Pluribus Episode 4 recap: Carol learns an important detail

Carol Sturka could've been up to something in Pluribus Episode 2 while suggesting a reversal of "the Joining". The fourth episode, "Please, Carol", confirms that there's a way to reverse "The Joining". However, Carol fails to learn how to reverse the hive mind by the closing minutes of the episode, which may result in the loss of another character.

This episode also explains why Carol is not fond of the hive-minded people. Her dislike for joining the hive-minded people and losing her agency is tied to her identity as a queer person. The synopsis for this Pluribus episode reads:

"Carol tests the boundaries of this weirdly honest world at the expense of her ego. Far away, a resolute individual learns he’s not alone."

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Pluribus Episode 4 recap:

Here are some of the major events in Pluribus Episode 4:

• Manousos Oviedo

The episode opens not with Carol, but with Manousos Oviedo, played by actor Carlos-Manuel Vesga. This character was heard previously in Pluribus Episode 3, as Carol tries to speak with this rude, immune Paraguayan man. Now, the opening scene of the episode shows the event from Manousos's perspective, leading up to his conversation with Carol.

He ignores Carol's calls, believing her to be one of the hive minds, as he is as skeptical as her. But soon learns that he might not be alone, as Carol screams at him over the phone, making him realize that he is not alone. However, we don't see more of Manousos in this episode, apart from the opening scene.

• Carol ascertains the hive can't lie

Carol is shocked to see the hive people cleaning up the mess from the grenade blast. The hive-minded people tell her that she permitted them to do so while they helped her admit Zosia to the hospital. She picks one of the hive-minded men to see if they can lie. She asks him what Helen thought of her books, and gets an honest answer. This interaction confirms her suspicions that they can't lie.

Carol visits Zosia in the hospital some time later, and she asks the latter if "The Joining" can be reversed. Zosia's silence makes Carol realize that The Joining can be undone. Carol reveals that the hive reminds her of her experience in a conversion therapy camp that her mother sent her to when she was sixteen.

Meanwhile, Zosia points out that the hive is accepting people for who they are, and Carol retorts that they want her to join them, giving up her agency. This brings this conversation to a stalemate.

• She experiments with the truth

The conversation Zosia gives Carol an idea, though, leading to the most entertaining moment from this Pluribus episode is in its second act. She steals Sodium Thiopental (truth serum) from the hospital pharmacy, and when someone walks in, asks for a substance (h*roin), which she flushes down the toilet at her home. Instead, she sets up the camera and injects herself with Sodium Thiopental.

The recording shows an honest version of Carol, which convinces her to try it on Zosia.

• Carol asks Zosia again

Carol takes Zosia on a wheelchair outside for some time. She injects Zosia's IV with the truth serum, and it takes effect when the two are outside. Carol asks Zoisa about how to undo The Joining, but the other hive-minded people soon join them and chant "Please, Carol" in unison. Zoisa collapses onto the floor, probably because of the drug.

Before the episode cuts to black, we hear the hive doctors trying to revive her, ending this episode in a cliffhanger.

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Apple TV's Pluribus Episode 4 is currently available for streaming on the OTT platform.