Pluribus Episode 8 recap: The Alien RNA's Origin revealed

Pluribus Episode 8, "Charm Offensive", finally addressed one of the series' recurring criticisms till last week. Carol's seeming incuriosity towards The Others and her hostility towards them. This episode finally sees her learn more about the hive-minded people, not through aggression, but through her wits. This is why the episode is also titled "Charm Offensive".

But one of the episode's key moments is in the second act, Carol learns the extraterrestrial origin of the alien RNA:

"Carol takes a different tack with The Others and discovers more than she anticipated. Manousos awakens in unfamiliar surroundings."

Pluribus Episode 8 recap:

Here are some of the major events of Pluribus Episode 8:

• Manousos wakes up

The seventh episode ended with Manousos falling unconscious due to the poisoning after getting impaled on a chunga palm tree in the Darién Gap. He is picked up by the hive-minded medics in the seventh episode itself. Therefore, "Charm Offensive" opens with him on a surgery table. Manousos wakes up and forces his way out, leaving a note stating that he will pay the hospital later.

He takes an ambulance (with the intention of returning it later) towards Albuquerque.

• Carol's attitude shift

Carol was focused on reversing The Joining until Pluribus Episode 7. However, it seems that her attitude has shifted slightly. The first act of the eighth episode reveals that Carol is still jolting down what she knows about the hive-minded people. But her attitude is different as she and Zosia spend some time together. While stargazing, Zosia shows Carol Kepler-22b, the planet the alien RNA originates from.

Zosia tells Carol that Kepler-22b is mostly made of ocean. She also reveals that The Others hope to transport the same radio signal from the first Pluribus episode to other planets using a giant antenna. Carol takes in this information and jots this down on her whiteboard. This revelation also reveals why the hive was cutting power in the previous episodes. However, things are fine between them until:

• The Diner

Zosia takes Carol to her favorite diner, which was closed down. Carol reminisces about her early days before her first book was published. But soon realizes that the hive-minded people are distracting her. Carol points out that the diner burned down, resulting in its closing, to which Zosia reveals that The Others rebuilt it. Carol leaves the location, and Zosia goes to the former's home later that night.

Carol, instead of expressing the need to cure the hive-minded people, points out to Zosia that the hive-minded people lack self-preservation, as the sixth episode revealed that The Others don't even pick fruits off trees. This scene emphasizes how Carol has evolved her views of The Others from the first half of Pluribus. Carol expresses to Zosia that she is ready for the hive-minded people to abandon her again.

However, Zosia kisses Carol, and the latter reciprocates. The next morning, Carol has completed the first few chapters of her next Wycaro book and hands it to Zosia. After a while, Zosia returns and expresses happiness at Carol making Raban a woman, the author's original plans for the character. Carol is also making Zosia use "I" and other individualistic pronouns.

This suggests that Carol, instead of reversing things, is forcing The Others to evolve a bit. Trying to nudge them towards a bit of individualism that jells with community building. This storyline is what separates the Apple TV from other post-apocalyptic shows like The Walking Dead. Instead of killing the turned population, the Vince Gilligan show's protagonist is probably teaching the turned people skills for survival.

But their pleasant interaction is cut short as Zosia informs Carol that Manousos is at the Mexico-U.S. border, setting up his arrival in the Pluribus Season 1 finale, "La Chica o El Mundo".

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Eight episodes of the Apple TV sci-fi series are currently streaming on the OTT platform.

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