In the third episode of Pluribus, we find ourselves 2617 days before the global virus outbreak, amidst a time when Carol and Helen decide to retreat to an icy palace nestled high in the Norwegian mountains. While Helen gazes in awe at the breathtaking beauty around her, her enthusiasm infectious, Carol, on the other hand, though initially unimpressed, finds herself appreciating the serenity as they sit together, watching the Northern Lights dance through the window.
Flash forward to the present, where we're now 3 days and 3 hours into the Collective's takeover of humanity. Carol, flying economy class (as always, of course), is accompanied by Zosia. Captain John McConnell at the helm is an upgrade from the TGI Friday's girl of last episode's vintage.
Carol's frustration with the dearth of scientific expertise outside the Collective's grasp is palpable. Her desperate quest for a cure for this mysterious affliction drives her to delve deeper into the survivors' stories. Among them is Manousos, a man from Paraguay who manages a self-storage facility and has managed to stay off the Collective's radar due to his limited proficiency in Spanish. Despite his initial unwillingness to engage, Carol persists in her quest to speak with him. However, their conversation is cut short by Manousos's abrupt outburst, leaving Carol reeling and returning home with a sour taste in her mouth. Zosia remains behind, delivering all mail in transit, including a surprise package – a massage gun, a thoughtful gesture from Helen amidst Carol's stressful journey.
As Carol speaks with Zosia over the phone, she orders her to forget about Helen and erase all memories of this encounter. The scene paints a poignant picture of the weight of Carol's responsibilities and the toll it takes on her as she grapples with the unyielding quest for answers and a way forward in this post-apocalyptic world.
Four days and twelve hours after the Collective's takeover, the morning arrived with food delivered to Carol's door. She rejected it stubbornly, clinging to her independence and demanding that the Collective leave her be. Her visit to the supermarket was met with an empty store. It turned out that the Collective were "consolidating resources to centralize useful items for distribution."
Carol quickly reached out to the Collective, specifically Zosia, letting them know that she was a free-spirited individual and that constant contact didn't suit her. She preferred to do her shopping like a regular person. Almost immediately, a fleet of trucks arrived, accompanied by dozens of people working together to restock the supermarket. Before long, it was back to normal.
Carol did her shopping alone but hilariously ended up with a microwavable meal for dinner that night. Midway through watching TV, the lights suddenly went out across the town. It was here that we learned that the Collective were also trying to conserve electricity and lighting, isolating Carol's house from the grid. Zosia explained that none of the Collective were working at night and given there was no crime, there was no reason for them to stay on.
When Carol lashed out and told Zosia to bring a hand grenade over, she did just that. It was a bit of dark humor that actually cracked Carol's facade a little, so she invited Zosia in for a drink. The Joined didn't know how long it would take to find a "cure" for her, but Carol scoffed at the vague timeframe. All of humanity was in the room, and nobody knew anything. This led her to bring up the uniqueness of humanity and how it led to unique lives and experiences.
As Carol started mentioning a few of these experiences, Zosia softly interjected about Carol's experience with Helen in the Arctic. Carol was not pleased. She grabbed the hand grenade and pulled the pin. Zosia grabbed it and threw it out the window, jumping on Carol to protect her just as it exploded. Carol was shocked that this was a real grenade.
Zosia was badly burned and rushed to the hospital. She had a concussion and was resting there, but Carol was worried and more than a little bemused. Given that the Collective were happy to give her a live hand grenade, she went over the moral implications of various other weapons, all the way up to nuclear bombs. Apparently, the Collective were happy (ish) about giving her one, but it raised an interesting question: Is there anything the Collective can say no to?
