Pluribus Episode 5 is now available on Apple TV (yes, it arrived two days earlier than expected) and boy, is it fantastic.
Titled ‘Got Milk’, the latest chapter of the sci-fi mystery drama sees Carol make a startling new discovery about The Others. And judging by the reactions I’ve seen online, Apple TV viewers are seriously hoping that the resolution to its cliffhanger ending isn’t as obvious as we expect.
What liquid do the Others drink on Pluribus?
Episode 5 picks up immediately after its ancestor’s cliffhanger ending. That is, Zosia went into cardiac arrest after Carol injected Zosia with too much sodium thiopental.
Considering how badly Carol has treated Zosia (and, by proxy, the rest of the hive mind known collectively as The Others) in recent episodes, they decide they need some space. Bottom line: The Others leave Albuquerque en masse, leaving Carol alone to fend for herself. Well, unless you call them for help with something.
Anyway, PluribusThe final entry becomes a one-man show following said exodus, with viewers following Carol down an investigative rabbit hole that has something to do with…milk cartons.
Stay with me here. Carol, who is forced to get rid of her own trash after The Others don’t, notices that all the trash cans and dumpsters are full of discarded milk cartons. Tracing its manufacturing to a local dairy, he soon comes across large brown bags of what appears to be a crystalline substance similar to salt or sugar.
After bringing a bag home and performing some routine tests, the Apple TV Original protagonist hypothesizes that this is what The Others consume daily to maintain the “psychic glue” that binds them together. Basically, she believes that this soluble white powder is added to water, poured into milk cartons on an industrial scale, and then shipped out for the Others to consume.
As part of her findings, Carol also concludes that the liquid is odorless, has a light olive oil consistency, and has a pH level of 7.1; a figure that means that, like water, it is neither acidic nor alkaline.
What does Carol see at the end of episode 5 of Pluribus?
That discovery leads to a much bigger one that, based on Carol’s reaction at the end of ‘Got Milk’ and what fans are saying online, could be even darker in nature.
You see, after Carol sees a barcode on the bag she brought home, she heads to her local Sprouts supermarket, but can’t locate where it was made because the Sprouts barcode readers don’t recognize it. However, after comparing the barcode on this bag with another on a bag of dog food, he traces its origins to Agri-Jets, a local food packaging plant.
Breaking in, Carol soon finds a giant refrigerator that initially appears to keep fresh fruit popsicles from spoiling. After all, this is Albuquerque, so it’s pretty hot outside.
Scanning the shelves, Carol’s interest is piqued by… something that’s covered in a plastic sheet. Picking it up, it takes her a few seconds to realize what she’s looking at before she recoils in horror. The screen cuts to black. Roll credits.
So what did Carol see? My initial thought is that has be human remains. It could be a dismembered body or simply a collection of human bones. The latter are white and, crushed, look like a crystalline powder. In fact, bone marrow is considered one of the most nutritious parts of the human body, so this could be the substance that dissolves in water and is consumed by The Others.
Judging from what I’ve seen on the ResetEra forums, r/Pluribus, and other forms of social media, there are many who agree with me as well. After all, what else could make a shocked Carol take a step back as soon as she realized what it was?
As a couple of viewers have pointed out, the previous episodes provide more evidence that this is the case. In fact, referring to the first scene of episode 2, ResetEra user Arsene no Kiseki reminded us that The Others took dead humans away in a van with a milk bottle painted on the side. Additionally, Redditor LoretiTV reminded us of a moment in episode 3 when The Others ask Carol if they can “be of help” in disposing of her dead partner Helen’s body. You don’t need to explain what that would have meant if Carol had accepted.
Why do Pluribus fans compare it to a movie called Soylent Green?
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However, the more I think about it, the more I doubt this theory.
Why would the Others keep human remains along with fresh fruits and vegetables? If they’re just bones, why keep them refrigerated when bones don’t rot the same way other parts of the human body would? Didn’t Zosia previously tell Carol that The Others are vegetarians because they can’t kill living things, including insects? And, most important of all, from a story standpoint, at least, wouldn’t this reveal simply be a lazy plot twist by the writing team that we’ve seen countless times before?
There are multiple examples of this narrative trope, but it is Soylent Green which the public has immediately compared Pluribus to. A 1973 dystopian science fiction thriller film. Soylent GreenThe big twist is (spoiler) that the titular substance is made from human bodies.
Yeah Pluribus has taken this specific narrative cue from movies and shows like Soylent GreenIt’s going to be a pretty boring turn of events for a project created by Vince Gilligan. Considering how creative Gilligan tends to be from a storytelling perspective, I pray we’re proven wrong when this cliffhanger is resolved. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the next installment of one of Apple TV’s best shows arrives on December 5, and that’s only if Pluribus Episode 6 reunites us with Carol. Don’t make me wait until the seventh chapter to find out more, Mr. Gilligan…
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