Spoilers for the season 1 finale of “Pluribus” to follow.
Season 1 of “Pluribus,” now finished, was released on a weekly premiere schedule and was all the more enjoyable for it. Part of the fun of television is the wait; the weekly gaps between episodes give your imagination time to run wild, and that’s what happened to so many “Pluribus” viewers. Indeed, many of these fan-theorists should congratulate themselves after the season 1 finale, “La Chica o El Mundo.”
To get the full context, let’s go back. “Pluribus” episode 3, “Grenade,” revealed that at some point in the past, Carol had some of her eggs frozen, presumably if she and Helen (Miriam Shor) ever wanted to have children. Then, episode 6, “HDP”, revealed that in order to add immunity to the hive, the Others must harvest the immunity stem cells in order to adapt the virus to them.
The theory, which circulated widely on fan forums like Reddit and entertainment publications, was that the Others would use Carol’s frozen eggs to create the stem cells they need to transform her. Observant viewers even noted that when Carol officially denied the Others access to her stem cells, the Others only agreed “that no stem cells be harvested.” of your body“Episode 6’s horrific revelation about what HDP is, in turn, established that the Others are capable of lying by omission. Before the stem cell scene, Carol and Diabaté (Samba Schutte) even shared a breakfast that included scrambled meals. eggs.
Well, take a bow, “Pluribus” fans. “La Chica o El Mundo” features Carol learning what you all predicted: the Others to have harvested stem cells from her eggs on the shelf, and she now has about a month until they create a strain of the virus that works on her.
The Others use Carol’s frozen eggs to obtain her stem cells on Pluribus.
The episode offers a few callbacks for Carol’s frozen egg twist to hit in the final minutes. The episode’s cold open shows one of the few immune people choosing to become part of the Hive, reminding us that the Others are working to “fix” immunity. When Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) arrives at Carol’s house, he finds what looks like a recording device in her liquor cabinet; it’s actually, as Zosia informs Carol, a motion detector that Helen installed there when Carol was freezing her eggs. (Abstention from alcohol is a recommended practice for the procedure.)
What made the revelation even more painful for Carol was that she was finally starting to get along with the Others, especially Zosie. “La Chica o El Mundo” contrasts Manousos, who is still staunchly opposed to the Others and irritable like Carol was at first, with Carol’s acceptance of them. The title of the episode comes from the question Manousos asks Carol; Does she want to save the world or get the girl (Zosia)? Carol never actually met the real Zosia; If the hive mind’s hold on the world ends, Carol and Zosia’s relationship is unlikely to last.
If the Others weren’t so determined to convert Carol, they could have kept her on their side. Instead, they pushed Carol to team up with Manousos. Based on how Season 1 of “Pluribus” ends, it seems like Season 2 could be a race against time for these new partners. They will have to find a way to thwart the virus before the Others finish off their Carol strain. Even though fans of the series have found the clues to this particular theory, the possibilities for how “Pluribus” will ultimately end seem wide open.
“More” is streaming on Apple TV.
