After the events of last week, two things are clear on Pluribus. First, Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) is ready to fight and on his way to see Carol. Second, until then Carol (Rhea Seehorn) is truly alone. This week’s episode, “The Gap,” follows their parallel journeys. Let’s dive in. SPOILERS BELOW.
Solo life in New Mexico
As we pick up, Carol is on her way back from Las Vegas. She makes a pit stop to grab some gas, some fireworks, and a Gatorade. She even offers feedback about the lack of cold on her beverage. She seems happy and free. She’s no longer worried about becoming one of them. They are bringing her things. And she has the run of the place.
Back home, when her cop car breaks down, she makes a swap at the country club. She also picks up some new golf clubs. Back home, she’s using her fireworks and embracing being queen of all she surveys. She heads out on outings around the city and even orders a fancy dinner for her anniversary.
She’s completely alone and isolated. For now, her mission to change things is on hold. She’s embracing her freedom and testing the boundaries.
Coming to America
By contrast, things are tougher for Manousos. He, like Carol, isn’t pleased about the change in the world. But, unlike Carol, he won’t accept anything from those who’ve taken his planet. He remains doggedly committed to self-reliance, even hiking for gas and leaving payment for what he takes. When he hits a dangerous jungle, he sets his car on fire rather than take any help from the others, who try to warn him of the difficulty and danger.
Along the way, he’s practicing his English. He wants to find Carol. And he wants to be part of the solution. But he has to get there first. They could be a formidable team, but it turns out this leg of the journey is, indeed, too rough to go alone.
He is injured along the way. He tries to patch things up and forge ahead, but soon he passes out in the jungle. As he’s fading, he sees a helicopter and a man descending. Despite his resistance, the Others won’t just stand by and watch Manousos die.
A lonely life
We return to Carol. It’s now been 48 days since the world changed, and more than a month since she was left behind. She’s still moving about the city and doing what she wants, but it lacks zest. She’s hitting golf balls through windows on a high rise from the top of a parking garage. She’s still drinking and playing with fireworks, coming up with a more elaborate show.
But it’s perilous. As one of the fireworks tilts down, Carol swings to face it. There’s every chance it will go off in her face, and she doesn’t seem to care. It goes off, narrowly missing her as it streams into a nearby house, setting the roof on fire. Carol puts the fire out, but she seems dead inside.
The following day, she heads to the home improvement store and picks up some paint. She heads back and furiously works on a sign in her neighborhood. As the episode ends, a car pulls up. Out steps Zosia (Karolina Wydra). As Carol steps out, she walks to Zosia and clutches her in a warm embrace as the tears flow. As we pull back, we see what Carol wrote with the paint, “Come Back.” She’s ready to move forward. She’s ready to not be alone anymore.
Thoughts on this week’s episode
I’m excited to see where this is going in the last two episodes of the season. Manousos will presumably be saved and make it to Carol. They could be a formidable force together, but they certainly have different approaches. However, the real hit for me here was the ending. It was surprisingly moving and incredibly emotional to see Carol reunited with Zosia, and the performance from Seehorn was incredible. This might have been the best episode of the run so far.
Pluribus streams on Fridays on Apple TV. Check back next week as we dive into the future episodes right here.