Pluribus 1x04 Reaction

I like the contrast they show with Carroll's "independence", she definitely views herself as an independent person, and does show some qualities of that as well. However theres a lot of contradictions as well - if Carroll is that independent, why does she so deeply care about how popular her books are? She measures her satisfaction of her work by the number people who read it, not by if it touches peoples lives. She goes to sprouts for groceries, where she needs to rely on the hivemind - and even if it was pre-hivemind, it would be other people working the store that allows it to exist. One of my favorite parts of this show how it makes you question - how truly individual and independent can we be in a society that functions off of collective strength?

Excuse me unrelated, but can members recommend shows?

Insane how this show will literally have you rooting for the woman drugging a recovering woman and telling her "come on, tell me what I want, don't you want to make me happy".

Tears in my eyes from the peakness. I'm enjoying this show a lotttt oh my god I love you Carol

Finally, my favorite player enters the game.

Lola, that was the real mayor of Albuquerque :D

I just finished binge watching Pluribus for the first time so these reactions are perfect timing. Love the show, love the reactions. I can't wait to see how you react to some stuff coming up.

The perfect thumbnail lol

I would have bet money on this thumbnail. Well done :D

That was the real mayor of albuquerque fyi lol

The Freedom Falls backstory is such a deft bit of character lore that makes Carol's demeanor completely make sense, and thematically it's obviously relevant to the plot. Clever bit of writing.

If there was ever a time to try heroin... Dunno if I would've done it right then but I def wouldn't have flushed it.

"We know what it feels like to be you. To be alone. To suffer. We've been you. But you've never been us." Literal conversation therapy speak, weaponized empathy. Chilling.

Everybody give a round of applause for Tim Keller, the real-lfe mayor of Albuquerque! *applause* A very dark bit of deduction I took from this episode: With the reference to 'what happened last time' that Carol took heroin, and her saying sophmore year was tough, and the reveal that she was sent to a conversion camp at 16 (which overlaps with sophmore year of high school in the USA)...I think Carol attempted suicide through heroin overdose when she was a teenager. THAT is how bad 'Camp Freedom Falls' was, and how bad the Hivemind is treating her now. There's three points of this episode that I feel are critical to understanding the hypocrisy and sheer non-humanity of the Hivemind and what they've done to everybody: Point #1) They offer -- appropos of nothing -- to remove the alcohol interlock on Carol's car. They KNOW that she has a drinking problem, which makes her a danger to herself and others behind the wheel of a car. Helen, Carol's wife, who loved her and spent time with her and built a life with her, enforced the interlock and refused to let Carol drive their car even HOURS after she last had a drink. Helen keeping that boundary and restriction is part of their real love. Sometimes you have to say "no" to a loved one. That's part of what makes it love. To just constantly offer what you think a person wants isn't love, no matter how many times they say that they love her. Point #2) They say that they know what it's like to be Carol and it's so much better to be in the Hivemind. But they have NEVER been Carol. They may have access to the minds of 7 billion other people, but not HER. Every different person is a different person. You and I are different. I and my nextdoor neighbor are different. My parents are different from each other, and both are different from me. To think that they know her mind just because they know a lot of other people's minds is a fundamental misunderstanding of humanity. Point #3) Last episode they made a whole big metaphor about saving somebody's life if they were drowning, and how you don't ask permission or get a consensus, you just DO IT. But here they ask to save Zosia instead of just doing it. When Carol says "no", they stop. They do wait for permission, they do wait for a consensus, saving a life is NOT an overriding concern. It's just a handy story to tell to convince Carol to give in.

I just knew that scene was gonna be the thumbnail lmao

That was the actual mayor fyi

It is the real mayor of albuquerque

That actually was the mayor of Albuquerque.

Lola’s t-shirt game is 🔥

MANOUSOS THE GOAT

When I tell you I was waiting for this believe me

To me what makes this show, from very good to approaching greatness is the addition of Manousos Oviedo. Such an incredible character, really admirable in his uncompromising stance but also deeply inhuman/antisocial. He encompasses many of the things that today (especially in the western story canon) are virtues and makes them feel like vices. A man, willing to literally eat dogfood than give in and let himself become indebted to anyone. A man that, while the world we know has collapsed writes an IOU to the (former) owners of the things in the storage facilities. Excited to see you reacting to him. He represents the perfect antithesis to the Joined thesis imo.

My sister is visiting so I won't be able to watch tonight 😪😪😪 Miss my currently favorite comedy show.

happy pluribus saturday everyone🫶