And with that shocking revelation (see what we did there?) Pluribus season 1 has ended in a way that is both emotional and unsettling. The story of author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), one of the rare few individuals who have not been coerced into a global hive mind, has been told in these first nine episodes.
Carol, who was grieving after losing her boyfriend, resisted the Joined for a long time in a largely calm manner before unexpectedly falling in love with her chaperone, Zosia (Karolina Wydra). Manousos (Carlos Manuel Vesga), another un-joined, traversed the world to see Carol, but his presence puts everything at jeopardy.
Caution! With significant spoilers, we will delve into a thorough analysis of Pluribus season one, episode 9, “La Chica o El Mundo.” Therefore, if you are not familiar with the show, stop reading right now and return after watching the episode.
Pluribus episode 9 ending recap
Kusimayu (Darinka Arones), the young un-Joined girl from episode 2, is being prepared for a ceremony by a group of villagers in Peru at the beginning of the episode. She feels both anxious and eager.
She inhales from a sealed container after a van pulls up and other individuals get out of it. She collapses as her eyes slide back. However, she appears to be blissfully happy when she wakes up, suggesting that the Joined have managed to integrate her into the hive mind.
Carol and Zosia are waiting for Manousos to come in his ambulance in Albuquerque. Zosia chooses to give Manousos and Carol some alone time to speak. Zosia’s response to Carol’s question about his risk is unconvincible: “We don’t think he’d ever hurt you.”
When Manousos shows up, he and Carol get into a heated argument. Carol vehemently defends the Joined and tells him that they are incapable of lying during their argument about whether or not they are still human. But she can, and when Manousos asks her why they abandoned her for forty days, she says, “I don’t know.”
After searching her home for pests, Manousos finds a secret item in her liquor cabinet. Carol demands to know what it is when she phones Zosia. Since they were preserving Carol’s eggs at the time, Zosia adds that Helen put a movement sensor in 2011 to keep an eye on Carol’s drinking.
Carol, who is clearly unhappy, leads Manousos to another home that was formerly owned by Wilson. Despite being outraged that Carol has taken over someone else’s land, Manousos remains there. He calls the Joined after Carol leaves and asks Zosia to come see him.
Carol awakens on her couch in the middle of the night. She panics when she spots Zosia’s automobile at Wilson’s house via her window. Fearful of what might have happened, she rushes over there, but Zosia and Manousos are just conversing. Carol is still enraged and demands that Zosia accompany her. Manousos requests that the Joined send him another person when they have departed.
When Zosia claims that the Joined love Manousos just as much as they love her, Carol is appalled and orders Zosia to avoid him. But as they are speaking, Zosia passes out. Carol rushes back to Wilson’s and discovers Manousos standing over Rick, one of the Joined, who is comatose.
Manousos goes outside to his ambulance as she caters to him, looks in a notebook, and places his finger next to the number 8.613.0. He seems to be dialling this frequency on his radio.
Rick returns to the house and collapses once more while Manousos screams in his face. This time, he whispers, “Rick,” and rests the radio on the man’s chest. I am aware that you are present. Return. He keeps pleading with Rick to return, but is cut off as Carol uses a shotgun to burst a hole in the wall and orders Manousos to retreat. She locks him in a car boot off-screen.
Zosia, Rick, and the other Joined depart town as usual after Manousos’s attack. Manousos discloses that he was carrying out an experiment and believes there is a method to make people normal again. He enquires, “Do you want to save the world or get the girl?” Carol makes the decision right away: she leaves him and drives away to be with Zosia.
Carol and Zosia take a vacation together, joyfully exploring the globe. When Carol enquires as to whether Zosia had a romantic partner before to the Joining, she admits that she had, but she suggests that they are no longer alive because they are not included in the hive mind. Carol expresses her happiness to Zosia, but the conversation takes a negative turn when Carol learns that the Joined had surreptitiously extracted stem cells from her frozen eggs in an attempt to convert her. Zosia acknowledges that they will soon have a method to convert Carol, referring to Kusimayu as having recently joined them. “After a month. No more than two or three, hopefully.
Manousos is currently residing at Wilson’s home in Albuquerque and pursuing his education. He notices a huge box being transported by a chopper after hearing a disturbance outside. Carol exits the helicopter after Zosia, the pilot, lands it. Carol goes to speak with Manousos after the helicopter departs. She declares, “You win.” “We save the world.”
“What is this?” Manousos points to the crate and asks. Carol responds, “Atom bomb,” as the credits begin to roll.
What is Manousos working on?
It is obvious that Manousos is experimenting on the Joined in an attempt to disconnect them from the hive consciousness. Although it appeared earlier in the episode that he was attempting to determine a particular frequency that would knock the Joined out and potentially sever their link to the hive, we learn at the end of the episode that he is examining standing waves. However, Carol cut him off, so we’re not sure if he was successful.
Who was Zosia’s partner?
This sounds really simple. Before the Joining, did Zosia have a love partner? Carol asks. She claims to have done it “a long time ago.” In response to Carol’s question about whether they were a part of the hive mind, Zosia replies, “No, they’re not.” This seems to clearly imply that Zosia’s previous spouse has passed away and that, up until the Joining, she had no emotional connection to anybody else.
Given that they are among the few un-Joined in the globe, there is a slim chance that this is a misdirection and that Zosia’s ex is not a member of the hive. However, that would be a little too soap opera-like for this show, so we’re not convinced. In this instance, we believe it’s only because Zosia’s former partner has passed away.
Will the Joined convert Carol?
Zosia claims that the Joined will be able to convert Carol in a matter of months. Depending on how much time the upcoming season covers, we might get there by the conclusion of the second season. Although we don’t see it happening—Pluribus is essentially a showcase for Rhea Seehorn’s acting abilities—it would be an incredible twist if the show really goes there and had Carol join the hive.
Does the Joined follow a similar timetable for converting Manousos as well?
Have Carol and Zosia split up?
It certainly appears to be. Perhaps there is a way back since at the final glance between the two on the chopper, they both appear sorrowful rather than angry. Nevertheless, Carol appears to be fully committed to collaborating with Manousos in order to “save the world.”
However, we wouldn’t be shocked if Carol’s belief that the Joined are still human and Manousos’s belief that they are invaders who must be stopped at all means led to a falling out because the two don’t get along.
Additionally, we don’t think Carol will want to wait too long to give Zosia a call. Carol depends on the Joined more than she would want to acknowledge, as we have seen time and time again throughout the season. She is still in mourning, and Zosia is the only person who can make her feel better. Although their relationship is obviously not over, Carol’s trust in the Joined seems to be at an all-time low.
What is Carol going to do with that atom bomb?
That’s the big question, and we don’t have the answer yet. It’s also plausible that Vince Gilligan, the showrunner, is still unsure.
Don’t worry if that’s the case. Gilligan and his group have a knack for coming up with clever solutions in circumstances like this. The machine gun that Walter White purchases at the beginning of the last season of Breaking Bad is a well-known example. The writer used this plot element to add extra suspense to the episode, and it turned out to be crucial to the show’s conclusion. However, Gilligan was unaware of the gun’s role in the show’s conclusion when he wrote that first episode.
In any case, it seems improbable that Carol plans to destroy thousands of people with the bomb, but it’s possible that she wants to use it as leverage to threaten the Joined. Or perhaps she wants to set it off so that it will produce an electromagnetic pulse, which she hopes will affect the hive mind. Or maybe—and this is where we are right now—she has simply made the rash demand as a method to get even with the Joined and as a declaration that she will not give up on her uniqueness and will fight back.
Will there be a Pluribus season 2?
We can respond to this immediately: Pluribus’s second season is confirmed to be in the works. When Apple TV acquired the show’s rights back in 2022, Pluribus was really given a two-season order.
The authors have reportedly already begun writing on the new episodes, which are expected to begin production in the spring of 2026, but that is the only information that has been made public regarding the upcoming season. That implies that the fresh run will soon be available, correct?
Unfortunately, no. High-end TV series like Pluribus require a long time to produce in the era of streaming. The release date of season two is still unknown, however we don’t think it will happen in 2026. Including filming and post-production, the first season took 21 months to finish. We would anticipate Pluribus season 2 to premiere in late 2027 or possibly early 2028 if it takes a comparable length of time.
Perhaps a November 2027 release date is planned, to coincide with the first season’s debut month. In any event, it will be some time before we learn what comes next. Carol, we apologise for disappointing you.
