Copy of TV Series: Pluribus - ep 4

We finally get a proper introduction to Manouso, a character we have heard about before, the same man Carol calls from the plane, the one who still refuses to make any contact with the Joined. He is not doing well. He is locked away somewhere, running desperately low on food and eating ketchup packets and cans of dog food. The episode shows us exactly what he was doing at the moment Carol called him. He tries to reach anyone who might still be unjoined, scanning every possible frequency. When Carol calls and shouts at him in the most broken Spanish she can manage, he instantly realises she is human. He writes down her number like it is the most valuable thing he has found in months.

Carol returns home, now repaired after the chaos with the grenade in the previous episode. Zosia is in the hospital recovering and as soon as Carol is back inside her own space, she begins to make a plan based on everything she knows so far about the Joined.

It is worth saying that every choice Carol makes is completely believable. Her reactions, her outbursts, her fear, all feel entirely human. She is pessimistic and depressed, but she is also one of the most honest and relatable characters on television right now because she behaves like someone genuinely living through this nightmare. Her character remains incredibly well written.

This episode continues her exploration of the limits of the Joined and how she can use those limits to her advantage. On her growing list of questions, she writes that the Joined seem strangely honest. It is marked with a question mark, so she decides to test it. She pulls aside one of the Joined who is repairing her house and starts asking direct questions about her books and her best friend Helen. She probably knows she should not ask these things, because the Joined reveal that they are indeed brutally honest. If she forces an answer, they tell her the pure truth, even when it hurts.

Carol remains a wonderfully layered character. She is clever but flawed, tough in the moments when she must be, but fragile in almost everything else. Even in the middle of this absolute horror, she still clings to her old wounds and insecurities. She wants to know if Helen liked her books, including the personal one. These questions do nothing to help her survive, but they reveal so much about her inner world.

Yet she can still be caring and empathetic. She visits Zosia in the hospital and apologises for not realising that if she asks the Joined for a grenade, they will literally bring her a live one.

Carol also remains stubborn and hopeful, which is both her strength and her weakness. Now she knows the Joined cannot lie and that if they want to avoid answering something, they simply find ways to dodge the question.

Naturally, she asks the biggest question of all. Is there a way to reverse the Joining and return the world to what it was? She asks Zosia while they lie in the hospital bed, and the moment becomes one of the episode’s strongest. If a reversal exists, Zosia would be forced to tell her. And that puts them in a deeply uncomfortable position.

This mid-episode scene lands beautifully, partly because of the massive revelation about Carol’s past that I will not spoil, but also because it forces both characters to explore the moments that shaped them. We see Carol revisit her trip at sixteen and for the first time, we see the Joined visibly uncomfortable. Zosia is torn between telling Carol the truth and protecting themselves. The internal conflict is played with real precision.

In the same scene, they return to the question of why the Joined want to turn Carol into one of them when she clearly refuses. Zosia throws that back at her, asking why she wants to turn them back into humans. She does not know what it is like to be Joined, but they know what it is like to be human. So who is being arrogant? The show cleverly leaves the answer hanging.

What follows is one of the most intriguing parts of the episode. Carol takes heroin and films herself to see how it affects her mind. It forces her to speak with complete honesty, without any filter. Her goal becomes clear. She wants to drug a Joined and see if that forces them to answer the one question they keep avoiding: whether the Joining can be reversed. She chooses Zosia as her test subject.

It goes terribly wrong and leaves the episode on the kind of cliffhanger that makes you anxious for the next instalment.

This is another excellent chapter in Joined, one that deepens the mystery, challenges the characters and raises the stakes. At this point, I fully expect the series to be a major contender at next year’s Emmys. It is easily one of the strongest dramas Apple has ever released.