The Pluribus Season 1 Finale Is a Heartbreaking Allegory for the Dark Side of Love

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This article discusses the events of the Pluribus Season 1 finale.

Near the end of the first season of Pluribus, the main character, Carol Sturka, faces a difficult choice: save the world, or pursue a romantic relationship.

This situation is complex, presented with a touch of humor. Manousos (played by Carlos-Manuel Vesga) traveled a great distance, from Paraguay to New Mexico, to find Rhea Seehorn’s character, Carol – one of the few people who might be able to help him stop a powerful new collective intelligence and save humanity. Their conversation, delivered in Spanish and translated to English through a phone app which misidentifies Carol as “Unknown Word or Name,” highlights how isolated they are. They’re not only separated by language, but also cut off from the shared consciousness that connects everyone else. However, this quest to save the world and find connection mirrors classic superhero stories – just like Superman, Manousos faces both a world-threatening problem and a personal desire.

Carol Sturka faces a difficult choice, mirroring a common theme in Vince Gilligan’s work. Whether he’s telling stories about heroes with flaws or characters becoming villains – like Walter White – Gilligan consistently explores the complex and often unsettling parts of being human. His new Apple TV+ series, Pluribus, presents a chilling idea: what if everyone on Earth was connected as one massive, all-knowing intelligence? The show offers deep thoughts about what it truly means to be an individual. The season finale, released on Friday, is a powerful and heartbreaking story about how even love – often seen as selfless – can drive us to act selfishly and ultimately harm ourselves.

This week’s episode of ‘The Joining’ takes a surprisingly heartbreaking turn, whisking us away from Carol’s familiar desert to a remote Peruvian village. We meet Kusimayu, one of the very few people naturally immune to the Joining, and, strangely, she wants to become part of the hive mind. The Others, ever efficient, deliver a virus specifically designed for her, and the scene that follows is both beautiful and deeply unsettling. Surrounded by her loving family, she willingly inhales the virus, experiences a seizure, and then… changes. She awakens with a serene smile, immediately releasing all the animals from their pens – mirroring the global liberation of livestock we’ve seen throughout the series. But it’s the final shot that really got to me: a tiny baby goat, clearly distressed, runs after Kusimayu, bleating for her. She simply walks on, seemingly content, but utterly detached – a chilling reminder of what’s lost when individuality disappears. It’s a powerful, devastating scene that will stay with me for a while.

A sense of foreboding hangs over the rest of the finale as Manousos and his ambulance finally arrive in Albuquerque, though his timing couldn’t be worse. Previously, Carol had gotten close to her supposed caretaker, Zosia (Karolina Wydra, who has been excellent this season), digging into Zosia’s past before joining the Others. She even spent the night next to Zosia at the arena where the Others sleep, and they reminisced about Carol’s early days as a writer at a newly built replica of her old diner. Carol suspected Zosia—who closely resembles her ideal partner—was trying to win her over for the Others, and she used the opportunity to observe their behaviors and weaknesses. However, Zosia kissed Carol, and Carol’s desire for connection led to a night together, which inspired a new chapter of her Wycaro stories – a chapter where the popular character Raban is suddenly female. (A nod to Virginia Woolf’s Orlando! It seems fitting that Carol is a fan.)

When Manousos finally appears, Carol is in a relationship with Zosia—a unique connection, considering Zosia represents all of humanity—and isn’t happy about having to end it to appease him. Manousos deeply dislikes the Others, referring to them as “weirdos.” He immediately tells Carol, “I’m not one of them. I want to save the world.” Manousos might be the most headstrong person on Earth, even more so than Carol. While Carol has started to appreciate the Others’ way of life, Manousos is willing to kill them all if the Joining can’t be undone. Carol becomes furious when she catches him interrogating Zosia, and later threatens him with a gun after his experiment harms another Other, causing Zosia to have a seizure. A call from her enemy, Laxmi, reveals that Manousos has been hurting Others globally. However, Carol, focused on her own feelings, primarily cares about what happens to Zosia. When Zosia points out that the Others feel the same love for Manousos as they do for Carol, Carol petulantly replies: “You’re my chaperone. Mine.”

It’s fascinating to watch how things unfold for Carol. Manousos puts her in a tough spot, asking if she’s going to focus on saving the world with him, or pursue a relationship. Initially, she chooses love. We see these beautiful, idyllic moments – her reading Ursula K. LeGuin by the pool while Zosia swims, them enjoying carefree days on the beach, even sharing a relaxing tea in a bubble bath. The film doesn’t spell it out, but to me, this montage felt like a glimpse into Carol’s understanding of Mr. Diabaté’s extravagant lifestyle – those scenes of him on Air Force One and throwing lavish casino nights felt mirrored here. It’s striking because she previously criticized him for exploiting others, yet now she’s letting herself be seduced. It’s a real turning point for her, and a complex one.

Carol has a realization while she and Zosia are cozied up in sweaters by a fire at a ski resort. The scene reminds her of a sad memory from earlier in the season – a trip to an ice hotel with her late partner, Helen, where even the beautiful Northern Lights couldn’t lift her spirits. Carol then admits, with painful honesty, that she struggles to simply feel happy. She turns to Zosia, who explains the science behind happiness, sharing that studies suggest oxytocin played a role in developing empathy millions of years ago. This mention of empathy is particularly striking, considering Carol’s recent lack of compassion towards her goat.

A touching moment occurs when Carol confesses she’s unusually happy, and Zosia seizes the chance to explain that even greater happiness is within reach—if Carol agrees to the Joining. Zosia, who can’t tell a lie, reveals that the Others have gained access to Carol’s stem cells through the embryos she previously froze with Helen. In just a few months, they plan to do to Carol what they did to Kusimayu, claiming it’s for her benefit. Zosia firmly believes they will do this because of their love for her, and adds, “I love you.” While not a direct lie, it’s not entirely truthful either; the Others don’t experience individual identity, so the concept of ‘I’ doesn’t really exist for them.

The tension finally breaks. When we see them next, Zosia is giving Carol a ride in a helicopter – along with a huge shipping container. They share a bittersweet look, like a couple realizing they’re not meant to be after a disastrous trip. “You were right,” Carol says to Manousos with a sigh. “We saved the world.” He asks about the container’s contents. Carol replies, “An atom bomb.” And that wraps up the season!

It’s been clear for a while that the Others would give Carol a nuclear weapon if she demanded it. Given that her rage has already killed millions of them, it’s likely detonating the bomb on Earth would destroy them all. This means Carol and Manousos now hold all the power. Will they use it simply to protect themselves while they look for a cure? Or will they choose to wipe out the Others and begin anew? Whatever they decide, the unique and often irrational, yet vital, trait that seems to define all vertebrate life—empathy—will undoubtedly be a key factor.

What’s refreshing about the show Pluribus is its faith in the audience. At a time when some believe TV characters need to explicitly state their intentions due to viewer distractions, Pluribus confidently explores complicated and even conflicting ideas, trusting viewers to keep up. As creator Vince Gilligan once put it, he always assumed the audience was more perceptive than he was. The ability to love deeply and specifically, and to find fulfillment through connection, is a core part of what makes us human – and one of our most appealing qualities. However, this capacity for love also has a darker side. Driven by hormones like oxytocin, we often prioritize our own happiness and the well-being of those close to us, even if it means overlooking the greater good.

The story of Pluribus feels like a response to other post-apocalyptic narratives, particularly the first season of The Last of Us. That season ended with Joel making a difficult and morally questionable choice – killing researchers to save Ellie, even though it meant sacrificing a potential cure for the disease that destroyed much of the world. While we can understand Joel’s motivations, his actions were clearly wrong. What makes Pluribus so compelling is its refusal to offer easy answers. It raises tough questions about what’s truly important – is the happiness of one person more valuable than the future of humanity? The story complicates matters further by presenting a conflict between billions of peaceful, but unsettling, beings and two flawed individuals with a powerful weapon, leaving the reader to question who, if anyone, they should support.

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2025-12-24 16:07