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Carol and Manousos meet, negotiate, clash, separate, and ultimately team up. That arc sets up season two.

The cold open is a haunting scene that revisits Kusimayu, one of the twelve free-thinkers. At the survivor dinner in episode two, she declares that she is eager to join the hive-mind. We witness that joining and learn the Others can now flip independent thinkers. We know, before Carol, what will ruin her Best Date Ever.

Pluribus is often a meditation on solo intimacy; this episode expands what intimacy means in the space between self and the intermingling with others' needs.

Watch it.

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Responding to Carol's plea in episode seven, Zosia and the Others return to Albuquerque. The episode centers on Carol and Zosia's slow-burning love story. Carol’s urging of Zosia to use “I” statements felt like a clue. The sexual tension edged right up until the collective consciousness deduced Carol needed to get laid.

To me, Pluribus is an allegory of the AI debate. Manousos rejects all utility of the hive-mind, while Diabaté embraces its spoils. Carol shares Manousos’ moral outrage but is developing more nuanced, self-serving rules of engagement. This mirrors the camps lining up for the AI wars.

Watch it

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Following Carol and Manousos on their journeys is both meditative and harrowing. Carol is drowning in abundance and loneliness; Manousos is on a glass-huffing vision quest. Carol’s resolve cracks, Manousos’ resolve almost kills him.

The episode reminded me of a prestige version of The Last Man on Earth (Will Forte), like when Carol copped a Georgia O'Keeffe painting from a museum to replace her poster at home. Both shows asked, “What would you do if?”

This was one of the most soulful and quixotic episodes of television I have seen. Director Adam Bernstein and writer Jenn Flower, wow. Watch it.

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Episode 5 cliffhanger revealed: Carol turned vlogger and documented the frozen, shrink-wrapped body parts that fuel the Others' Human-Derived Protein drink. The cannibalism is explained by the body, mouth, but not the brain, of John Cena.

Diabaté returns in a glorious scene. He informs Carol that she is not in the private chat.

Motivated by Carol’s video, Manousos in Paraguay sets off to find her, but runs into “Mom.”

Gilligan served the obvious while shrugging it off. No narrative-changing reveals, just practical explanations of the Hive’s moral code. He provides plot answers, leaving us with bigger philosophical questions.

Watch it.

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The Stranger Things franchise is a hot mess. Bloated, convoluted plot, a chorus of characters to track, and the stars are now adults playing teens. But by the fourth episode of Part 1, I was back in.

The epic Boss Battle of Part 1 is the best action sequence I’ve watched all year. The Sorcerer twist was a solid payoff of nine years of loyalty and character development.

The show is a crockpot stew of nerd nostalgia, 80s revivalism, and theme-park thrills. That flavor remains even as the show expands, both in the story and its megawatt popularity.

Finish it

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Prepare for a dark, dystopian acid trip of a show, mashing up sci-fi allegories and wink-wink nods to a universe of science fiction stories. Based on the Argentinian comic El Eternauta, which debuted in 1957, it was deemed so subversive by the Argentine military leadership that the author, Héctor Germán Oesterheld, and four of his daughters “disappeared.” 

The series updates the plot to modern times. The anti-authoritarian rhetoric with a scrappy resistance is as relevant now as it was throughout the twentieth century. 

Covertly, also a celebration of middle-aged wisdom and long friendships, adding to the emotional weight. Binge it.

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