Pluribus episode 9 just confirmed a chilling new detail about the hivemind

Like Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) diligently writing down everything she learns about the hivemind, we’ve been scouring each new episode of Pluribus for clues about the show’s science-fiction mystery. But as the season 1 finale brings the story to a close (for now), we’ve learned a staggeringly dark new detail that makes us question each and every interaction between the hivemind and humanity’s survivors.

[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for Pluribus episode 9.]

We previously learned that the hivemind were looking for ways to get any stragglers like Carol, who are immune to join them. Carol flat-out says no. However, several other of the immune seem more eager to be absorbed, including Kusimayu (Darinka Arones), a young woman from Peru.

In the opening scene of Pluribus’ season 1 finale, we see Kusimayu and the rest of her people in her small mountain village as they go about their day, tending to animals and living out their lives as if they weren’t one giant Borg. A plane flies overhead, containing her own custom variant of the virus. When it arrives, the village’s inhabitants all gather and prepare for Kusimayu to join them. They play instruments and sing, evoking the feeling of a religious celebration. The hivemind, piloting Kusimayu’s family, reassures her that it won’t hurt. As she trembles and shakes, the village continues to sing and while we don’t get the translation of what the hivemind is saying, it feels as haunting as a Gregorian chant.

Once Kusimayu passes over, she stands back up with that same unnerving smile the hivemind always makes. Immediately, everyone in the town begins to pack up and move on. Previously we watched the inhabitants of Kusimayu’s village living their old lives. They mended clothes, raised goats, built fences, and cooked Kusimayu’s favorite food. However, as soon as Kusimayu becomes part of the hivemind, reality sinks in: Every single moment was all an act to keep one woman happy. We don’t know where these people are headed, but I have to assume it’s somewhere simila to the rec center Carol visited in episode 8, where, to save resources and space, dozens of the hive sleep on the floor, side-by-side.

What’s so chilling about this scene is that it reveals how little hivemind cares about anything that doesn’t serve their goals of spreading the virus and maintaining life on Earth. Kusimayu came from a particular culture and, due to the hivemind technically not being part of any community other than its own, she was the last person of her culture to exist. With her joining, the hivemind discards that culture like one would toss a pair of dirty socks into the laundry basket. They let the animals go (that poor goat), take down the fences, and leave most of their belongings behind. It ceases to exist in any way outside of the hivemind’s collective memory because it serves no purpose to the hivemind’s goals.

Image: Apple TV

It’s not that the hivemind isn’t capable of caring about culture or art; they’ve shown appreciation for the Earth and its people. It’s that they have no reason to. In episode 8, when Zosia (Karoline Wydra) comments on the O’Keefe painting in Carol’s home, Carol’s lie about her concern that animals would ruin it if left unguarded in the museum surprises them. They never once considered the possibility because, while they are highly empathetic creatures, they are (seemingly) incapable of having their own individual thoughts and ideas. They can’t think passionately about a subject or express an opinion beyond blind adoration, and because of that, culture falls by the wayside.

The scene in Peru also highlights how far the hivemind will go to make Carol and the other immune comfortable and happy. While I don’t doubt the hivemind’s intentions to make the Others happy, they continue to straddle the line between being manipulative and genuine. We saw this with Koumba Diabaté (Our Flag Means Death’s Samba Schutte), who uses the hivemind to act out power fantasies. Even Carol herself, whose relationship with Zosia has culminated in a strange romance, isn’t immune to the hivemind’s affections. Their romance, while compelling, seems largely due to Carol wanting connection after 40 days of isolation.

Ultimately, we know the hivemind won’t stop until they pass on the virus to everyone on Earth and beyond — regardless of consent. As Zosia explains, it’s their biological imperative. Their intentions may not be inherently malicious, but they are effectively just like the conversion camp counselors that Carol compared them to in episode 4 — smiling as they play make-believe and take away the very thing that makes you, you.

Pluribus episodes 1-9 are streaming now on Apple TV.