Pluribus theory claims Carol has already found the cure but Episode 7 ending ruins it

Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) might have already stumbled upon a cure for the virus already, but the ending of Pluribus Episode 7 suggests that any breakthrough she might have had is further away than ever. 

In Episode 6, Carol headed to Las Vegas to visit her closest immune fellow, Koumba Diabaté (Samba Schutte), to tell him about her horrifying discovery: the hive mind has been repurposing human bodies for sustenance. 

Not only does he know this, but he even shows her a presentation on their reasoning, explained via a Joined John Cena. Defeated, she heads back to Albuquerque, while her only true ally, Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), is on his way to find her. 

Carol is none-the-wiser, and since The Others are still keeping their distance, she does her best to enjoy her solitary freedom in Pluribus Episode 7, ‘The Gap’, culminating in a heartbreaking ending. Warning: spoilers ahead!

Pluribus Episode 7 leaves Carol’s potential cure further out of reach

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As the theory goes, Carol may have stumbled upon a cure, prompting the hive mind to avoid her. But at the end of Episode 7, their return hints that they’ve fixed the slip up and her isolation overrides her need to dig deeper right now.

The theory was originally shared by Reddit u/davidjung03 earlier this week. “I know there are other plausible explanations for why the hive mind is staying away from Carol, and I want to preface by saying that I’ll probably be proven wrong in the next episode or so, but my theory is this:

“They left not because they need some emotional space or something but by some incredible luck, she stumbled upon a cure. This theory is reinforced by the fact that Zosia hasn’t shown up since the interaction and there’s only one line in Episode 6 about how ‘she’s ok’. 

“I think they’re really staying far away from her because somehow, Zosia has detached from the hive mind and they don’t want her to know. I’m fully ready to be proven wrong though.”

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But after such a long period of time without any kind of human (or, at least, human-like) interaction, Carol caves in Episode 7. She paints the words “come back” on her drive (a spoiler that was discovered by an eagle-eyed fan on Google Earth) and Zosia returns. 

Carol gives her a huge hug, showing the hive mind has broken her spirit. 

Here’s the thing: the theory could still technically be true. Maybe she did cause some sort of slip up when she administered the truth serum to Zosia (Karolina Wydra) and pummelled her with questions – a bit like when Severance employees reintegrate, causing their innie and outie memories to merge. 

When she returns to Carol in Episode 7, maybe they’ve re-joined Zosia, or maybe Carol had come close to uncovering the cure some other way – but the hive mind may simply know she’s no longer a threat… at least for now.

As one Redditor said in response to the theory, “I suspect if you’ve been in a hive mind and known all that connection, had all that knowledge, that being separated would be awful. I’m thinking if Zosia was separated it would make her the loneliest person on earth.”

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Maybe she chose to re-join fully after being momentarily separated. What’s more, Zosia may have been the catalyst for The Others to figure out how to join the immune humans. 

“The thing I think is happening is that Zosia was dropped out of the hive, wanted to get back in, the Others found out that they could do this with stem cells because they did this to Zosia,” said another. 

Or, you know, the hive was simply avoiding Carol because of her bursts of emotion. But speculation is half of the fun of Pluribus, right?

Pluribus Episodes 1-7 are streaming on Apple TV now. You can also read about the woman who was hospitalized after a Pluribus ad, a theory about the “perfect ending” for Carol, and why you shouldn’t expect an M. Night Shyamalan style twist in the show.