"Stursia Nation is going to be very happy," Zosia actor Karolina Wydra tells GamesRadar+ of the long-awaited moment that finally saw her Pluribus character and Carol (Rhea Seehorn) lock lips – and much more – in the Apple Plus series' latest episode.
With shipping between the pair running rampant (#Stursia, as you may have guessed, is an amalgamation of Carol's surname Sturka and Zosia), you could expect the actors involved to be overjoyed by a joining of a very different kind.
For Rhea Seehorn, however, her reaction to Carol's emotional release is something altogether more conflicted.
"That's probably one of the most complex moments that we filmed, because Carol has been very broken by this long period of isolation, which was not only lonely by itself – we see the mental toll it takes on her – but also it's an existential crisis of loneliness, because it could go on forever," Seehorn explains.
Seehorn continues, "She's just going to die alone in her house one day if she doesn't choose to reach out. Yes, there's chemistry. I mean, these people knew what they were doing when they sent her what she thought of as a physical ideal specimen of a woman. But she's been so broken down [and] in need of anybody, any kind of companionship, that I think [this] is much larger than any sexual tension. [Carol is] also in a space where she almost is trying to will herself into believing the delusion that maybe I can just have a relationship with this person and give in. Because what is the alternative?"
Much of what Pluribus asks us, as can be expected of a show that prods at the human condition, is knotty and complex. Is Carol in love? In dire need of companionship? Perhaps even using Zosia as a twisted surrogate for her dead wife, Helen (whose memories, lest we forget, are embedded within the hivemind)? There's no one answer – and that's something Carol is still busy figuring out herself, especially after The Others recreate her favorite diner where she first took her tentative steps into writing.
"It is both manipulative and kind at the same time, and Carol is trying to drill down on which one it is," Seehorn says. "In reality, the harder question is: what if it's both, and how do we ever disentangle those two things in real life?"
Curiously, Wydra's take – as perhaps can be expected from her character's point of view – is dealing directly with the union itself.
"I think that moment is such a beautiful moment between them and for Carol," Wydra says. "The moment of such isolation and the journey that she goes on – that finally she has this moment of feeling intimacy and coming together with someone in such an intimate way and connecting with someone."
Who has the right answer? That's for the audience to decide. With the finale rapidly approaching, we could either be looking at a new power couple or Carol breaking up with (roughly) seven billion people all at once.
Pluribus is now streaming on Apple TV. For more, check out the Pluribus release schedule and our picks for best Apple TV shows.
