Pluribus episode 6: What did Carol find in the warehouse?
In the latest episode of “Pluribus,” titled “HDP,” viewers are thrust into a chilling revelation that escalates the series’ already intense narrative. Picking up from the cliffhanger of episode 5, where Carol Sturka, played by Rhea Seehorn, uncovers the Others’ unsettling affinity for an oily, amber fluid, the story takes a horrifying turn. Carol’s investigation leads her to a cold-storage warehouse, where she stumbles upon shrink-wrapped human bodies, revealing the Others’ grim secret: they are cannibals. This shocking discovery is amplified by the presence of meat grinders and cooking vats filled with human remains, dramatically heightening the stakes for Carol, who is already grappling with the moral implications of her findings.
As Carol rushes to inform Mr. Diabaté (Samba Schutte) about her shocking discovery, she learns that the Others are not only aware of their macabre dietary habits but have also prepared a video explanation for her. The Others, who are unable to kill or harm any form of life, resort to harvesting Human-Derived Protein (HDP) from the bodies of those who have died of natural causes. This grim necessity arises from their inability to sustain their hive mind, which comprises over 7 billion members, without resorting to such measures. The video further reveals that, despite their attempts to supplement their diet with HDP, the Others face a dire future; they are projected to starve within a decade. This sets up a moral quandary for Carol, who must navigate the complexities of the Others’ existence while striving to reverse the Joining—a process that has already led to the deaths of millions.
With each episode, “Pluribus” continues to delve into the dark and thought-provoking themes of survival, ethics, and the consequences of a hive mind mentality. As the series unfolds, viewers are left pondering the implications of the Others’ actions and the potential for redemption or destruction. With new episodes streaming every Friday on Apple TV, fans are eagerly anticipating how Carol will confront this horrifying reality and what it means for the future of humanity.
Pluribus
episode 5 left viewers on a cliffhanger bigger than the Others’ globe-spanning hive mind.
While investigating the
Others’ apparent love of milk
, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) discovered that the Others’ primary food source was actually an oily amber-colored fluid, made of water and a suspicious white powder. Further detective work took her to a cold-storage warehouse filled with produce and unknown items wrapped in plastic bags. Upon snooping in one of the bags, Carol claps her hand over her mouth — the universal sign for “What the hell have I just witnessed?”
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Pluribus
cut to black before we could get a response to that question, but thankfully, episode 6, titled “HDP,” wastes no time in giving us the answer.
It’s human bodies.
You might have guessed it, but that doesn’t make seeing all the shrink-wrapped corpses any less disturbing. Adding to the horror? The massive meat grinders and cooking vats full of human body parts in the next room of the warehouse.
That’s right: Just when you thought the Others couldn’t get any scarier, turns out they’re cannibals. Carol truly cannot catch a break.
The Others aren’t hiding their cannibalism, though. When Carol heads to Las Vegas to tell Mr. Diabaté (Samba Schutte) about her discovery, he reveals he already knows. (“It is troubling,” he acknowledges. But not troubling enough to stop LARPing his James Bond casino fantasy with them!)
The Others have prepared a video explanation for Carol, complete with a
very special cameo
. The video explains that since the Others can’t harm or kill any form of life — including plant life — they’re having a tough time finding food on Earth to feed all 7,348,292,411 members of the hive mind.
Yes, they can use the food that was already stockpiled by the time they so kindly infected everyone on Earth, but even that’s not enough. To get those extra calories, they need to add Human-Derived Protein (HDP) to their diets. Each carton of the Others’ mysterious liquid contains eight to 12 percent of that sweet, sweet HDP. Don’t worry, they’re not actually
killing
anyone to get that HDP. They can’t! They can, however, harvest the bodies of people dying of natural causes. Following the Joining, which killed hundreds of millions of people, the Others already have
quite
the human corpse stockpile — and they
can’t
let that go to waste, right?
However, the Others leave a key twist out of their video, one that Mr. Diabaté quickly reveals to Carol. Even with the HDP, the vast majority of the Others will starve to death within ten years. Mr. Diabaté and the other immune survivors want to save them from that fate. (“Maybe tell ’em to pick a fucking apple,” Carol points out.) For now, though, Carol’s goal remains the same: Reverse the Joining, and get the — confirmed cannibal! — hive mind away from Earth.
Pluribus
is now streaming on Apple TV, with a new episode every Friday
