The Mill Ending, Explained (2024)

Hulu's dystopian thriller The Mill kept viewers on the edge of their seats as it joined the streaming service for Huluween. The Mill follows the story of Joe after he wakes up in a strange prison cell with nothing but a wooden mill. Joe (Lil Rey Howery) is a workaholic who spends too much time at work, but after his hours start slipping, his company, Mallard, takes him to the mill to motivate him to improve his work ethic. While in the mill, Joe is tasked with completing 50 revolutions on the mill to meet his daily quota. All he is given to sustain himself is a bottle of water and a packet of chips, barely enough to make up for the intense work he is required to do. The Mallard AI warns him that he will be terminated if he gets the lowest score on the board because, unfortunately, a good performance is not always enough.

Each day, the tasks get harder. Sometimes, the Mallard AI would increase the temperature to make Joe work harder. But he is determined to return home to his pregnant wife, so he works as hard as possible. When Joe initially wakes up in the mill, he is confused about what he is doing there. He soon discovers he is not the only one locked up in the rooms. His neighbor, who won't tell him his name, advises Joe to keep his head down and do the work, but he should only do a little because that would affect the leader scoreboard. Joe, determined to leave the mill, ignores the neighbor's advice and does too many rounds on the mill, ultimately making things worse for him.

The Mill Ending Explained

The Mill Ending, Explained (1)

While Joe was in the prison cell, he pushed himself into doing 370 revolutions on the mill. This is something his mysterious neighbor had warned him about because it would impact all the other prisoners since it would mean they would have to do just as much or more to avoid being terminated. Unfortunately, what Joe considered hard work backfires. When he wakes up the next day, he finds that his quota has been increased to 370. An angry Joe yells at the Mallard AI, resulting in him being given a penalty. This means that he has to make two revolutions to make a point. Eventually, Joe realizes he can't make his quota, so he gives up, but the AI gives him a second chance.

Joe can't take his life in the mill anymore, so he decides to escape. With the help of his neighbor, he finds a weak part in the wall of his cell and chips at it until it makes a huge hole. Joe escapes, but before he can go far, he is caught by a guard and returned to prison. As punishment for his insolence, everyone's quota increases to a thousand. The unfairness of this makes Joe come up with a new plan. Since the AI is a computer that follows what it's programmed to do, he figures no one will be terminated if no one does the work. His neighbors initially agree but back out because they are too afraid of what the AI may do if his plan doesn't work.

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The following day after the incident, Joe loses his temper when he's shown a video of his child, who is now a toddler. Confused and furious, Joe trashes his cell, which is a big crime because they were instructed to keep their cells clean. After his temper tantrum, Joe is told he will be terminated. When the people instructed to terminate him come to the cell, he attacks the leader and almost kills him. Before he can do so, Joe wakes up and finds himself at an office with brain activity monitors stuck to his face. It turns out the man he attacked was the HR for Mallard, and Joe's time in the prison was simply a one-hour virtual reality experience created to increase employee productivity.

Joe is offered a promotion at Mallard for his outstanding work in the mill. He surprisingly follows the HR employee and signs his contract, then calls his wife to tell her he loves her before announcing that he will burn Mallard down. The Joe who returned from the VR experience realized how backward the work culture at Mallard is. He gave his life to the company, but they still wanted more from him. So he was right to be angry and should do what he could to bring such an evil corporation down. Unfortunately, The Mill doesn't show how Joe plans to take Mallard down, and unless a sequel eventually arrives, fans will likely never know how Joe accomplishes his goal.

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Who Was Alex In The Mill?

The Mill Ending, Explained (3)

Alex was a legend in the Mallard prison cell because he was the only one who escaped the system. It's revealed that Alex was Joe's mysterious neighbor who was eventually sent back to the cell. However, Alex was only part of the virtual reality experience, something Joe realizes after he inadvertently escapes.

The Mill is an important commentary on the capitalist world people live in today. So many American corporations take from their employees without giving them much in return. While The Mill is far from the best movie in its genre, it is still enjoyable, and its social commentary on capitalism is relevant and relatable to many people.

The Mill Ending, Explained (2024)
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