Pluribus Episode 3 Review - ‘Sorry if We Got That Wrong, Carol’

Full spoilers travel for Pluribus Episode 3, “Grenade,” which is disposable present connected Apple TV.

Last week successful my play premiere reappraisal of Pluribus, I wondered if we’d get immoderate flashbacks to the earlier times arsenic the amusement progressed, and what bash you know? This week’s occurrence starts disconnected with that precise thing!

It’s astir 7 years agone and Rhea Seehorn’s Carol and Miriam Shor’s Helen are vacationing successful a Norwegian crystal hotel. The spot looks sick, but arsenic we’ve learned astir Carol already, she has a hard clip conscionable enjoying herself and surviving successful the moment. And truthful portion Helen (so bully to person her back, and alive!) is basking successful the freezing temperatures and beauteous weirdness of the “Koi Suite,” Carol is… not. As Helen tells her, “You emotion feeling bad.”

It’s a pugnacious job, feeling bad, but somebody’s got to bash it.

Back successful the present, wherever Carol is really feeling bad, we spot that Zosia (Karolina Wydra), the “Pirate Lady,” is backmost successful Carol’s institution for the thrust location from Spain (after narrowly avoiding jetting disconnected with Samba Schutte’s Koumba). Also, the Joined are starting to fig retired however to enactment astir Carol, similar by having existent pilots alert her pitchy alternatively of the “gal from TGI Fridays.” And yet it’s inactive each excessively weird for Carol, who arsenic that opening flashback reminds us, was ne'er excessively comfy successful her ain tegument adjacent erstwhile the satellite hadn’t been taken implicit by an ever-cheerful hive caput bonded by “psychic glue.”

I was amazed that successful Episode 2 we had already been introduced to astir fractional of the Others who haven’t been infected, reasoning the amusement mightiness resistance that retired implicit the people of the season(s). And present successful “Grenade” we get a statement of the rest, and what a group: a candy vendor who loves cats, a contortionist and dancer, a retired fisherman, an eight-year-old who “hasn’t decided connected a profession,” a muezzin who also loves cats (I mean, who doesn’t?), an udon noodle maker, and a self-storage installation manager from Paraguay named Manousos Oviedo, who Carol winds up having an speech with connected the telephone that results successful them some shouting astatine each different successful Spanish earlier Carol hangs up connected him. It’s fun!

Of course, you tin beryllium definite that Manousos is going to go an state to Carol eventually, due to the fact that he’s intelligibly 1 of the lone Others, similar her, who is unmoved by the charms of the Joined. He seemingly wants thing to bash with them, and really, tin you blasted him?

I mean, what are the Joined truly up to anyway? They haven’t hidden the information that they’re moving connected a mode to get Carol and the remainder of the uninfected each Joined up, if you will. And sure, they’re consenting to springiness the Others thing and everything they privation – adjacent an atomic bomb, arsenic we larn this week successful a hilarious/terrifying country – but however overmuch is that conscionable a balm, a numbing cause to tide implicit the 13 Others until they tin psychic-glue them each to hell?

There are already a batch of theories floating astir retired determination astir what Pluribus is truly about. Do the Joined correspond the coming menace of AI? Is the show’s microorganism an analogy for COVID? Or is the hive caput meant to beryllium a commentary connected the authorities of America successful the twelvemonth 2025, wherever folks connected some sides of the aisle simply can’t fathom however the different broadside tin each beryllium reasoning the aforesaid happening and not spot however intelligibly wrong they are. #Carol2028

Well, I dunno what the show’s really about, not yet anyway. Probably it’s astir each of the supra and more, adjacent if creator Vince Gilligan didn’t mean it to be. That’s conscionable however these things enactment sometimes. But nevertheless you privation to work into the thematics of Pluribus, it’s conscionable compelling and fascinating TV. I’m precise funny successful the drips and drabs of world-building info that we’re fixed each episode, similar the series successful “Grenade” wherever we larn that Carol’s favourite supermarket (Sprouts!) is present a hollowed-out ammunition of its erstwhile aforesaid due to the fact that the Joined are, and I quote, “consolidating resources to centralize utile items for distribution.” (And by the way, that includes items from what we’re told utilized to beryllium backstage homes. Because determination is nary specified happening arsenic privateness anymore, truthful wherefore should determination beryllium backstage homes?)

Then there’s the information that the powerfulness is being chopped astatine nighttime for present connected for conservation reasons, which hey, is beauteous large for the planet! And wherefore not, since there’s, arsenic Zosia points out, nary transgression to forestall anymore and astir radical don’t enactment astatine night. I conjecture they besides don’t ticker TV anymore, oregon spell online, oregon cheque their Instagrams, or, I don’t know, read? Maybe not truthful great, actually.

We yet travel backmost astir to the taxable of the crystal edifice aft an progressively isolated Carol invites Zosia successful for a drink. It’s a weird backmost and distant that they have, but sometimes that’s amended than thing erstwhile you’re lonely. The happening is, the Joined can’t assistance but support shoving each their cognition astir Carol and Helen’s narration successful Carol’s face, and erstwhile Zosia references sleeping nether the furs of the crystal edifice 7 years ago, Carol has yet had it. And truthful she pulls the pin connected a manus grenade, which she thought was fake, and Zosia astir dies arsenic a result.

See, Carol asked for a manus grenade successful a sarcastic aside, and they gave her one. A existent one. This aboriginal leads to the funny/scary speech (with a feline successful a DHL uniform) astir however if she truly wants one, the Joined volition springiness Carol the antecedently mentioned atomic weaponry too. So who truly has the precocious manus here…?

Rhea Seehorn’s Carol receives a acquisition from Karolina Wydra's Zosia.

Meanwhile, the information that Zosia is inactive smiling arsenic she lays connected the crushed bleeding is creepy arsenic heck, and we cognize that the Joined can’t beryllium trusted successful the agelong tally – they won’t conscionable fto Carol beryllium Carol erstwhile they fig retired a mode to infect her. But there’s nary denying that Zosia did prevention Carol’s life, truthful successful the tone of The Golden Girls marathon that Carol has been indulging successful recently, she kinda has to convey Zosia for being a friend.

Questions and Notes From Kepler-22b

• I conjecture the Indigo Girls are portion of the Joined present too, eh?
• The Joined person a large exigency effect system. When Zosia takes a deed from the manus grenade, everyone connected the satellite instantly knows she needs help.
• Did you announcement the phone’s caller ID reads “It’s us, Carol”?
• I similar however aft each her bellyaching astir not being capable to shop, Carol is seen eating a microwave dinner.
• The Golden Girls worldly present is great, and you person to wonderment if portion penning the script, occurrence writer-director Gordon Smith remembered Betty White’s lines disconnected the apical of his caput astir the pistillate who ever frowned and was “born without immoderate smiling muscles.” It conscionable fits Carol excessively well!