‘Pluribus’ episode 4 reveals a game-changing hint about the Others

Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) goes into full spy mode in episode 4 PluribusArmed with blunt questioning (but sadly no deer-stalker hat or magnifying glass), she makes a major revelation: joining the hive mind of others can be reversed,

So, how did Carol find out, and what does it mean going forward? Let’s break it down.

Carol learns that other people cannot lie.

In episode 4, titled “Please, Carol,” Carol sits down to have a candid conversation with one of the other guys named Larry (someone somewhereEmmy-winner Jeff Hiller). Throughout the scene, she asks him some tough questions about his relationship with his partner Helen (Miriam Shor). What did Helen think of her Winds of Waikaro? books? Did he think about Carroll’s unpublished novel bitter chrysalis Was anyone really any good?

Taking advantage of the others’ minds, which include all of Helen’s memories, Larry reluctantly tells Carol some bitter truths. Helen thought that the winds of Waikaro was “harmless”, the literary equivalent of “cotton candy”. she also just thought bitter chrysalis “It was okay.” In fact, he hadn’t even finished reading Carol’s draft.

The conversation with Larry is painful, in which Carol expresses her sadness about Helen. Yet it’s also useful: thanks to Carol’s insistence that Larry give her an answer, even if it’s an answer that will hurt him, he learns that other people are incapable of lying.

She decides to use that discovery against Zosia (Carolina Wydra), who is still in the hospital after episode 3’s grenade explosion. Carol explicitly asks if there is a way to reverse the joining. When Zosia hesitates and tells Carol the others “can’t answer questions like that,” Carol realizes she is onto something.

Carol reasons, “Not answering you is my answer.” But how can she get Zosia to spill others’ secrets?

Carol uses sodium thiopental, aka “truth serum”, against Zosia.

The answer to Carol’s dilemma? Drugs!

She raids the hospital for sodium thiopental, a barbiturate that acts as a general anesthetic. The drug lowers the barrier, making it a kind of “truth serum”, as evidenced by a test injection Carol performed on herself. Within minutes, all of Carol’s worries are gone. She begins dancing around her living room, crying about Helen, and even does a dramatic recitation of Waikaro. Books. (He is right, these books Needed Be a movie.)

But what’s most interesting is when she reveals what she really thinks about Zosia – that she’s “pretty fuckable.” If sodium thiopental can prompt Carol to reveal her deepest secret that she is attracted to one of the others, surely it can prompt Zosia to reveal how to reverse the joining, right?

Not enough. A drunken Zosia avoids telling Carol the truth, instead resulting in cardiac arrest. But her panic, and everyone else pleading with Carol to stop, is proof enough that the involvement could be undone. However, the “how” remains a mystery. But don’t worry! After all of her sleuthing this episode, you can bet Detective Carroll isn’t done with the case.

Pluribus Now streaming on Apple TV with a new episode every Friday.