Warning: This post contains slight spoilers for Severance season 2, episode 9.Severance star Tramell Tillman breaks down a tense moment between his character, Mr. Milchik, and Mr. Drummond (Darri Ólafsson) in season 2, episode 9, when he tells the top Lumon executive to “devour feculence.” Previously a composed and methodical enforcer of the severed floor’s strict guidelines, Milchik’s patience has slowly eroded under the weight of increasing pressure from his defiant MDR employees and the company’s superiors. With the sudden disappearance of Mark S. (Adam Scott) and the departure of Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), Milchik has become Lumon’s scapegoat for Severance‘s stalled Cold Harbor project.
In an interview with Decider, Tillman addressed his character’s response to Drummond following the tense exchange, noting that Milchick’s willingness to push back was a long time coming. Milchick has spent much of Severance season 2 contending with Lumon’s continual disrespect, from receiving racist Kier Eagan paintings to a demeaning performance review criticizing his refined vocabulary. Read what he had to say below:
It was great to have him have a voice, for him to step up and say, ‘I’m not going to tolerate this. And that’s the condition. Unfortunately, with middle management, you’re always receiving and having to give out and always receive, receive, receive.
And let’s not forget that when he started the job in Season 1, we started in chaos. And from that point on to where we end in Season 2, it’s only been like a week or two weeks. So all of these things that are building up, he doesn’t have the time or the space to really breathe or expel that energy.
I definitely identify with Milchick more than I thought I would. I’m a former, reformed people pleaser, and Milchick definitely is a people pleaser. He’s a perfectionist. And I identify with that.
There’s a passion. There’s a connection that he has as a man of faith and belief in what he’s a part of. I definitely identify with that as a man of faith. But learning the importance of how much time we spend with it and who we spend it with was really illuminating for me, because we don’t get to see much of his external life outside of Lumon.
And I think when you when you build a character who is so rich inside the space, and then you take him out, I’m very curious about what that is. With him being a person who spends so much time inside, though, it really starts to challenge me as an actor and as a human being to ask myself, ‘Who am I spending my time with? Where’s my energy going? What’s important to me? What do I give value? And how does that connect with my own identity?’
What This Means For Severance Season 2
Milchik Is No Longer Playing By The Rules
Milchick’s displeasure with Lumon bursts forth at the moment where Milchick defiantly tells Drummond, “Devour feculence,” before bluntly clarifying: “Eat s–t.” His frustrations began in Severance season 2 after a performance review in episode 6 criticized him for using “too many big words,” reducing his intelligence to an annoyance. When coupled with the offensive blackface Kier Eagan paintings he received, it became clear that Lumon’s executives viewed him as a disposable arm of the company’s greater project with Mark S. rather than a valuable manager of the severed floor.
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“Devour Feculence”: Why Milchick Says THAT To Drummond In Severance Season 2 & What It Means For His Job At Lumon
Tramell Tillman’s Seth Milchick stands his ground by telling Mr. Drummond to “devour feculence,” putting his position in Severance at risk.
By the end of Severance season 2, episode 9, Milchick is no longer willing to play by Lumon’s rules. When Drummond unfairly blames him for Mark’s absence, Milchick refuses to take the fall with a defining mark of rebellion. Rather than continuing to conform, Milchick uses the very thing Lumon criticized him for to make a statement they won’t forget. Fortunately, Milchick remains in his position by the end of the episode, suggesting Lumon isn’t ready to terminate him for his insubordination yet. However, his role in overseeing the delayed Cold Harbor project may be the only thing protecting him.
Our Take On Milchik’s Defiance In Severance
Lumon’s Most Loyal Employees Are Turning Against Them
Image via Apple TV+
Severance season 2 positioned Lumon’s once most impassioned enforcer as a key player in helping take down the company. For most of the Apple TV+ sci-fi show, Milchik has spent his time managing the severed floor, with little insight into his outside life. As a “man of faith,” Milchik has strongly followed the Kier belief system, but his growing disillusionment with Lumon reveals cracks in his conviction. As Cobel works with Mark S., Milchik and his former boss remain two of Severance‘s most compelling characters, and I can’t wait to see how their defiance unfolds in the upcoming finale.
Source: Decider
Severance
8/10
- Release Date
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February 18, 2022
- Showrunner
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Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
- Writers
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Dan Erickson