Pluribus Creator Explains Why Carol Changed Her Mind About Saving The World From The Others

The creative team responds to questions about why the protagonist of Pluribus changes her approach to The Others multiple times. When a signal from space turns nearly everyone else on the planet into a peaceful hive mind, Carol (Rhea Seehorn), a rare immune person, is extremely resistant, searching for a way to change everything back, while a like-minded individual makes his way to her.

However, Carol relaxes when she is told that The Others cannot force her to join them, because they need stem cells to create a version of the virus specific to her, and their pacifism means they cannot perform an invasive procedure without their consent. So, Carol, thinking there is nothing left to be done, kicks back and takes advantage of the collapse of private property.

She then begins an unconventional romantic relationship with Zosia (Karolina Wydra), one of the “joined,” and travels with her to get away from Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga). But when Carol finds out that the hive mind has found a way to circumvent her wishes by creating stem cells from the eggs she froze a long time ago, she goes back to the mission to “save the world.”

Pluribus season 2 will presumably delve into what Manousos has found out about the signal and him and Carol trying to revert people. In the meantime, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, show creator Vince Gilligan and executive producers Gordon Smith and Alison Tatlock responded to questions about Carol’s change(s) of heart.

“It wasn’t until the personal threat returned in Big Sky, Montana, that she got back in the world-saving business. Does she actually want to save the world? Or does she just want to save herself?” they were all asked. Gilligan called it a “good question,” and Smith said: “I feel like the answer is yes. She definitely wants to save herself at this point. I still think she wanted to save the world, but she had been so beaten and lonely and isolated.“

But the director-writer also called Zosia’s betrayal a “wake-up call,” which reminded Carol of the fundamental problems with the hive mind. Check out his full comments below:

She was by herself without even the other Old-Schoolers to talk to, and it became difficult for her to stay the course. Then she was saying, “Okay, I’m out of energy. I’m both fighting the guy who came here to help me, and ‘’m fighting the world’s seven billion [Joined] people.” I think she ran out of energy for a while, and [Zosia’s reveal in Big Sky] was, as much as anything, a wake-up call to her. That personal threat didn’t make her go, “Another personal threat? Now it’s serious.” It’s, “Oh God, these people are not the people I convinced myself that they could be. I have to see them a little more clear-eyed.” So the scales fell from her eyes a bit.

Tatlock added: “I believe she does want to save the world, even if it is partly selfish. It gets to the question of, what is altruism anyway? Are we not always, at least in part, looking out for ourselves? If she saves herself and not the world, she’ll still be very lonely.“ Carol deals with extreme loneliness this season when The Others all clear out of her city for weeks to get away from her.

Pluribus season 1’s ending certainly could make it seem like Carol is entirely self-serving, but the revelation is a reminder that almost no one consented to join the hive mind beforehand. However, Carol asking for an atom bomb, possibly as an extreme means to protect herself from them, throws into question the morality of her exact plan to save the world.

Carol is by no means a perfect person, but the show is investigating different questions and themes on all fronts. The next installment may also have to follow up with the other immune people, a couple of whom seem to have declined the option to join The Others, who may respond differently if they were given no option. All episodes of Pluribus are now streaming on Apple TV as the team works on the sophomore season.