Pluribus Episode Four: The Cost of Survival
Summary:
Manousos and the Fear of Connection
Manousos
Paranoid or world’s champion?
The taste of aluminum lingers on his tongue. He licks the metallic lid again, desperately searching for food where there is none. Each day he listens to his radio, waiting for proof that others like him exist, people untouched by the virus. So, it's deeply ironic when Carol reaches out by phone and he rejects the call. The reaction is rooted in suspicion; a mistrust Carol shares. That same skepticism may have kept them safe from the joining, but it also keeps them alone.
The Twelfth Immune and a Mirror to Carol
This is our first glimpse of Manousos, the twelfth person confirmed to be unaffected by the virus. The revelation of Manousos and his similar behavior to Carol's is the first of many shocking revelations in this feature-packed episode, so let's dive in.
Cataloging the Others
Carol stares at a whiteboard. Scribbled on its surface are notes for her upcoming Wycaro novel. The eraser just inches from the board, she holds her arm in check. Unable to let go of the past, she switches to a blank board and writes down what she knows about the others.
Eager to please—would give me A-bomb!
Can't kill, not a fly
Don't play faves, like all jerks the same
trying to change me!
Weirdly honest?
Lawrence J. Kless and the Limits of Honesty
Sitting Lawrence J. Kless, played by Jeff Hiller, down at her kitchen table, she tests the limits of her weirdly honest theme. Tying her line of questions to her ego, she asks him what he thinks of her books. His answers are vague and plain.
Carol presses for specifics. He gives her an answer that stings. They see her books through the eyes of her fans, and her fans think they're wonderful. His response was not an answer but a generalization, a logic that echoed Helen's when they had a similar conversation just before the joining. No longer testing the boundary of the others’ honesty, she turns to her lover’s own truthfulness.
When Validation Becomes Manipulation
Redirecting, she asks what Helen thought of her work. The truth rolled over her like a thunderclap. At best, Helen thought of her stories as mediocre. Helen's admiration for Carol's work only extended as far as the comfortable lifestyle it provided. As for Carol's magnum opus, Bitter Chrysalis, Helen couldn't even bring herself to finish it.
"If she hated it so much, why did she tell me to publish it?" Carol demanded. The answer might as well have been a chicken bone lodged in the back of Carol's throat. Helen encouraged Carol to publish because she thought it would make her happy. A sentiment that reverberates through the others. Carol sees this as manipulation, to keep her satiated until she can be changed. A page torn from Carol's past has resurfaced.
Can the Joining Be Undone?
Zosia sits up in her hospital bed. Her body is still weak from the emergency surgery just hours before. She pries at a milk carton in front of her but is too frail to open it. Carol takes the carton from Zosia’s hands and unseals it. The small gesture breaks down the awkward barrier between them and opens the door to a more serious conversation about the joining.
Zosia reveals that the joining can be undone. For the first time, Carol feels happy. Zosia ignores her contentment and tells her soon enough she will understand everything. She offers Carol a pleasant smile. The smile peels away at the wallpaper covering Carol’s past.
Camp Freedom Falls: Trauma Beneath the Surface
When Carol was sixteen, her mother sent her to a conversion camp in Covington, Tennessee—Camp Freedom Falls. There, Carol met some of the worst people of her life. All of them wore painted smiles. The memory sharpens her resistance to the others.
Why does she have to change in order to be happy? Zosia doesn’t hesitate. Carol is trying to change them too. The response lands like a light switched on in a dark room. Who’s right, and who’s wrong?
Truth Serum and Desperation
The ambiguity is pushed to its limits with Carol's next move. She spikes Zosia's I.V. with Thiopental Sodium; a drug used as a truth serum. As Zosia's words slur, Carol presses her advantage. She asks how the joining can be undone.
Tears stream from Zosia's eyes under Carol’s battering as she pleads with Carol to stop. Zosia and Carol are surrounded by a crowd of others who chant, "Please Carol, please!" Their joined sorrow is the first real emotion, other than contentment, ever displayed. Carol, unmoved by their outburst, continues her assault. Her request is relentless until a motionless Zosia lies within the center of the crowd. Zosia has gone into cardiac arrest. Carol looks on as they struggle to resuscitate her. Carol is once again relegated to a bystander.
Analysis:
Carol the Bystander: Agency, an Illusion
Carol as a bystander is featured blatantly throughout the season. She exerts her will, but the situation inevitably goes south, leaving her powerless to fix it. She is helpless because her agency is a lie. Even her old life, the one she is desperate to return to, was built on a foundation of manipulation and deceit.
The Illusion of Success and the Cost of Comfort
On the surface, Carol had it all. She and her lover, Helen, enjoyed status, wealth, and comfort, all provided by Carol’s romance series, The Winds of Wycaro. Carol’s work, while successful, was never going to be meaningful to her, and she desired more. She wanted to spend her time on her greatest accomplishment, Bitter Chrysalis.
However, Helen, who was Carol's lover and confidant, was also her greatest roadblock. She pushed and manipulated Carol into continuing the Wycaro series, which were books that Helen secretly felt were mediocre but provided a comfortable lifestyle. Even when Helen finally agreed to the publication of Bitter Chrysalis, it was a calculated condition. Helen was secretly meeting with Carol’s agent, and it was only after weighing all possible outcomes that she greenlit the project because she concluded it wouldn't hurt Carol’s career.
The Hive Mind: Truth Without Choice
The illusion of self-determination was erased in a single conversation with Lawrence. Even as she tests the limits of the Hive Mind's honesty, we're left wondering: is she being manipulated by it? The Hive Mind cannot lie, but it can withhold information. Why force Carol to swallow this large, bitter pill if not to bring her closer to the Hive?
Pluribus and the Nature of Autonomy
By showing how Carol's old life isn't much different than the new one on offer by the Hive Mind, we begin to question our own autonomy. How many of our choices are truly ours and not just those of an outsider with our best interests in mind? By layering these themes within its story, Pluribus becomes more than science fiction; it becomes tangible!
Review and Score:
Final Thoughts: A Thoughtful and Rewarding Episode
Pluribus continues to be a satisfying ride. It addresses complex subjects with humor and drama, keeping the viewer engaged. Staying true to its sci-fi roots, it doesn't beat you over the head with its motifs; instead, it lets them settle. The nuance between its serious subject matter and overarching plot is handled so delicately that some viewers might miss it altogether, which is fine. All this points to a well-crafted show that continues to deliver.
My score: 4.5 out of 5.