This post contains major spoilers for “Pluribus.”
The astounding two-episode premiere of Vince Gilligan’s “Pluribus” sets up a bonkers premise. It subverts expectations associated with alien invasions and the end of the world as soon as the hive mind infects everyone on Earth, sporting a unified consciousness. Well, everyone, except Carol (Rhea Seehorn), who (alongside 12 others) is immune to this phenomenon — sort of like Ellie from “The Last of Us” — and actively resists assimilation at every turn. The hive, however, isn’t blatantly hostile despite being scarily efficient. They describe their invasion as a biological compulsion, and meet Carol’s fatal outbursts with infinite patience and an eagerness to please.
Episode 3 opens with Carol seeking to self-isolate, as her attempts to rally other human survivors in the previous episode ended rather horribly. She maintains her wariness, insisting that she can feed herself and doesn’t require the hive to look after her. But this empathic assertion falls flat once Carol walks into the local supermarket and finds it completely empty. She demands a restock within a week, but droves of hive members promptly arrive to get the job done, loading fresh produce on every shelf. Puzzled by their actions, Carol argues with Zosia (Karolina Wydra) later on and sarcastically asks her to get her a hand grenade. To Carol’s surprise … she does.
This tendency to bend over backwards and fulfill Carol’s every whim makes it clear that the hive wants to make her happy, no matter the cost. These acts cannot be perceived as pure benevolence (at least how humans understand it), which can only mean that Carol, for better or worse, is the hive’s greatest weakness. The exact reasoning is unclear, but this behavior raises pertinent questions about the hive’s warped adoption of ethics and moral boundaries.
There is something truly alien about the hive’s psychology in Pluribus
Theories regarding extraterrestrial malevolence or benevolence can be connected to the Dark Forest Theory, which dictates that alien civilizations remain hidden out of fear of being exploited/erased by more hostile civilizations. An example of a hive mind that is both malevolent and benevolent (depending on who you ask) is the Formics from “Ender’s Game,” who initially did not perceive humans as sentient beings (which is why they attacked Earth), but are later framed in a more empathetic light. The hive in “Pluribus” seems to operate on benevolence, but the way they strategically infected Earth and killed more than 800 million people to speed up assimilation proves otherwise.
Carol is an anomaly even among the dozen survivors, as she is staunchly skeptical of their motives despite being heavily reliant on them. But the hive, via Zosia, shields her from the grenade explosion, and even agrees to give her a nuclear weapon (!) when she hypothetically asks if they will fulfill her demand. “You can say no,” Carol states firmly, but the hive seems confused about this boundary. The aliens who went to great lengths to infect humanity are ready to endanger their own lives just to fulfill Carol’s wishes, no matter the consequences. This potentially leaves them wide open for exploitation, even though they have strength in numbers.
So, will Carol exploit the hive’s weakness to save humanity? While Carol’s moral compass is equally messy/complex, she understands that docile unification is the death of individuality, as it leaves you vulnerable. If the Dark Forest Theory holds any sway, then Carol is the greater threat here, as she is in a unique position to exploit a hive that is more afraid of hurting sentiments than annihilating the human race.
