Pluribus episode 5 is now available on Apple TV – yes, it arrived two days earlier than expected – and, hoo boy, is it a doozy.
Titled “Got Milk,” the final chapter of the sci-fi mystery drama sees Carol make an alarming new discovery about the Others. And, judging by the reactions I’ve seen online, Apple TV viewers are seriously hoping that the resolution to the cliffhanger ending isn’t as obvious as we hope.
What liquid do the Others drink in Pluribus?
Episode 5 picks up immediately after its ancestor’s cliffhanger ending. However, Zosia suffered a cardiac arrest after Carol injected her with too much sodium thiopental.
Given how Carol has treated Zosia — and, by proxy, the rest of the hive mind known collectively as the Others — over the past few episodes, they decide they need some space. Long story short: the others leave Albuquerque en masse, leaving Carol alone to fend for herself. Well, unless she calls them to ask for help with something.
Anyway, PluribusThe final entry becomes a one-woman show after 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 throw away her own trash after others fail to do so, notices that every trash can and dumpster is full of discarded milk cartons. Tracing their manufacture to a local dairy, she soon comes across large brown bags containing what appears to be a crystalline substance similar to salt or sugar.
After bringing a bag home and running a few routine tests, the Apple TV Original’s protagonist hypothesizes that this is what the Others consume on a daily basis to maintain the “psychic glue” that binds them together. Essentially, she believes this soluble white powder is added to water, poured into milk cartons on an industrial scale, and then shipped to others to consume.
As part of her findings, Carol also concludes that the liquid is odorless, has a slight consistency of olive oil, and has a pH of 7.1; a number which means that, like water, it is neither acidic nor alkaline.
What does Carol see at the end of episode 5 of Pluribus?
This discovery leads to a much bigger discovery that, based on Carol’s reaction to the end of “Got Milk” and what fans are saying online, could be even darker in nature.
You see, after Carol spots a barcode on the bag she brought home, she heads to her local Sprouts grocery store, but can’t track down where it was made because Sprouts’ barcode readers don’t recognize it. However, after comparing the bag’s barcode to that of a bag of dog food, she traced its origin to Agri-Jets, a local food packaging plant.
Breaking in, Carol soon finds a giant refrigerator that at first appears to be stopping pallets of fresh fruit from flying away. After all, it’s Albuquerque, so it’s very hot outside.
While browsing the shelves, Carol’s interest is piqued by… something covered in a sheet of plastic. Lifting it up, it takes her a few seconds to realize what she’s looking at before she recoils in horror. The screen goes black. Rolling credits.
So what did Carol see? My first thought is that it is has be human remains. It could be a body cut into pieces or simply a set of human bones. These are white and, when crushed, would look like a crystalline powder. In fact, bone marrow is considered one of the most nutritious parts of the human body, so it could be the substance dissolved in water and 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 could make Carol step back in surprise as soon as she realizes what it is?
As a few viewers have pointed out, previous episodes provide further evidence that this is the case. Indeed, referencing the first scene of Episode 2, ResetEra user Arsene no Kiseki reminded us that the Others took dead humans in a van with a milk bottle painted on the side. Additionally, Redditor LoretiTV jogged our memories about a moment in episode 3 where the others ask Carol if they can “be of assistance” in disposing of the body of her deceased partner, Helen. You don’t need to explain what it would have meant if Carol had agreed.
Why are Pluribus fans comparing it to a movie called Soylent Green?
Look on it
But the more I think about it, the more I doubt this theory.
Why would the Others keep human remains next to fresh fruits and vegetables? If it’s just bones, why store them in the refrigerator when bones don’t decompose the same way other parts of the human body do? Didn’t Zosia already tell Carol that the Others are vegetarians because they can’t kill living things, including insects? And, more importantly – from a story perspective, anyway – wouldn’t this reveal just be a lazy plot twist from the writing team that we’ve seen countless times before?
There are many examples of this narrative trope, but it is Soylant Green which the public immediately compared Pluribus has. A 1973 dystopian science fiction thriller, Soylant GreenThe big problem is – spoiler – that the titular substance is made from human bodies.
If Pluribus took this specific narrative cue from movies and shows like Soylant Greenthis will be a pretty uninspiring turn of events for a project created by Vince Gilligan. Given Gilligan’s usual creativity 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…
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
