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[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Episode 6 of Pluribus, “HDP.”]
The end of the world looks different in Vegas. In Friday’s episode of Pluribus, Carol (Rhea Seehorn) heads to Las Vegas to pay a visit to one of her fellow survivors, Mr. Diabaté (Samba Schutte). While Carol has been coping with her isolation in Albuquerque by cracking conspiracy theories, Mr. Diabaté has been living it up in Elvis’ old suite, role-playing as James Bond and partying with celebrity impersonators — or, technically, partying with the Others, who indulge his fantasies.
Carol’s arrival sends the Others packing, leaving Diabaté alone with her, which doesn’t thrill him. She doesn’t even get the satisfaction of telling him her disturbing news: Yes, the Others are eating people. As it turns out, Diabaté already knows. Carol found out the truth by breaking into a refrigerated warehouse and holding a frozen head in her hands. Diabaté found out by talking to John Cena — or, technically, the individual formerly known as John Cena. The Others, in the form of John Cena, even recorded a video for Carol to explain why they’ve resorted to anthropophagy (despite not being “that keen on it”).
“HDP,” written by Vera Blasi and directed by Gandja Monteiro, takes its name from the Others’ polite euphemism for what they’re consuming: human-derived protein, or HDP. But the contents of the Others’ milk cartons aren’t the episode’s only revelation. Diabaté knows something else that Carol doesn’t: The Others just figured out that they’ll need stem cell samples to tailor the virus to each individual survivor, meaning that the survivors can’t be joined with the hive mind without their consent. Carol, who’s spent every day worrying about being turned into one of them, immediately calls the Others to make it clear that she does not consent.
It’s a victory at the end of an otherwise sad trip for Carol, who’s trying to keep a lid on her…