We Need To Talk About Pluribus Episodes 3 And 4

Contains spoilers for "Pluribus" Season 1

The first two episodes of "Pluribus" cemented its status as one of 2025's must-watch shows. And, just like how Looper broke down everything noteworthy in the first two "Pluribus" episodes, we've done it again for Episode 3 and Episode 4. We're in the fun and games portion of the show now, so check out our video above to see everything you might've missed. 

Episode 3 largely shows just how far the hive mind that has overtaken humanity is willing to go to please Carol (Rhea Seehorn) as one of the remaining few "normal" people left. She sarcastically asks for a hand grenade, and Zosia (Karolina Wydra) happily obliges. Carol, being a rational person capable of understanding hyperbole, doesn't believe it's a live grenade — until it goes off, injuring Zosia in the process. In the hospital later, another member of the hive mind lets her know Zosia is okay, but Carol, wanting to know more, asks if they would give her a nuclear bomb if she asked. And, astonishingly, they would.

We know that one of the ways "Pluribus" can't end is with a big bomb somehow destroying a central consciousness and setting everything right. But, apparently, even though the hive mind accumulated all of humanity's knowledge, it didn't learn anything about sarcasm. It will also do anything to please Carol, which could be its undoing. If the hive mind had a "Star Trek"-style prime directive, as it were, it would probably be to continue spreading itself, so Carol can't just ask it to go away. But Episode 4 does offer Carol a little hope...

"Pluribus" Episode 4 throws quite a few wrenches into the mix. First, the cold open focuses on Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), a Paraguayan self storage facility manager who is one of the thirteen people not infected by the virus. Manousos, who distrusts the hive mind as much as Carol does, is all by himself and refusing to eat the food the hive mind gives him. We get to see Carol's phone call to him from Episode 3 from his perspective, and when she yells something we can't translate at him, he realizes she's not part of the collective. What does this mean going forward? Will Manousos try to ally himself with Carol? Those answers are for another episode. 

The main takeaway from Episode 4 is that Carol learns the hive mind can't lie to her. They can hide information or dress up certain facts, like Helen (Miriam Shor) saying that she thinks her passion project is "fine." But they can't explicitly lie to her, so when Carol confronts Zosia later about whether or not there's a way to reverse all of this, she doesn't answer. Her non-answer is, in fact, an answer, because if it was impossible to get rid of the hive mind, Zosia would've just said that. So, Episode 4 subtly reveals that the collective knows about its own weakness. Despite Carol's best attempts to learn more about this weakness, she's foiled by the episode's ending. Make sure to check out Looper's video above for a full breakdown of "Pluribus" Episode 3 and Episode 4.