Pluribus has been a slow burner for me after I got sidetrack on November and December for the most part so there has been a lot of content I had to catch up with, episode 5 is the episode went to some really dark places, but honestly it didnt ask the show wants to sell it since Carol is such a drama Queen, yes Earth has been invaded but there are other ways to manage the entire situation despite whats going on. The whole setup with Carol waking up to find Albuquerque completely empty, that turn out a bit creepy although it was obvious the hive mind decided to leave after the events of episode 4, the big news for the for the episode is the hive mind Milk addiction that turn out was not really Milk. The idea that the hive is processing dead bodies into this yellowish liquid and mixing it with white powder to make nutrient slurry is kinda fucked up but only from a moral perspective, from a science point of view is really smart, like they are literally turning people into food and distributing it in elementary school milk cartons, that is some next level horror right there and the way the episode builds to that final reveal with Carol pulling back the tarp in the freezer is perfectly design for you to feel that way, you could feel her shock even before the camera cuts to black. What got me the most was how the show keeps using these symbols like the wolves digging up Helens grave and the crows pecking at the powder bags, its all screaming death and scavenging and the hive becoming this efficient machine that consumes everything including humanity itself, the whole isolation thing makes sense too because Carols emotions were literally hurting the hive every time she panicked or got angry around Zosa, so they just evacuated an entire city to get away from her. I love how the show is not trying to make the hive look like heroes anymore, they are revealing what this thing really is, in my opinion they trying to exterminate humans first by absorbing them all and then to starve them to death, a scavenger species processing the old world into fuel until there is nothing left, if the hive keeps consuming resources without farming anything new then eventually they run out and start processing themselves into extinction and Carol is slowly starting to figure this out through her investigation.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22202452/
- Platform: AppleTV+
The episode kicks off right after the truth serum incident where Carol injected into Zosas IV trying to get answers about reversing the joining, witch resulted in Zosa going into cardiac arrest and causing literally millions of people across the entire planet to burst into tears at the exact same time. Laxmi calls the hospital and absolutely tears into Carol about making her son cry but Carol knows already how it all work out so its here when she first really start caring for Zosa and start to feel bad for what she cause, but most important start to feel for Zosa. Everyone in the hive simultaneously experiencing the same distress because they are all connected, this moment as others Carol's anger or panic attach shows how interconnected the hive is and how Carols actions dont just impact the people standing next to her, they ripple out to affect millions of bodies all at once witch is pretty insane when you think about it. The others at the hospital are being super cold to Carol, refusing to make eye contact and barely acknowledging her presence witch is very different from how they have been treating her up until now, like they would do anything to make her happy and comfortable but now they are done with her shit because she crossed a line. When Carol falls asleep that night the entire population of Albuquerque just leaves, like they coordinate this massive evacuation in complete silence while she is sleeping and when she wakes up the city is totally empty, watching that mass exodus with everyone marching away in perfect unison was some satisfying coordination, it shows just how organized and unified the hive really is when they make a decision. Carol gets a voicemail recording, witch by the way is voiced by Patrick Fabian from Better Call Saul, I knew I recognize that voice so had to look it up and that was such a nice surprise to hear his voice, the message says they still care about her but they need space after everything that happens, the idea that these beings would rather abandon an entire city than confront Carol directly is both funny and sad at the same time because they can communicate instantly with each other across the entire planet but they cannot handle one angry woman negative emotions so they just ghost her completely.
Carol being left alone in Albuquerque means she has to deal with stuff she has never had to think about before, like she calls the recording to request trash pickup and they give her this very specific set of instructions about bagging everything separately and keeping each bag under 17 pounds so the drone can handle it, watching Carol try to follow these rules and then watching the drone fail miserably and get tangled up in a light post with her trash bag spinning around was hilarious, the what the fuck face she had and when it fail was like fuck it. The isolation also means Carol has to deal with wildlife that is now roaming freely through the city since there are no humans around anymore, like coyotes show up in her backyard and start digging around near Helens grave putting Carol into high panic mode because the idea that these animals could dig up and eat the body of the person she loved most in the world is absolutely horrifying to her, this was so hilarious like she cant catch a brake and things just getting worst for her while been alone in town. She ends up using her police car to ram through her own fence and scare the coyotes away, then spends the next day building a proper grave for Helen with concrete slabs and painting a beautiful headstone, that whole sequence was really emotional and probably the first time I have seen Carol do something with actual love and care instead of just anger and resentment. While I was looking up for who the voice on the recording was I did find out that on Carols room there still a book Helen use to read, or at least thats what I think because its still there, Caron havent gone through Helen stuff yet, the point is that its a book about people getting picked off one by one until nobody is left and it feels like the show is hinting that the hive might be heading toward some kind of self destruction if they keep consuming resources without creating anything new, book name "And Then There Were None", this actually backs up my theory, but I guess most viewers paying attention know this and the point is if Carol will be able to revert things.
Carol is going around town as she feels more loose without the hive around her, then she starts noticing all the milk cartons in the recycling bins around the city and decides to investigate where they are coming from, like the hive members drink this stuff constantly and Carol wants to know what it actually is, this leads her to the Duke City Dairy facility where she discovers they are not drinking milk at all, they are mixing this white powdery substance that looks kind of blue with water and it creates this yellowish amber liquid that has no smell and a neutral pH level, yeah she took it home and did her own lab test with a pool kid, hilarious. Carol records a video message to the other survivors explaining what she found but then realizes she does not actually know what any of it means so she gets frustrated and deletes the whole thing, witch I totally get because she is trying so hard to find answers and every time she thinks she is onto something it just leads to more questions without any real conclusions, at the same time I dont know why she just dont ask them, she already discover they cant lie, pick up the phone and ask. The episode does a great job showing she is a hard worker Carol is even though she is not a scientist or anything like that, like she figures out where the powder is being manufactured by following the barcode on a dog food bag witch shows she knows how to problem solve and investigate even without access to the internet or other people to help her. She tracks down this warehouse with a giant freezer and when she goes inside there are fruits and vegetables but also something else at the back covered by white tarps, she pulls one back and the music stops completely and she just gasps and we do not get to see what it is, the camera cuts to black right at that moment witch is such a brutal cliffhanger because now we have to wait even longer than usual to find out what the hell she saw under there.
I really have to give the show that it tries hard to include you as part of Carol's investigating crew, makes the series very fun to watch, so far based on everything we know and all the clues the episode gives us its just very obvious the hive is processing dead bodies into that nutrient powder they are mixing with water and drinking out of milk cartons, like they mentioned earlier in the series that they do not harm living creatures but what about using the bodies of people who already died during the joining, it would make sense as a way to centralize resources and keep everyone fed without needing agriculture or killing animals for meat. The crows pecking at the powder bags earlier in the episode make perfect sense now because crows are scavengers that eat dead things and the whole dairy plant setup would be ideal for processing organic material into a consumable substance that can be distributed easily, although to be honest this was just a hunch I had because a few crow doesnt says too much. In my opinion this is a very strong episode since it focuses almost entirely on Carol and Rhea Seehorn just absolutely kills it carrying the entire show by herself, everyone else in it is just an accessory, no wonder why she starting to get nominations for the series and its only Season 1, like watching her go through all these emotions from anger to grief to determination to horror, she makes you feel everything Carol is feeling even when she is so difficult to deal with its like been open and close at the same time, the performance is so good that you forget you are watching a tv series and just see Carol as a real person struggling with impossible choices. The hive leaving her alone was probably the smartest move they could make because now Carol cannot interrogate them or try to drug anyone else for information, but it also means she is free to investigate on her own without them monitoring her every move witch is how she ends up discovering the dairy plant and all the body parts in it, this episode really shows that the hive is not some benevolent force trying to create peace and harmony, they are scavengers processing the remnants of humanity into fuel for their own survival and Carol is slowly piecing together the full picture of what that actually means. The cliffhanger even though its not the most difficult code to crack is a good one after all, Im sure cost a few people a good amount of hours to calm down and realize they had to wait for the next episode, lucky me I didnt have to go through that anxiety attack. This show just keeps getting darker and more twisted with every episode and I am completely hooked on where its going next, Im half way the show so might just binge this weekend the rest of the four remaining episodes, easily one of the best show from 2025.
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