That ‘Pluribus’ Twist Wasn’t Even the Biggest Gut-Punch of the Episode

The gasp that ended Pluribus episode five, “Got Milk,†had viewers dying to see exactly what Carol had discovered in that abandoned warehouse—a place where, until recently, the Others had been making ingredients for the peculiar brown liquid they seemingly can’t get enough of.

Episode six, “HDP,†didn’t make us wait long to find out. But even if you’d guessed the twist (what else could it have been?), what happened after that is what provided the episode’s true shocker.

We are deep in Soylent Green territory now, because it’s people. They eat people. The crystals used to create that brown liquid? It’s created from human remains.

There were millions of corpses created when the Joining happened. Some people couldn’t handle the transition (RIP, Helen); others died in accidents when they blacked out before awakening as part of the hive mind. Plus, as we’ve been reminded, millions also died during the Others’ coordinated convulsions in the wake of Carol’s furious freakouts.

So there are, presumably, a lot of corpses around, a lot of body parts shrink-wrapped in warehouses around the world.

Armed with this knowledge, Carol films one of her videos but then decides to drive to Las Vegas and seek out one of her fellow “survivors†to discuss the situation face-to-face. Mr. Diabaté, as we see, has been living the high life in Sin City, where the Others fawn over him and role-play to perpetuate his fantasy of being a rich, suave playboy type.

Hey, they want to keep the holdouts happy! Since we’ve only seen this behavior from Carol’s point of view, it’s illuminating to see how the Others step out of “character†as soon as Mr. Diabaté isn’t around. (Does Zosia also shift gears and lose all personality when she’s away from Carol?)

When Carol barges into Diabaté’s lavish hotel suite, interrupting his hot tub party, she’s surprised to hear he’s watched her previous videos. But she’s even more surprised to hear his nonchalant remark as she starts to show him the one she’s just filmed.

“Is this about them eating people?â€

And that’s not all: he has an explanatory video all cued up, hosted by a familiar face. “Hello Carol! We’re John Cena, and we’re here to address some questions you may be having regarding our food supply.â€

He reiterates that the Others can’t kill, harm, or otherwise interfere with any form of life, which is something we learned in an earlier episode. That includes plant life, unless it’s a scenario where, say, an apple falls of its own accord off a tree. Then, and only then, can they eat it.

So even taking into account all the food that was processed “prior to our Joining,†the Others’ choices of sustenance are… very, very limited, especially considering there are over seven billion Others who need feeding every day.

Ergo, the liquid contained in those milk cartons Carol found in the dumpsters around Albuquerque. The contents include locally available, previously harvested ingredients, but also “HDP.†That’s short for “human-derived protein,†an efficient way to generate calories and utilize the remains of the 100,000 or so people who pass away every day.

Now, as Cena continues, they’d really, truly rather not be cannibals. They simply don’t have a choice. The video ends with Cena reassuring Carol they’ll never serve HDP to her unless she wants to try it, though they realize that’s very unlikely. And, of course, she can always call and leave a voicemail if she has any concerns or questions, because they still “need their space†from her right now.

It’s maybe the most genius, hilarious, and succinct exposition dump in a TV show in recent memory. And Carol’s horror deepens when Diabaté explains he’s known about HDP for about a week, when his buddy John Cena (the hive mind version) told him in person.

“It is troubling,†he agrees when Carol demands his reaction. But also: “I must say, John Cena makes a fairly reasonable case.â€

He goes on. “I am in no way pleased with the idea of these people eating human flesh. None of us are.â€

Us? Wait, what?

It’s here that Carol learns that Diabaté has kept in touch with the other survivors. (Except for Manousos, still keeping to himself in Paraguay—but more about him in a bit.) While she’s taking in the fact that not only have the Others abandoned her, but the other survivors have also decided they “need their space†from her, Diabaté explains that even with access to HDP, due to the Others’ dietary restrictions, “most of the world’s population will starve to death in the next 10 years.†He and the other survivors have been trying to come up with helpful solutions, but it hasn’t gone well so far.

It’s a lot to take in. But being outright excluded is the worst part of all of this. The Others are cannibals? That’s not really so surprising. Carol’s seen plenty of sci-fi movies, after all; she’s probably seen Soylent Green. What’s hard to swallow is the idea that the survivors all agreed Carol is too “disruptive†to have around.

It sucks. It hurts. And there’s a final knife-twist the next day, when Carol suggests she’ll find her own lavish suite and hang out in Vegas for a while. You know, so she and Diabaté can talk more. We clock his reaction (polite but clearly full of dread; this dude wants to get back to his hedonistic lifestyle ASAP) at this news, and so does Carol. She quickly acts like she was kidding and says she’ll be returning to Albuquerque immediately.

But on the way out, she can’t resist telling Diabaté there’s really no way to save the Others from starving if they don’t start, you know, picking apples. “They are doing this to themselves. They are choosing to starve,†she says. Here, you can insert any number of “this is what Pluribus is really about†theories: imagine, for instance, certain people who decide to remain willfully ignorant about a proven fact to the point of self-harm.

“There is a way to reverse this,†she reminds Diabaté. And she’s going to figure out what that is—especially now that, as Diabaté reveals, the Others can’t turn the survivors into hive-minders without an invasive medical procedure that requires getting their consent first. He won’t be giving his, he reassures Carol; it’s clear he’s enjoying his upgraded lifestyle too much to ever give it up. Carol has her own reasons, of course, but she also makes it known she does not give consent, as if the Others had any doubt on that front.

With that threat no longer looming over her, Carol at least has one bright spot to focus on. And there’s another she doesn’t know about yet: half a world away, we see Manousos watching her video with rapt attention—then packing his bag, getting in his car, and driving away for a road trip of his own.

Toward Albuquerque, perhaps, to meet what could be his only friend left in the world? That’s going to be a long journey, but we hope that’s where he’s going. We’ll find out on a future Pluribus, no doubt.

New episodes of Pluribus arrive Fridays on Apple TV.

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