Apple TV has made the smart decision to move the release date of Pluribus Episode 9 (aka the Season 1 finale), so be sure to keep tabs on when it drops – or else, risk the perilous world of spoilers.
Episode 8 revealed more about the hive mind than ever before when Zosia (Karolina Wydra) showed Carol (Rhea Seehorn) Kepler-22b – the planet that transmitted the alien virus sequence to Earth.
In the final scene, Zosia relays a message to Carol: “You’re going to have a visitor.” And that visitor is none other than Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), the only other immune human who wants to find a cure.
Pluribus has been building to the moment they meet, and with the finale – titled ‘La Chica o El Mundo’ – now arriving sooner than expected, there’s not long to wait to see what that payoff will bring.
The release date of the Pluribus finale is now listed as Wednesday, December 24, but if you’re in the US, that means you can watch it on Tuesday, December 23, at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Apple TV.
This is the typical format the streaming service follows with its original content. If you’re in a different time zone, you can calculate the release time accordingly. Here are a few so you know exactly when to tune in:
- 8pm CT
- 11pm Brazil
- 2am UK (December 24)
- 3am CET (December 24)
- 7:30am India Standard Time (December 24)
- 1pm Australia (December 24)
- 3pm New Zealand (December 24)
This early evening US drop is standard for Apple TV originals like Severance and Silo, with episodes released simultaneously worldwide then labelled by date rather than local time to keep a consistent global schedule.
On top of that, Pluribus typically drops new episodes on Thursdays and Fridays, but the Episode 9 release date has been moved forward, most likely due to the fact that it would have otherwise dropped across Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
What’s more, Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 is dropping on December 25, and no one wants to compete with that. Although Apple TV hasn’t officially announced the change, the iPhone and TV apps feature the amended date for the Pluribus finale.
How many episodes are there?
There are nine episodes in Pluribus Season 1, meaning after ‘La Chica o El Mundo’, that’s it for now. You can check out the titles and descriptions below:
- Episode 1 – ‘We Is Us’
- “An astronomer’s discovery turns the planet upside-down; curmudgeonly novelist Carol Sturka is terrified by this strange new world.”
- Episode 2 – ‘Pirate Lady’
- “A curiously familiar face introduces Carol to the bizarre new normal. A gathering in Europe brings strangers together… and causes friction.”
- Episode 3 – ‘Grenade’
- “The World just wants to help – which infuriates Carol. A heart-to-heart conversation ends with a bang.”
- Episode 4 – ‘Please, Carol’
- “Carol tests the boundaries of this weirdly honest world at the expense of her ego. Far away, a resolute individual learns he’s not alone.”
- Episode 5 – ‘Got Milk’
- “Carol doubles down on her investigation-loneliness be damned. Meanwhile, howls in the night reveal a new source of danger.”
- Episode 6 – ‘HDP’
- “Carol shares a horrific discovery and learns new truths in the process. Mr. Diabaté lives life to the fullest in Sin City.”
- Episode 7 – ‘The Gap’
- “Manousos begins a dangerous trek to meet Carol. Returning home from Las Vegas, Carol gets creative with her rebellion.”
- Episode 8 – ‘Charm Offensive’
- “Carol takes a different tack with The Others and discovers more than she anticipated. Manousos awakens in unfamiliar surroundings.”
- Episode 9 – ‘La Chica o El Mundo’
- “Manousos arrives in Albuquerque and complications ensue. Carol visits the last best place on Earth.”
Even though we’re edging ever closer to the end of Pluribus’ debut chapter, don’t fret – Apple TV ordered at least two seasons, and creator Vince Gilligan told Dexerto that Season 2 is moving along nicely.
“We’re in the writers’ room for Season 2, we’ve been going since the end of October… All of us writers have been plugging away,” he said, adding that after a break for the holidays, they’ll be back on the case in January 2026.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, ‘La Chica o El Mundo’ translates to ‘The Girl or The World’.
What happened in Pluribus Episode 8?
As said, the ending of Pluribus Episode 8 sees Zosia receiving a transmission from the hive mind: Manousos is nearly in Albuquerque, and he’s here to see Carol. The finale will see them finally meet, but as the description states, there will be “complications.”
Prior to this, we find out what happened to Manousos after he passed out in the Darién Gap. The hive mind saved him (which he isn’t best pleased about), but thankfully they brought him to the other side, meaning he’s in Panama.
After writing the hive mind an IOU for the medical bills, he nabs an ambulance and begins the 70-hour drive.
Meanwhile, Carol, who had been cut off from the hive mind for weeks, is no longer isolated, and she takes a new approach to communicating with Zosia.
During this time, she learns that the virus originated from a signal sent from the planet Kepler-22b, and that Earth’s hive is focused on using all of the world’s energy to make an antenna big enough to pass the signal on to the next planet.
She also finds out how the Others communicate unconsciously through a sort of electromagnetic field that even they (it?) don’t understand fully. Could this be the key to the cure?
Perhaps, but throughout the episode, it seems like Carol is torn. She starts off suspicious, even coming away from an afternoon with the hive and writing down all of her findings on her whiteboard (making sure to highlight the fact that they literally eat people).
Later, she tells Zosia, “There’s a lot of things that I like about you, but this? This is a train wreck. This is unsustainable. It’s mental illness. It’s psychosis. You are starving, and you can’t even pick a goddamn apple off a tree.
“Someone has to put the world right, even if it means you all leave me again.” But in the midst of the emotion, Zosia kisses Carol and they end up sleeping together.
The morning after, Carol makes progress on her book, and for the first time since before the outbreak, she’s excited.
Zosia is genuinely interested in her work, and it’s hard not to sense that Carol – worn down by loss and isolation – is starting to wonder whether acceptance might be easier than fighting a world that she can’t change.
It definitely helps that Zosia begins using the pronoun “I”, and even reveals details about the woman she was before the Joining (turns out she loved mango ice cream).
But this doesn’t last long, as the episode ends with confirmation that Manousos is close, setting up their long-awaited meeting in the Pluribus finale.
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