Rhea Seehorn as Carol looking intently at a shelf in PluribusApple TV
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Dhruv Sharma
Published 31 minutes ago
Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.
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This article contains major spoilers for Pluribus episode 5.
Pluribus episode 5 initially walks through the aftermath of Carol's actions from episode 4's ending, revealing how the infected people attempt to protect themselves from her. Before its credits start rolling, though, the episode drops a massive cliffhanger, where Carol seemingly finds something terrifying in a shop's cold storage.
Carol's search for answers continues in the Apple TV sci-fi show as she sets out to learn more about the hive mind and how she can reverse the infection. Instead of being bothered by the fact Zosia almost died, Carol, interestingly, sees it as a step forward in her investigation and even tries to inform other survivors about her findings. Before the episode ends, though, she seemingly finds something terrifying the "afflicted" humans have been hiding.
What Carol Found In The Store's Cold Storage In Pluribus Episode 5's Ending
Carol finds a strange QR code on a food product at her home, leading her to the store she got it from. To her dismay, she finds nothing when she scans the code at the store. This leads her to investigate other food products and find out if they have similar codes. On a pack of dog food, she eventually finds a similar QR code and checks where it was manufactured.
With this, in the episode's ending moments, she reaches the production site of the food products with the QR code and looks for leads. Her search for answers leads her to the store's cold storage, where she finds something shocking. Her terrified expression suggests the infected must be storing dead humans in cold storage, which is what Carol might have found.
This revelation could also tie into the mystery about what the infected humans are consuming from the milk cartons.
What The "Afflicted" People Are Drinking From Milk Cartons
Carol stands with four other people in an airport
After looking inside the garbage disposal unit outside her home, Carol notices it is filled with milk cartons. This suggests the aliens have been consuming something from them. When she visits a nearby milk production factory, she discovers they have been manufacturing some kind of strange yellow, oily liquid and drinking it through the milk cartons.
She even makes a video about this discovery for other immune individuals, explaining that the liquid does not have any smell. Assuming that Carol finds human bodies stored in the cold storage, it might be possible that the infected people are using the dead to fuel themselves. The liquid Carol acquires from the factory might have been produced by refining the bodies of the dead.
Since the infected people are all about efficiency, and Carol demanded them to stay away from the food sources at the store, they must be using the dead as a "supplement" to keep themselves alive. If this holds true, this would bring a harrowing War of the Worlds-esque turn to the series, revealing that the infected are cannibals and will do anything to survive and sustain.
When Carol walks inside the store, the camera also keeps focusing on the "reuse" posters. Could this be a subtle hint that the infected are "reusing" humans to create food sources?
Are Other Immune Individuals Getting Carol's Recorded Messages?
After getting no response from other immune people, Carol wonders if her messages are even being delivered to them. Given how agreeable the infected have been, so far, it seems unlikely they would defy Carol. They are probably sending her messages to other "survivors," but most of them are actively choosing to ignore her because of her previous actions.
In Pluribus' episode 4, however, the man from Paraguay seemingly shared the same sentiments as Carol towards the infected. He despised them and actively tried to stay away from them. He might consider responding to Carol's messages once he gets them. Once he does, he and Carol could team up to find a way to reverse the pandemic.
Why The "Afflicted" Abandoned Carol After Pluribus Episode 4
The "afflicted," as Carol calls them, even agree to give her a grenade when she jokes about wanting one. They even claim they would give her an atom bomb if she asked for it. However, Carol seems to test the limits of their "niceness" and agreeability by forcing the truth about reversing the pandemic out of Zosia in episode 4's ending moments.
The infected finally reach the end of their wits when they realize that Carol is capable of finding the truth. Since they realize that Carol could harm them and even force them to reveal how the infection can be reversed, they choose to distance themselves from her. They do not stop fulfilling her demands, but stick to using drones instead of letting her get in direct contact with one of them in Pluribus' episode 5.
Pluribus
TV-MA
Drama
Thriller
Sci-Fi
8/10
19
8.7/10
Release Date
November 6, 2025
Network
Apple TV
Cast
Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra, Carlos Manuel Vesga, Miriam Shor, Samba Schutte, Peter Bergman, Karan Soni, Allan McLeod, Jack Mikesell, Woody Fu, Blair Beeken, Eric Steinig, Sam Quinn, Dennis W. Milliken, Adam Harvey, Kacie LaCombe, Michael Toby Sanchez, Isak Tufic, Menik Gooneratne, Anna MacDonald, Max Reeves, Olivia Rouyre, Viji Nathan, Sharon Gee, Elena Estér
Directors
Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
Writers
Ariel Levine
Main Genre
Sci-Fi
Genres
Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Creator(s)
Vince Gilligan
Executive Producer(s)
Diane Mercer, Vince Gilligan, Alison Tatlock, Allyce Ozarski, Gordon Smith, Jeff Frost
Producers
Chris Smirnoff, Juan Antonio Cano Trujillo, Andreas Wentz
Seasons
1
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