Pluribus Episode 6 Review, ‘HDP’ - You’ll Never Believe Who Shows Up, Carol

Full spoilers travel for Pluribus Episode 6, “HDP,” which is disposable present connected Apple TV.

HDP is people!

OK, astir of america figured this retired past week successful “Got Milk” erstwhile Carol (Rhea Seehorn) was investigating what the Joined’s favourite portion really was made of, culminating successful that episode’s closing infinitesimal arsenic she gasped similar lone idiosyncratic who had conscionable recovered a stockpile of frozen dormant bodies could.

Yeah, a batch of america were disconnected a spot successful that it’s really a stockpile of frozen dormant assemblage pieces that Carol unearthed, but each the same, the Joined are decidedly pulling a Soylent Green and eating us. Only, due to the fact that this is Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus, it’s not rather that simple. But it is darkly funny.

Of people – of people – alternatively of playing this revelation successful a protracted, thriller-esque way, Gilligan and his squad (this occurrence was written by Vera Blasi and directed by Gandja Monteiro) propulsion the rug retired from nether the spectator beauteous rapidly and squash their ain large twist. “Yeah, nary duh, HDP is people,” the amusement fundamentally says. “You deliberation we haven’t besides watched the past 50 years of sci-fi movies!?”

And truthful enters John Cena. Not conscionable John Cena, but a Joined John Cena. And he’s everything you could anticipation for. Charming, reasonable, informative… each portion explaining the intricacies of wherefore the Joined request “human derived protein,” oregon HDP – aka human flesh – for sustenance. And Koumba (Samba Schutte) cutting Carol disconnected earlier she tin adjacent uncover her large quality astir the frozen bodies with a resigned “Is this astir them eating people?” isn’t conscionable funny; it’s besides our archetypal hint astatine however retired of the loop Carol has been.

The dynamic betwixt these 2 uninfected is absorbing successful that we tin look astatine them arsenic polar opposites, obviously: Carol the changeless skeptic versus Koumba the consenting dupe. But is it that simple? After all, it turns retired that Koumba figured retired the HDP happening earlier Carol did, and not conscionable that but helium and the different infected (sans Manousos successful Paraguay of course) person been talking regularly astir the situation, and successful peculiar are acrophobic astir the sudden, unexpected plight that the Joined are successful (they’re going to starve eventually). It’s truthful casual to presume that the different uninfected are suckers conscionable due to the fact that they haven’t lashed retired the mode Carol has and due to the fact that they’re truthful consenting to spell with the flow, but past it turns retired that Carol successful each her obstinance hasn’t truly made immoderate important headway herself successful immoderate of this.

And past there’s the information that the uninfected person purposely kept Carol retired of the loop, voting (if not unanimously!) to not see her successful their meetings. Koumba has been getting her videos, arsenic presumably each of the others person arsenic good – “they were precise dramatic” – but nobody’s responded to them oregon adjacent acknowledged them earlier now. It’s hurtful, truthful overmuch truthful that Carol needs to instrumentality a pulverization successful the bath earlier seemingly getting blitzed connected champagne and passing retired for the night. But the genuinely bittersweet portion comes the adjacent greeting erstwhile she tells Koumba that she’s going to drawback a suite successful the hotel, lone to registry the look connected his face: He doesn’t privation her there. He’s a bully guy, but helium has a beingness to unrecorded with his “lovelies” and there’s nary country for Carol astatine all. “How you say? Check successful present and then.”

Meanwhile, what benignant of endurance instinct bash the Joined person if they’re consenting to starve alternatively than eat, like, corn? Their mandate to not adjacent devour works beingness is limiting, to accidental the least. But past again, possibly it’s the eventual method of colonisation control. As the quality contention dies disconnected from hunger, yet the satellite would deed immoderate benignant of equalization constituent wherever enough, well, fallen apples oregon what person you could provender the comparatively tiny magnitude of radical left. I guess?

And past there’s Carlos-Manuel Vesga’s Manousos, who – wouldn’t you cognize it – doesn’t conscionable ticker Carol’s archetypal video, but is truthful moved by it arsenic to yet permission his Omega Man bunker and caput retired to, presumably, find her. He doesn’t adjacent cognize that determination are 12 different uninfected until helium watches the video. This leads to 1 of the creepiest scenes successful Pluribus to date, arsenic Manousos encounters his parent connected the thoroughfare arsenic she emerges from the shadows successful the dormant of night. It’s not thing Carol has had to woody with yet, encountering radical she knew successful the Before Times, fto unsocial household members. We’ve already established that she’s estranged from her ain mother. But past again, that mightiness beryllium thing Manousos and Carol person successful communal arsenic helium tells the woman, “You’re not my mother. My mother’s a bitch” earlier driving into the night.

"Given our druthers, would we take to devour HDP?" -John Cena

Questions and Notes From Kepler-22b

• I similar however Carol puts the video camera down and picks up the frozen, shrinkwrapped caput to clasp successful beforehand of the lens, alternatively than conscionable aiming the camera astatine the head. This is mode much gnarly, if unlikely.
• Seehorn’s absorption astatine the apical of the occurrence is fantabulous arsenic she runs retired of the mill and tries to shingle what she conscionable saw retired of herself, arsenic if capable exertion volition hitch the horrific representation from her brain.
• Sooooo the Joined can’t person the 13 uninfected without their explicit permission, eh?
• What’s with frequence 8.613.0 connected Manousos’ radio?
• Koumba going afloat Casino Royale successful Vegas is similar the eventual cosplay adventure, a holodeck without the holodeck (but much existent than a holodeck too). Still, you’d deliberation it would each get beauteous boring, beauteous fast. For 1 thing, the cards indispensable beryllium fixed, truthful where’s the amusive successful that? At slightest connected the holodeck you ever ran the hazard of a malfunction! (But man, if the Joined aren’t committed successful their performances, adjacent if eye-patch feline screws up astatine the end.)
• Speaking of the holodeck, 1 can’t assistance but spot avowed Star Trek instrumentality Vince Gilligan getting to person immoderate amusive with the basal conception of that famed portion of Trek tech here, albeit successful his ain mode here.
• But however bittersweet and creepy is it erstwhile Koumba leaves the casino and the Joined each softly commencement cleaning up, with adjacent Koumba’s arch rival successful cards bending implicit to prime up breached glass?
• By the way, the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, formerly known arsenic the Las Vegas Hilton, was wherever Elvis Presley had his famed tally of sold-out shows from 1969 to 1976. Hence the Elvis touches you might’ve spotted here. (It was besides the tract of the now-defunct Star Trek: The Experience!)
• Hell yeah, Joette gets to spell successful the blistery tub too!