Pluribus Episode 4 Review – ‘Please, Carol’
In the fourth episode of *Pluribus*, titled “Please, Carol,” the narrative expands to introduce a new character, Manousos Oviedo, portrayed by Carlos-Manuel Vesga. Manousos is a storage facility manager from Paraguay who stands out among the Others, a group of people untouched by the psychic phenomena known as the Joining. Unlike most, he is deeply suspicious of the Joined and has adopted a survivalist mentality reminiscent of Charlton Heston’s character in *The Omega Man*. The episode opens with Manousos holed up in his office, desperately trying to make contact with the outside world using his ham radio, while grappling with the stark reality of his dwindling supplies. His encounters with Carol, played by Rhea Seehorn, hint at a future connection between the two, as their previous phone argument sets the stage for a more profound relationship.
Back in Albuquerque, Carol is busy dealing with the aftermath of an explosive incident involving her friend Zosia (Karolina Wydra), who is recovering from a grenade accident. Carol’s unorthodox decision to commandeer a police car leads her to confront the mayor and repair crew at her home, where she meets Larry, a charming character played by Jeff Hiller. This interaction serves as a comedic yet poignant exploration of the Joined’s inability to lie, as Larry’s compliments about Carol’s writing reveal a bittersweet truth about her late friend Helen’s criticisms. As Carol’s investigation into Zosia’s connection to the Joined intensifies, she resorts to increasingly desperate measures, including drugging Zosia, which results in a harrowing moment of cardiac arrest. The episode delves into the chilling dynamics of the Joined, who, despite their collective power, are rendered helpless under Carol’s probing questions.
The episode not only highlights Carol’s resilience and determination to fight against the Joined but also raises questions about identity and belonging. Through her traumatic experiences, including a harrowing recollection of conversion therapy, Carol embodies the spirit of survival against overwhelming odds. Meanwhile, Zosia presents a compelling argument about the Joined’s experience of never being alone, contrasting sharply with Carol’s isolation. As the episode progresses, it becomes clear that the conflict between Carol and the Joined is far from over, setting the stage for an inevitable showdown. With the introduction of Manousos, viewers are left wondering how his old-school survival tactics will intersect with Carol’s modern struggles, promising an exciting continuation of the series.
Full spoilers follow for
Pluribus
Episode 4, “Please, Carol,” which is available now on Apple TV.
And so enters Manousos Oviedo!
We’ve heard about the gentleman from Paraguay before, this manager of a storage facility, the outlier among the Others who wants nothing to do with the Joined. And we also literally
heard
him last week, when he wound up in a
shouting match on the phone with Rhea Seehorn’s Carol
.
But now Pluribus’ fourth episode kicks off with another jaunt across the globe as we meet the character in person. Played by Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Manousos has approached this whole
psychic-glue situation
in a much more old-school,
Charlton-Heston-in-The-Omega-Man
way than the rest of those who have been unaffected by the virus. Holed up in his storage facility office, with the windows covered over as he methodically checks each radio frequency on his ham radio for any signs of, presumably,
normal
human existence, Manousos is even more suspicious of the Joined than Carol is.
He’s also going to starve to death if he doesn’t figure out a better plan. Those sweetener packets and coffee creamers aren’t going to last forever, let alone the dog food, but fortunately this mini-flashback to his conversation with Carol shows that he now has a ray of hope. (It’s also a lot of fun to actually see some of their chat translated this time around.) Yeah, Manousos and Carol are going to hit it off famously… eventually.
Back in Albuquerque, Carol takes to driving a police car – because it was there, because why not? – as she heads home from the hospital where Zosia (Karolina Wydra) is recovering from that unfortunate hand grenade business from last episode. Upon arriving at her house, she finds a whole crew repairing the damage from that incident, including the mayor and the best guest player of the week, Somebody Somewhere’s Jeff Hiller, who plays Larry, aka Shorty.
Manousos has approached this whole psychic-glue situation in a much more old-school, Charlton-Heston-in-The-Omega-Man way.
Larry/Shorty had many friends before the Joining! And it’s no surprise, because when Carol uses him for a bit of an experiment in determining the Joined’s ability to lie, or not as the case may be, he’s just so nice and sweet and lovable. Carol’s books are as wonderful as Shaksespeare, he says! It’s not a lie, because a small but not insignificant portion of the population actually believes that. But when asked what Helen thought of Carol’s work… well, there’s no getting around that either. Her unpublished novel, Bitter Chrysalis? It was “fine,” Helen thought. Of course, she only got to page 137, paragraph three of it anyway.
Putting aside how the Joined continue to mess with the memory of Helen and, frankly, what should still be a period of mourning for Carol, this entire interlude does prove that they can’t lie. And later in the episode, this discovery leads to Carol messing up poor Zosia even worse than she did last week with the hand grenade. She’s really putting the Pirate Lady through the ringer.
About Zosia, yes, she’s part of an alien-influenced, worldwide cabal that has upended humankind and is determined to turn Carol into one of them. And yet! I still feel so bad for Zosia here. First it’s the way Carol drills into her about whether or not there’s a way to undo or reverse the Joining (apparently there is), and then how she, you know, drugs Zosia and causes her to go into freaking cardiac arrest. The Joined, the whole mass of them – I guess the whole planet’s worth? – are so pathetic in that scene as they cry in unison, powerless under Carol’s questioning.
That said, Carol’s story about the conversion therapy horror that her mother put her through at the Freedom Falls camp is pretty harrowing, and it’s pretty chilling when she points out that the always-smiling counselors there remind her of the always-smiling Joined. But then Zosia’s logic is at the very least compelling when she points out that while all the Joined know what it’s like to not be “alone” like Carol, Carol has no idea what it’s like to be one of the Joined. Maybe it’s not so bad?
Eh, screw that. In the spirit of Charlton Heston and each ever-loving mutant zombie he fought, every talking ape whose clutches he clawed his way out of, and every Soylent Green-ridden dystopia he sought to expose, Carol is a survivor and a fighter, and just as that conversion therapy camp couldn’t beat her, I have a feeling the Joined are in for the fight of their lives too.
And she hasn’t even met Manousos Oviedo yet!
Questions and Notes From Kepler-22b
How was the heroin?
Who else was yelling at the screen “Don’t lick the underside of that tin can top where the fly was buzzing around”!?
Does the internet work anymore in this world? I mean, I guess the Joined are sort of their own Internet now. But what about for Carol and the rest of the Others?
Seeing that note Manousos left for his (former) clientele, I couldn’t help but wonder if he does not fully grasp what has happened with the Joined. Or is he just being
really
optimistic that they’re all going to snap out of it?
“F#@$ your mother, @$hole!”
