I don’t know what hurt Carol more. Zosia revealing that they found a new way to Plurb her, or Zosia saying that she loved Manousos just as much as she loved Carol. Probably the second one. I think Carol could live in a fantasy as long as Zosia loved her uniquely. They probably could have convinced her to willingly join, eventually.

Also Chekhov’s atom bomb.

Not sure why she asked for an atom bomb and didn’t ask for her eggs.

😮‍💨 🚁 ☢️ 🫢

Chekhov’s gun finally got fired.

They used video backgrounds three times that I noticed, during the couple’s retreat. They never get the lighting right, when they do that.

Carol doesn’t always seem to remember that she’s talking to one mind that has 7 billion parts.

Apparently, four seasons are planned. I don’t know if the show will last that long. I hope they get one more season and just compress whatever is planned into it, rather than drag it out. If we get another season like this one, it may get cancelled before we get the whole story. Possibly, though, because they’ve kept up the number of passed days at the start of each episode, season two will start some years in the future, with the intervening time told in short flashbacks–that Carol somehow escaped being converted with Manousos’ help, and they’re on the run.

The finale was definitely a roller coaster, and I loved the callbacks.

• I was terrified the attempt to join the Peruvian girl was going to fail, but glad it didn’t go that direction
• Apparently the goat was just a goat. Man, I’ve seen Jurassic Park too many times.
• In episode 8, when Carol and Zosia were talking outside, there were two airborne planes visible in the background. Could have just been IRL air traffic during filming, but now it seems those planes were the hive and likely ferrying the custom viruses for the other immune.
• Loved the ongoing live translation gag with the phone
• Carol’s reaction to and view of Manounous seems to be very similar to the other immune’s attitude toward Carol (at least until the end)
• Carol refusing all of Manounous’s op-sec was both hilarious and wise. Like, of course she wouldn’t get in a van with a complete stranger wielding a machete.
• Now we know what Manounous was looking for when he was scanning and logging the radio frequencies
• Laxmi calling again just to bitch at Carol and Carol anticipating it.
• Goddamn Manounous is tenacious. The sheer force of will to get things done and learn what he needs to learn to accomplish his goals. I’m just kind of jealous.
• After Carol leaves with Zosia and the rest of the hive, I thought for sure it was going to be a dream sequence
• It was expected but still heartbreaking when Carol and Zosia split up because, despite their relationship, Zosia is still compelled by the hive’s imperative. And Carol rightly feels violated and betrayed.
• The build up of hearing the helicopter at the end had all kinds of theories brewing:
• Carol coming back after splitting with Zosia (confirmed but not as expected)
• When it came into view hauling cargo, I thought Manounous had the hive bring him equipment to build a radio tower so he could broadcast his anti-hive signal
• When we see Zosia piloting it and Carol along side her, I have no idea what the cargo would be
• “Would you give me a nuclear bomb?” Apparently very much yes.

Lingering Questions

• Why only landlines? They explicitly stated cell phones would no longer work, but why? They seem to be keeping all the rest of the infrastructure up and running (water, sewer, power, landlines, etc).
• How does the hive knows who’s calling? Yes, caller ID exists. But Carol calls from random phones and they always know it’s her. I guess the drones saw her setting Manounous up in the neighbor’s house and noted that phone number for him?
• Are the joined still operating refineries for all the jet-setting they do, or is there just a lot of aviation fuel stockpiled?

Can’t wait to see where season 2 goes, and I hope this series isn’t going to suffer from the 2 year gap between seasons that’s becoming sadly common with streaming shows.

Honestly, this was the weakest episode for me. What happened to Carol during the 40-day solitude period? Why did she suddenly become protective of the Hive? She was anti-Hive for seven episodes, telling fellow munies that the people around them weren’t their family. Then after the 40-day breakup and sleeping with Zosia, she’s suddenly all protective. I expected her to call the Hive back and try to get closer to Zosia to explore ways of freeing people from the Hive. Remember that moment in episode 8 when Carol asked Zosia something personal and she stuttered, as if briefly disconnected from the Hive? Nothing came of that?

Some viewers haven’t loved the show’s pacing, but this episode moved so fast I feel like we missed crucial pieces—what actually happened to Carol, and why has she changed so suddenly?

And why didn’t she forbid them from developing the personalized virus? Or take the eggs back? All that “You wouldn’t do this if you loved me” dialogue feels completely unlike the Carol we’ve seen all season. At this point, we need a spin-off just to explain what happened during those 40 days of solitude.

Also, it’s impossible to produce stem cells from eggs alone. Eggs only carry half of Carol’s DNA. It seems more feasible to clone her using her full DNA from hair, skin, saliva—basically any somatic cell—than to derive stem cells from just half her genetic material. We’d need a biologist to clarify, but this feels like total bullcrap to me.