Pluribus‘ debut season is barrelling towards its conclusion. Indeed, with the sci-fi mystery show’s sixth episode out now on Apple TV, we’re just three chapters away from this season’s finale.
Right now though, there are more important things to discuss – namely, the new things Carol (and, by proxy, we) learn about The Others in episode 6, titled ‘HDP’. There’s also the small matter of – whisper it quietly – the Apple TV Original’s protagonist finally landing an ally who also seems to want the world to go back to the way it was.
What did Carol see at the end of Pluribus’ fifth episode?
Heading into this week’s entry, the biggest thing it needed to address was Pluribus episode 5’s cliff hanger.
Thankfully, ‘HDP’ doesn’t commit the cardinal sin of making us wait to find out what a mortified Carol found. And, as many fans predicted, the Apple TV show’s lead character discovered that The Others were, in fact, consuming the dead.
It isn’t long until we find out the reason why, either. Once Carol reunites with the hedonistic Koumba at Last Vegas’ Westgate Hotel and Casino, we find out that Koumba and 10 of the other immune humans regularly stay in contact with each other, and also know about The Others’ penchant for human flesh.
It all sounds very macabre, but in a video – one featuring an unexpected cameo from none other than John Cena – recorded by The Others, which Koumba shows to Carol, they explain why they’ve resorted to a form of cannibalism.
As we learned in episode 2 – and as Cena reminds us in episode 6 – The Others can’t purposefully kill living creatures. It also turns out that the virus that’s infected them prevents The Others from harvesting crops, fruit, and vegetables. That said, they can eat the latter food groups once they’re ripe and, for example, fall from a tree like apples do.
But, back to the whole eating humans thing. Again, as Cena explains, there are over seven billion people on planet Earth and, while an average 100,000 people die per day, the world’s food reserves will eventually run out.
Long story short: The Others consume several 300-calorie milk-like drinks a day that contain 8-12% of a compound called HDP. Or, to give its full title, Human Derived Protein. Rather than let these nutrient-rich bodies decompose, they’re ‘harvested’ – i.e. chopped up, vacuum-sealed and frozen in storage until needed, before being ground down and mixed with other soon-to-spoil fresh food products to create The Others’ fluid-based consumable.
This isn’t something The Others want to do but, given the few alternatives available from a protein source perspective, it’s deemed a necessary evil. Judging by Carol’s reactions during and post-video, it’s clear she doesn’t agree – and I suspect many viewers, myself included, are on her side.
What else does Carol discover in Pluribus episode 6?
As it happens, another thing that’s of great significance.
Since Pluribus premiered on one of the world’s best streaming services, The Others have indicated it’s only a matter of time before the immune belatedly become part of The Joining. That’s because The Others will find a way to infect them with the extraterrestrial virus that the rest of humanity succumbed to.
Or so we thought. Later in ‘HDP’, Koumba drops a narrative bombshell: The Others can’t infect them without their consent. They need to create a genetically-engineered version of the virus that can only infect each human and, to make it, they require stem cells from each individual, which The Joined can’t get without their say-so. In short: Carol and her fellow resistant humans will continue to live their lives as normal unless they agree to join the, well, Joined.
That isn’t to say that The Others won’t try to circumvent this issue. As I theorized at the end of Pluribus episode 3, they can’t lie. However, while that was confirmed in chapter 4, The Others have shown that they can tell half-truths and/or twist the truth to suit their collective agenda, especially if what they say can be used to harm them. So, while they might say the invulnerable humans can continue to do as they please, I’m not fully convinced that they won’t find a loophole to exploit.
What is Manousos up to in Pluribus episode 6?
It’s been a couple of weeks since we checked in with Manousos, the enigmatic Paraguay-based Colombian who’s even more sceptical of The Others than Carol is. At last, though, it seems like Carol might finally have found an ally who’s as hell-bent on reversing the effects of the virus as she is.
The final 10 minutes of one of the best Apple TV shows’ latest instalment travels back to three days prior to the events of ‘HDP’. In summary: The Others deliver Carol’s video-based message – the one about knowing there’s a way to undo The Joining – to Manousos, he leaves his storage container office safehouse to go home and gather supplies, and heads off for whereabouts unknown after a brief and unsettling encounter with the Joined version of his estranged mom.
So, where’s he headed? Considering he keeps hold of Carol’s home address – it was attached to the envelope that her video recording came in – the logical answer is to a nearby airport. From there, all he has to do is fly to Albuquerque, find Carol, and team up with her to try and find a cure. Simple, eh?
This being a Vince Gilligan TV series, nothing is ever that easy. Still, it seems it’s only a matter of time before Carol and Manousos’ paths cross. Armed with what she’s learned about The Others and Manousos’ apparent expertise with radio signals I pointed out in Pluribus episode 4, the pair might find a way to set the world to rights.
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