Pluribus Finale: Why Carol and Manousos's First Meeting Was a 'Clash of Immovable Objects'

The team-up fans were waiting for finally happened. But instead of a handshake, there were sparks. The Pluribus Season 1 finale delivered the long-awaited meeting between the world's leading hive-mind haters, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) and Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga).

However, their first encounter was less of an enthusiastic alliance and more of a battle between two of the most stubborn people on Earth. And according to Vesga, he wouldn't have it any other way.

A Necessary, Human Conflict

"I did expect a kind of clash between them, and I was hoping for it, because actually it says a lot about being human," Vesga told Mashable in a video interview. He explained that while the hive-mind 'Joining' is a group that never argues, what makes Carol and Manousos real is that they don't see eye to eye on how to fight back.

A major source of this disconnect is what happened while Manousos was journeying from Paraguay to Albuquerque. In that time, Carol began a relationship with Zosia, an extension of the hive mind. Because of this, Carol's views have softened, though Manousos gets even more determined to destroy them.

The Translator as a Third Character

Rhea Seehorn, who plays Carol, also relished the conflict. "They're both these immovable objects and so intent that their opinion is right," she told Mashable. Seehorn loved the power dynamic shift when Manousos realizes she's hiding something, calling her out for "literally sleeping with the enemy."

Adding a layer of humor to the tension was the phone translator used for their conversation. Between its constant interruptions, it became a dryly funny third presence. It's known that during the actual shoot, another actor, Sofia Embid, was on set performing as the translator's voice. Vesga recalled that creator Vince Gilligan encouraged them to push through the interruptions, a direction that transformed a frustrating process into what Vesga called "the best playdate ever."