A-bombs aside, this episode, like its predecessor, made me appreciate the emotional and ethical complexity of Carol’s situation. Should it have been self-evident that Zosia was capable of lying to her by omission, and that the plurbs will never rest until they convert her? Yes. Could that have overcome all her human desire for love and companionship? Should it have done so? I’m not so sure.
Yet Manousos is capable of rejecting the embrace of the Joined. His personality and rigid adherence to the rules make him seem like a difficult person to love, on either the giving or receiving end. (Remember him calling his mom a bitch?) But presumably he desires human fellowship no less than does the similarly misanthropic Carol. He managed to stay true to the cause of the human individual against the encroaching hivemind. What’s her excuse?
It’s love, of course. In getting to know the collective through Zosia, she’s fallen in love with this…individual? Instance? She was selected to be optimally physically attractive to Carol, and she can cater to her with the knowledge and enthusiasm of every human being on the planet. She’s a walking lovebomb. Director Gordon Smith’s Jonathan Demme–esque straight-on closeup as Carol processes her feeling of betrayal upon learning that Zosia is still just one of them — as she realizes certain truths which should perhaps have been self-evident — is powerful because you can feel Zosia’s pull all the same.
I reviewed Pluribus‘s strong season finale for Decider.
Tags: decider, horror, pluribus, TV, TV reviews