Pluribus Episode 6 suggests we might be rooting for the wrong character after all

This article contains spoilers for “More” season 1, episode 6.

Vince Gilligan has done it again, hasn’t he? The “Breaking Bad” creator said he didn’t want to be remembered for Walter White (Bryan Cranston), and he expressed a desire to write a truly heroic protagonist. Despite this, it seems more and more that he has imposed on us again the old “Mr. Chips turns into Scarface”.

Let’s take a look at Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), our “Pluribus” protagonist who is also quickly becoming the “worst person in the world” Olympics favorite. “Pluribus” season 1, episode 6 reveals that the hive mind will starve to death within around ten years due to its refusal to kill anything, including plants. We also discover that to prevent billions of people from starving to death, Koumba Diabaté (Samba Schutte) and the other survivors actively stay in touch, working to communicate with the hive mind and trying to save it. Well, everyone except Carol and Manousos (Carlos Manuel Vesga), the guy from Paraguay who is self-isolating and has no way of knowing what’s going on yet.

In fact, this means that Carol is considered the closest thing in the entire world to a great villain. The hive mind And other immune people actively freeze her because she is extremely disruptive. Already in Episode 2 (“Pirate Lady”), Carol established herself as Vince Gilligan’s most dangerous protagonist, thanks to her eight-figure kill count caused by the angry outbursts that can cause convulsions in the hive mind. While the rest of the world is now against Carol – and not without reason – it could simply be that “Pluribus” has misled us by rooting us on the wrong character.

Of course, I’m not saying that Carol is an actively evil person. On the contrary, she has the best intentions: to return the world of humanity to the normal, fractured state that she reluctantly recognizes and tolerates. But isn’t that the same for Gilligan’s protagonists? Walter White (Bryan Cranston) initially just wanted to make sure his family was provided for after cancer took him, or so he told himself. Jimmy “Saul Goodman” McGill (Bob Odenkirk) just wanted to be a respected lawyer. Carol Sturka just wants to save humanity.

The problem is that Carol also shares another thing with Walt and Saul: she doesn’t seem to care how her ambition is achieved, as long as the work gets done. This implies a third trait in common with the others: the risk of losing the plot and becoming truly amoral.

Carol already represents a legitimate liability to both the hive mind and immune people who still cherish their hive mind family members, like Laxmi (Menik Gooneratne). Additionally, Season 1 Episode 6 of “Pluribus” reveals that she cannot be transformed into a member of the hive mind without her explicit permission, effectively making her untouchable. Now she officially has carte blanche to do what she feels she needs to do, whatever the cost. And since she already has to deal with the baggage of all those millions of people her tantrum killed, what’s a few more if it furthers the cause?

Yes, to stand out in the “Pluribus” universe, Carol obviously needs be a negative person. Still, his desperation and his recently revealed effective immunity to hive mind conversion make for a dangerous combination – especially since, frankly, his methods suck. Sure, her apocalyptic detective antics reveal the secret of the hive mind “Others” feeding on human remains, but Koumba discovered the same thing long before her by simply interacting with the hive mind and other survivors. What’s more, Carol knows full well that the Others will get her absolutely anything she wants, right down to dangerous weapons. Given her impulsiveness and propensity to overindulge, she’s potentially just one bad night away from setting up the “Pluribus” equivalent of the “Dr. Strangelove” ending.

So, if Carol is heading for the deep end, Walter White-style, who is the “real” hero of the “Pluribus” universe? It’s probably not Koumba, who seems quite charming but whose James Bond games and excessive indulgence with the… more user-friendly some aspects of the hive mind are a little too scary for comfort. It’s also unlikely to be Zosia (Karolina Wydra), who is ultimately just one face in the huge herd of hive minds. Laxmi? She has potential, but we just don’t know her well enough yet.

For now, my choice for the series’ de facto protagonist mirrors my choice for the main character of “Pluribus”: Manousos, whose solo adventures and quiet refusal to mix with the hive mind make him a largely unturned card who could yet prove to be the series’ stealthy protagonist. Or maybe he turns out to be a serial killer. You never know with Vince Gilligan.

Season 1 of “Pluribus” is streaming on Apple TV.