The Pluribus Season 1 Finale Deliberately Avoids The Team-Up Everyone Wanted – And It Works
This article contains spoilers for "Pluribus" season 1, episode 9 — "La Chica o El Mundo."
"Pluribus" took its time to bring its main cast together, huh? After Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) finally grew closer to the hive mind — or the parts of it involving Zosia (Karolina Wydra), anyway — in "Charm Offensive," the season finale finally brings Manousos Oviedo (Carlos Manuel Vesga) to her door. The Uruguayan has been the closest thing "Pluribus" has to a breakout character since his introduction in episode 4 ("Please, Carol"), and his stubborn quest to reach her while thumbing his nose at the Others has been a consistent highlight.
As such, the pair finally coming face to face in "La Chica o El Mundo" makes it easy to expect a meeting of great minds that immediately hatch a plot to reverse the Joining. But this is "Pluribus," a show that's happy to subvert expectations by including an episode where literally nothing happens and waiting until episode 8 to have Carol finally start asking the right questions. So, of course, the two immediately clash ... and it's awesome.
When humanity's last champions meet, communication issues and wildly different personalities immediately put them at odds. Since Manousos doesn't properly communicate the radio wave trick he plans to use on the Others, and Carol is in too deep with Zosia to listen to him, she ends up intervening with his attempt to free an Other from the hive mind ... by literally locking him in the trunk of her latest commandeered car at gunpoint. Granted, the two rejoin forces in the very end. Still, "Pluribus" makes an admirably bold choice by not giving fans the Carol-Manousos meeting we wanted — but instead, the one we maybe needed to see.
There were always subtle hints that Carol and Manousos wouldn't get along
"Pluribus" characterizes both Carol and Manousos as the world's two remaining anti-hive mind forces, actively working for solutions to restore the pre-Joining status quo. This is why it makes perfect sense to expect them to team up as soon as they get through the awkward introduction phase ... that is, unless you've paid attention to the many clues that their personalities are an awful match.
Carol is a negative, cynical, miserable, and irreverent person who proves time and time again that she lacks the social skills and sheer approachability to serve as a traditional protagonist who can make allies with rousing speeches. Meanwhile, Manousos is a focused man of action and principle, but also prone to grandiosity, rehearsed lines, and a slight macho streak that does not sit well with Carol. (In all fairness, come on, you don't snap your fingers at other people, Manousos.)
Add in the fact that neither character seems to have any clue about how to properly socialize, and a disastrous first meeting was always on the cards. In fact, the lingering animosity between them may well become a major strength for the show's sophomore season. Bickering protagonist duos are a Vince Gilligan speciality, so expect Manousos' overt intensity and Carol's unwillingness to suffer a fool to bring plenty of hilarity to the show.
"Pluribus" season 1 is streaming on Apple TV.