreed, but escorted Irving back to MDR once it was over.[8]
Milchick got several calls from Cobel. When he finally answered one, she told him that someone had activated the Overtime Contingency. She told him she'd go to the gala to handle Helly while he went to the security office to stop it. When he got there, Milchick found the door being held shut by Dylan's belt. He tried to get Dylan to open the door, offering him perks, but Dylan refused. Milchick used a small knife to cut through the belt and when he got in, he pushed Dylan off the switches, ending the Overtime Contingency.[9]
Milchick and Cobel watched eagerly at MDR got closer to meeting their quota. Cobel told Milchick to prepare for them to make it and schedule an end-of-the-quarter wellness session for Mark. While Mark had the session, Cobel and Milchick watched and said it was good that he and Ms. Casey didn't remember each other. It meant the chips were working. After the session, Milchick escorted Ms. Casey, who had been fired, to a hallway that led to an elevator that went down.
Milchick then brought the MDR team their pre-waffle party egg bar social and gave Dylan a present for being refiner of the quarter for the third time. The party abruptly ended when Milchick had to leave. He went to escort Cobel, who had been fired, out of the building. Milchick then returned to MDR to get Dylan to take him to Perpetuity for his waffle party.[10]
Following the Macrodat Uprising, Milchick went to visit Outie Dylan and Outie Irving to fire them. Then he went to see Mark and emphasized how brave he was to activate the Overtime Contingency. He wanted to see Mark back at work the following Monday. When Milchick heard that Mark was planing to quit, he brought Mark a gift basket from Lumon and reminded him of why he'd chosen to take the job in the first place, to be free of the pain of losing Gemma. It worked and Mark agreed to come back. To join him, Milchick brought in Dario Rossi from overseas and Gwendolyn Y. and Mark Wilkins, who had been laid off from another branch.[11]
When Mark returned, Milchick greeted him and welcomed him back. He told Mark that their coup made the news and they were famous. And Lumon had made changes in response, but that Mark was the only member of his team to choose to return. He apologized for his past behavior, but said that he couldn't bring the rest of Mark's team back.
Mark rebelled against Milchick, planting a note on Mark W. denigrating the company. After distracting Milchick, Mark ran to his office and used the radio to appeal directly to the board, asking for his team back. Milchick found him and escorted him out. When Mark returned, the rest of his team came back as well and Milchick called them all to the new, improved Break Room, where he showed them a video about the uprising and explained that they, not their outies, had a choice to stay or leave. He gave them until the end of the day to decide. While waiting for them to decide, Milchick called Dylan to come talk to him. He told Dylan his wife's name is Gretchen and showed him the plans for an Outie Family Visitation Suite, which would allow Dylan's family to visit him at Lumon. He asked Dylan not to tell the others as they were all single and he didn't want it to cause conflict between them.[1]
Natalie brought Milchick a present from the board. He opened it to find the Kier series with Kier depicted as a Black man. Natalie told him the board had given her the same present when she got her current job. He expressed his appreciation for the gift, but at the end of the day, before leaving, he put the pictures all back in the box and put them on a high shelf.[12]
Milchick arranged for the four members of MDR to have an outdoor retreat at Dieter Eagan National Forest. He recorded a video explaining that they'd be there for two days and would follow Kier's path through the area with help along the way. After they found the cave with the fourth appendix, which told Kier and Dieter's story, Milchick met them and led them to a camp with food and amenities for them to enjoy. After dark, he read them more of Kier and Dieter's story. When Mark and Helly laughed at Dieter's death, he chastised them and had Miss Huang throw their marshmallows in the fire before leaving.
The next morning, Milchick reappeared when Dylan Mark called for him. They told him Irving and Helly were missing. They followed their cries to where Irving was holding Helly. Once he had Milchick's attention, Irving started to drown her and told him to bring Helly back, as he knew this wasn't her. At a time when Helly's head was above the water, she yelled for "Seth" to do it and Milchick had someone end the Glasgow block, bringing Helly back. Irving cradled her and told her he was sorry. Mark then came and wrapped his coat around her. Milchick then came and told Irving that he was fired and his outie would be notified. Dylan said he was sorry for not believing Irving and Milchick ordered them to cease communication. He had Irving walk into the forest and said it would be like Irving B. never existed. Then he told someone on his radio to do it now.[13]
When the MDR workers returned to work on Monday, he had them brought to this office, where he told them that Helena had come to work with them to learn their true grievances and Irving would not be returning because of what he'd done to her. Milchick then escorted them back to MDR, where they found all traces of Irving erased. Seeing this, Dylan asked for a funeral for Irving, which Milchick agreed to grant. He had Miss Huang help him set it up, though Miss Huang felt he shouldn't let them do it as it would make them believe they were people. At the funeral, he gave them a brief moment to remember Irving and then called Dylan up to deliver a eulogy. Once that was done, he had a melon shaped like Irving's head brought in for them to enjoy.
Later, Milchick had his first performance review as the new department head. Before he went in, he asked Natalie about her own feelings when she received the paintings, since he felt they had similar experiences, but she refused to say anything. They went into his review, where Drummond went over the positives and then the negatives of his performance. He told Milchick that he believed that Mark's work on Cold Harbor and the importance of it historically had gone to his head. Milchick agreed to tighten the reins on his employees. This started with Milchick stopped Mark, who was trying to leave work six minutes early. He told Mark he wanted to put the past behind them and look forward to productive work days ahead. He asked if Mark had told Helly about having sex with her outie on the retreat. Mark didn't answer, but Milchick stepped out of the elevator and let him leave.[14]
Milchick left Miss Huang in charge of the floor for the day and addressed the criticisms from his performance review. First, he sat down with two stacks of paper and a jar of paperclips and practiced applying them correctly. Once that was finished, he looked at the point about him using too many big words and practiced making shorter commands with simpler words.[15]
Milchick was sent to the Exports Hall when Ms. Casey emerged from the elevator as Gemma had tried to escape the Testing Floor. He told her her outie had been at Lumon for an art exhibition and gone into the wrong elevator. He had her go back in, refusing to answer her questions.[16]
Milchick presented Miss Huang with a Kier bust and congratulated her on finishing her fellowship. He then told her she would be going to the Gunnel Eagan Empathy Center in Svalbard and a shuttle would take her there at the end of the day. As the handbook required, he then talked her through using the bust to break her ring toss game as a material sacrifice.
When Drummond learned that no progress was being made on Cold Harbor despite the work day starting, he called Milchick and told him to get Mark to work. Milchick called Mark, but got no answer. Helly also asked him where Mark was, but he refused to tell her and sent her back to work.
When Dylan resigned that day, Milchick told him it showed a lack of gratitude. Milchick met with Drummond, who blamed him for Mark coming to work. Milchick finally stood up to him, saying he was in charge of the severed floor, but not what employees did outside of there. When Mark finally called, Milchick tried to get him to come to Lumon for care when he said he was worried about the nosebleeds. Mark admitted he just needed a day and promised Milchick to come in the next day.[17]
Personality[]
Milchick outwardly appears to be a very happy and jovial man, but this is his mask that he wears for his severed employees. In reality he is cold-hearted and will do anything for his job, although he tried to mitigate the Innies' work conditions with reforms.
Later, it becomes apparent that Milchick has begun to feel discontentment towards Lumon and the Board, in particular following the Board's tone-deaf (if not overtly racist) gift of "recanonicalized" paintings showing Kier as a Black man. He also has come to resent Miss Huang's encroachment on his authority and Mr. Drummond's heavy-handedness in dealing with him, causing him to take great pleasure in facilitating Miss Huang's departure and also leading him to stand up to Drummond when he blamed him for the delays in finishing Cold Harbor.
Physical Description[]
Milchick is a man with brown skin and brown eyes. He has curly black hair that is kept short and neat. He is always smiling, but it never looks genuine. Milchick dresses business casual, often in white button-ups and slacks, with dress shoes.
Relationships[]
Milchick has a somewhat adversarial relationship with Eustice Huang, who occasionally questions his managerial decisions and "anonymously" reported his missteps to Lumon's upper management prior to his first performance review.
Milchick and Mr Drummond have a tense working relationship.
Quotes[]
"The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design"
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Notes and Trivia[]
- In the Lexington Letter, the editor of the Topeka Star newspaper is named Jim Milchick. His relationship to Seth, if there is any, remains unknown.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Screenshots[]
Appearances[]
| Season 1 | |||||
| #01 | "Good News About Hell" | #04 | "The You You Are" | #07 | "Defiant Jazz" |
| #02 | "Half Loop" | #05 | "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" | #08 | "What's for Dinner?" |
| #03 | "In Perpetuity" | #06 | "Hide and Seek" | #09 | "The We We Are" |
| Season 2 | |||||
| #01 | "Hello, Ms. Cobel" | #05 | "Trojan's Horse" | #09 | "The After Hours" |
| #02 | "Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig" | #06 | "Attila" | #10 | "Cold Harbor" |
| #03 | "Who Is Alive?" | #07 | "Chikhai Bardo" | ||
| #04 | "Woe's Hollow" | #08 | "Sweet Vitriol" | ||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hello, Ms. Cobel, 2x01
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Half Loop, 1x02
- ↑ Good News About Hell, 1x01
- ↑ In Perpetuity, 1x03
- ↑ The You You Are, 1x04
- ↑ The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design, 1x05
- ↑ Hide and Seek, 1x06
- ↑ Defiant Jazz, 1x07
- ↑ The We We Are, 1x09
- ↑ What's for Dinner?, 1x08
- ↑ Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig, 2x02
- ↑ Who Is Alive?, 2x03
- ↑ Woe's Hollow, 2x04
- ↑ Trojan's Horse, 2x05
- ↑ Attila, 2x06
- ↑ Chikhai Bardo, 2x07
- ↑ The After Hours, 2x09