Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Pluribus Episode 6.
It may be hard to believe, but we’re actually heading into the final third of Pluribus‘ first season — although if you’ve been eagerly awaiting each new episode of Vince Gilligan‘s new Apple TV sci-fi show like I have, you’ll probably be relieved to know that the series is already guaranteed to return for a Season 2. Three episodes don’t feel like nearly enough time to peel back all of the layers surrounding this mysterious alien hivemind, its origins, and its ultimate purpose; this week, however, sees our favorite misanthrope and romance author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) getting one step closer to uncovering more of the truth. “HDP,” written by Vera Blasi and directed by Gandja Monteiro, feels like a quiet episode despite taking place in a city that notoriously never sleeps, but it also leads to some unexpected and potentially critical worldbuilding reveals — one of them courtesy of the show’s most surprising cameo yet.
Carol Crashes Diabaté’s Party in ‘Pluribus’ Episode 6
On the heels of what Carol’s reaction hints at in the closing seconds of Episode 5, “HDP” picks up immediately where that cliffhanger left off, with her stumbling out of the Agri-Jet warehouse and very nearly avoiding a vomiting situation as she doubles over. Once her stomach and nerves have settled, however, it’s time to go back inside and film her discovery, in a Blair Witch Project-esque sequence with the camera zoomed in way too close on Carol’s face. The temperature has plummeted inside what now appears to be a giant walk-in freezer; all the better to keep the various human body parts that have been dismembered and shrink-wrapped from thawing out, apparently! At the rear of the room, an even more ominous door leads to an enormous meat grinder, as well as vats for cooking. (We’re not made privy to those contents, which may be for the best.) Once Carol makes it back to her house, her first instinct is to summon the Others to copy and deliver her findings — but then, rightfully, she pauses. The question of whether any of her previous videos have been sent out still hangs over everything, so can she really trust the hivemind to pass the newest one on when it contains such damning information?
Rather than rely on shipping her video by Others Express Mail, Carol decides to drive to her closest fellow immune — Koumba Diabaté (Samba Schutte), who’s still living his best life with the hivemind readily catering to his every whim. This time around, he’s settled in the luxurious penthouse suite of the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas, which has been transformed into the set of a ’60s movie, complete with beautiful women in period clothing and Elvis Presley impersonators. As for Diabaté himself, he’s currently embracing his inner James Bond in a scene that feels plucked right out of Casino Royale, right down to the ominous, eyepatch-wearing Largo knockoff seated across the table from him. Naturally, in a world where currency no longer matters and the Others have a biological imperative to make everyone happy, Diabaté wins the poker game that’s been staged for him, resulting in even the man who’s supposed to be playing the villain breaking character and dissolving into applause. (When Diabaté takes his leave to enjoy his room’s Jacuzzi, even Eyepatch offers to accompany him alongside a bevy of lovely ladies.)
There’s obviously been some discussion about how much autonomy the Others actually have, or whether they can actually consent when asked to do something, given their drive to ensure everyone’s happiness — but it’s telling that when they realize Carol’s closing in on Vegas, they immediately stop what they’re doing and depart the city, even if that means leaving Diabaté mid-bubble bath. The implication seems to be that if they’re pushed enough, or made to do something they’re uncomfortable with, which happened when Carol drugged Zosia (Karolina Wydra) to force the truth out of her, they’ll simply just resort to enforcing a physical boundary. It’s unclear how long the Others will be icing Carol out, but this scene turns out to be the last we see of them this week — apart from some distant communication via digital sign, that is.
Vince Gilligan Has Never Made a Show Like Apple TV’s ‘Pluribus’: “It’s Got a Bigger Scope Than Anything I’ve Ever Done Before”
Gilligan also explains where his original idea for ‘Pluribus’ came from and reflects on reuniting with ‘Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn.
What Happens in Vegas Isn’t Going to Stay in Vegas in ‘Pluribus’ Episode 6
When Carol arrives in Vegas, Diabaté is already ready for her with a glass of champagne, which she initially declines before realizing she might actually be in more need of a drink than she thought. Before she can get too deep into her findings, he cuts her off with the confirmation that he already knows the truth — because he simply asked the Others about it, and got a pretty straightforward answer. In fact, Diabaté has a video of his own, made by the Others, that he can show her right now to help break it all down, starring none other than John Cena. (Yes, you read that right.) The Others, using the actual Cena as a mouthpiece, greet Carol with the assumption that she probably has a lot of questions about their food supply. (If nothing else, this definitely answers the worldbuilding question of “what happened to all the celebrities?” Turns out they were also assimilated into the hivemind!)
Because the Others are staunchly opposed to purposefully killing, harming, or interfering with any form of life, including plants, it seriously limits what they’re able to consume. They can’t kill animals for food, but they also can’t collect wheat or pluck an apple from a tree; they can only eat said apple if it falls to the ground on its own. Despite harvesting windfall and the millions of tons of preexisting, processed food that’s available, however, with over 7 million people to account for (7,348,292,411 as of this tape’s making, to be precise), the Others are facing a “caloric deficit,” so they’ve turned to alternate sources of protein to sustain themselves. What Carol’s found is what’s referred to as “HDP” (the episode’s title) or “Human Derived Protein,” which is exactly what it sounds like. Due to the 100,000 people who die every day due to natural causes or accidents, the Others can use that as their source of HDP — but, as Cena says, they’re really “not that keen” on doing so. It’s simply a necessity for survival.
Apart from that surprisingly frank admission, this week’s episode also shines more of a light on who Diabaté really is, as well as the fact that he’s actually been doing his own digging into the Others while indulging various fantasies. He already knew about HDP because he simply asked Cena outright why the Others were drinking so much milk when the two were hanging out. He’s also the one who ultimately reveals, after letting Carol crash on his couch and cooking her breakfast the next morning, that the Others have finally figured out a way to assimilate the immune. However, the process involves tailoring the virus to an individual’s stem cells, which entails sticking a big ol’ needle into someone’s hip bone, and that conflicts with their desire to do no harm. In other words, they wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on Carol unless she agrees. Carol immediately picks up the nearest phone, leaving a message on the Others’ voicemail to confirm Diabaté’s information (“That is correct, Carol. On both counts.”), and then vows that she’ll never consent to the procedure.
What “HDP” also reveals, this week, is that Carol’s brusque nature hasn’t just put her on the outs with the Others, but with her fellow immune. When Diabaté admits that there’s a Zoom group for the other survivors, and that they voted to keep her out (“also, our non-English speakers were perhaps a bit offended that you did not invite them to join us in Spain”), Carol abruptly excuses herself to stifle a cry in the nearest bathroom. Diabaté even phones the Others at one point, seemingly in an effort to smooth things over, and astutely points out that Carol is, deep down, just lonely, but he also politely declines her offer to keep hanging out over breakfast the next morning. Yet despite Diabaté’s promise that he’s a mere phone call away any time Carol wants to talk, she might be earning another ally in the form of someone even more reclusive than she is. Three days prior to her Vegas trip, it’s revealed that Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) received Carol’s first video in the mail, and her big, rousing speech motivates him enough to leave the self-storage facility where he’s been hiding out for over a week since the Joining, pack up his things, and get into his sputtering car to head for Albuquerque.
- Release Date
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November 6, 2025
- Network
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Apple TV
- Directors
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Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
Pros & Cons
- It’s nice to see Diabaté given more depth and dimension outside of his hedonistic ways.
- Carol’s misanthropic nature has backfired on her with both the Others and the immune.
- John Cena’s cameo is both hilarious and surprising.
- The scene between Manousos and his “mother” is a chilling reminder that the Joining has changed everyone.
