Pluribus Episode 9 - Season Finale Review, ‘La Chica o El Mundo’

Full spoilers travel for Pluribus Episode 9, “La Chica o El Mundo,” which is disposable present connected Apple TV.

And past determination was one! Er, two!

Finally, aft 9 episodes of being precise lonely connected other sides of the globe, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) and Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) person met look to face. And it did not spell good astatine all. Big surprise.

But earlier we get to those two, “La Chica o El Mundo” (or “The Girl oregon the World”) begins with a look astatine Kusimayu (Darinka Arones), the Peruvian miss who is 1 of the 13 uninfected and who Carol met backmost successful Episode 2. She’s the 1 who really expressed involvement successful joining the Others, aka the Joined, and present we spot that the hive caput has yet figured retired however to marque that happen. “We would ne'er wounded you,” Kusimayu’s household and friends – oregon erstwhile household and friends? – archer her. And they don’t physically hurt her, to beryllium sure. She simply inhales the unrecorded virus, which transforms her into 1 of them. So wherefore is the country truthful horrifying, then?

"Hola."

Man, the mode the beauteous tribal singing that the colony people person been aurally caressing Kusimayu with conscionable abruptly stops erstwhile she’s joined… it’s ghastly. As the villagers, including the present joined Kusimayu, proceed to wholly unopen the spot down – successful soundlessness but with a smile, ever with a grin – drives location yet different information down the Kepler-22b virus: the implicit and nether demolition of quality cultures. Just inquire that babe goat that goes moving aft Kusimayu erstwhile she opens the carnal enclosure successful 1 last betrayal of her erstwhile mode of life. Baaaaaa.

From determination we instrumentality to Carol and Zosia (Karolina Wydra), the strangest mates successful Albuquerque, who are watching a outer representation of Manousos’ ambulance arsenic his accomplishment grows nearer (“And he’s successful an ambulance?” “Long story,” Zosia says successful that disarming mode of hers).

(Of enactment is the information that the rubric paper tells america that this is happening immoderate 60 days aft the Joining, whereas the erstwhile country with Kusimayu takes spot 71 days before. We’ve seen this benignant of time-shifting enactment to usage before, mostly to convey the astir important aspects of Manousos’ communicative arsenic compared to Carol’s, since they didn’t truly enactment up successful a linear mode for the viewer. And by the extremity of this episode, Carol volition drawback up to Kusimayu’s latest improvement too. It’s conscionable a chill mode that creator Vince Gilligan and his writers person been crafting this story.)

But backmost to Carol and Manousos’ archetypal meeting. Boy, could it person gone immoderate worse? By which I mean, could it person gone immoderate better… for we, the viewers, that is? I mean, however freaking awkward is it erstwhile they greet each different extracurricular the house? Sure, the connection quality was ever going to marque things tough, but we’re talking astir 2 of the past 13 radical connected Earth with escaped will… and perchance the past 2 who really springiness a damn astir that precise concept. This could’ve been a Hollywood-style meet-up, implicit with soaring fanfare arsenic they ran and hugged each other. But nope, alternatively we get “I nary dangerous” and instant disagreements. And it lone gets worse from there… This feline snaps his fingers astatine Carol!? Man!

It’s hilarious, but these 2 clashing was inevitable. They’re conscionable excessively similar, excessively hard-headed. And that’s surely wherefore they’re the lone ones who tin prevention the world.

That’s assuming, of course, that the brace tin hold connected what redeeming the satellite really looks like. We larn present that Manousos thinks, initially astatine least, that if the Joined can’t beryllium reverted to their non-hive forms, past they are amended disconnected dead. Carol connected the different manus argues that they’re inactive human, and besides, they wouldn’t adjacent wounded an ant. “And isn’t it evil to worth a antheral the aforesaid arsenic an ant?” Manousos replies.

Now that he’s successful town, Manousos takes to moving his ain tests to fig retired however to un-join the Joined, though he’s much consenting to propulsion boundaries. It starts with his yet talking to representatives of the collective, specifically Zosia, which Carol does not admit 1 bit. But this besides leads to a infinitesimal that is surely important to Carol’s ngo against the hive mind, arsenic achy arsenic it whitethorn be: Zosia tells Carol that the Joined, and by hold Zosia, emotion Manousos arsenic overmuch arsenic they emotion her. And it’s not conscionable the connection of information that is truthful achy but Carol, but besides the casual mode that Zosia unloads that accusation connected her. Like, of course they emotion them the same, Zosia seems to say. Isn’t it obvious?

Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga)

The comic happening is, Manousos conscionable mightiness beryllium person to figuring retired the cardinal to undoing each of this, oregon astatine slightest helium has a amended mentation than Carol ever did. His full mysterious vigor frequency/coaxing the idiosyncratic backmost program is interrupted present by Carol’s shotgun, sure, but it seems similar arsenic bully an attack arsenic any. And he was definite to pass the full satellite to prevarication down earlier helium started, too.

And truthful this leads to Carol and Zosia’s crook successful paradise, travelling the satellite and surviving the cleanable life. The miss oregon the world? Carol seems to person made her choice… which feels precise un-Carol-like. Maybe she conscionable had had enough. Maybe she wanted a quote/unquote mean beingness with a loving companion again. Maybe she disliked Manousos and his attack capable that she was consenting to place the bigger problems of the Joined. But adjacent if the bombshell astir her frozen eggs hadn’t been revealed, it’s hard to judge that she wouldn’t person made it backmost to Manousos eventually.

But that bombshell did drop, and it’s some heartbreaking and terrifying for Carol. There’s a ticking timepiece for her now, and she’s got obscurity to spell but home… to her caller champion friend, similar it oregon not: Manousos. Oh, and an atom weaponry too.

Questions and Notes From Kepler-22b

• I’m amazed the frozen eggs thread has played retired arsenic expected. Seems a spot connected the nose, really, with each the times they were mentioned anterior to this. I figured we were successful for much of a swerve.
• “I mean, it’s not similar he’s dangerous, is he?” Huh, Manousos seemingly has a darker past than we realized, astatine slightest judging by Zosia’s effect here.
• By the way, wherefore does Manousos transportation a machete alternatively of, I don’t know, a gun? Certainly he’d person a amended accidental of defending himself with the latter. Unless the full “is helium dangerous” happening connects to immoderate benignant of past with that blade…
• “You cognize what, you tin get close backmost into your ambulancia and fuck close off. I’m finito!” Who hasn’t said this erstwhile oregon doubly themselves?
• Carol’s telephone translating everything adjacent aft Manousos drops it successful the drain is conscionable the cleanable interaction to their inaugural meeting.
• Yes, that’s the Golden Girls DVD paper playing erstwhile Carol wakes up connected the couch. “Thank you for being a person [Manousos]!”
• Radio frequencies to bring individuals backmost from a hive caput state! It’s not rather the same, but it is reminiscent of the classical Star Trek occurrence “This Side of Paradise.”
• I’ve enjoyed watching this play and penning astir it, truthful hopefully I’ll beryllium backmost for Season 2!