Rhea Seehorn reacts to that big ‘Pluribus’ kiss: ‘There is some willful delusion’

Pluribus fans, it’s official: just as the duneship Mercator of the Winds of Wycaro glides across the slippery sands of Wycaro, the ship Carol (Rhea Seehorn) and Zosia (Karolina Wydra) has also set sail.

In episode 8, titled “Charm Offensive”, Carol shares a passionate kiss with Zosia. Technically, this means that it also embraces the other 7 billion members of the Pluribus hive mind. If it hurts your head, same thing! But that’s the point. Even though the kiss is full of desperate desire, it also carries a lot of baggage for Carol.

“I think it’s super, super complex,” Seehorn told Mashable of Carol’s state of mind during the kiss. “There’s some kind of deliberate delusion. There are coping mechanisms going on. She’s so fragile.”

While filming the scene, episode director Melissa Bernstein and Pluribus Showrunner Vince Gilligan reminded Seehorn of the impact the Others’ departure from Albuquerque had on her. From episodes 5 to 7, she was almost completely alone, except for a few wild coyotes and a brief conversation about cannibalism with Mr. Diabaté (Samba Schutte).

“She was really broken by this period of isolation that she went through, and not just because of the time she spent alone, but [because of] the horrible existential crisis of thinking, “This will be forever.” This will be the rest of your life,” Seehorn said.

Faced with the reality of permanent isolation, the Others and their incessant need to make Carol happy would of course seem like a soothing balm. This need is on full display in “Charm Offensive,” which sees Carol and Zosia playing croquet, getting a couples massage, and going hiking together, where they observe a passing train. When Carol reveals that she likes the sound of train horns, Zosia uses her hive mind to tell the train driver to honk at that very moment. If you forget the alien virus, you’d think it’s a romantic gesture! The same goes for the Others’ reconstruction of Carol’s favorite restaurant, which allows her to relive her happiest day as a writer.

But even with the whole courtship of the Others, make no mistake: Carol is still aware that the Others are pulling her strings, even if it comes from a place of care. (Let’s not forget that they chose Zosia as Carol’s “chaperone.” because her physical similarities to Wycaro’s romantic hero Raban would make her more desirable.)

“Even in the dinner scene, she’s always aware that it’s manipulative, but it’s also an incredible act of kindness,” Seehorn said. “What they’re doing with this restaurant is one of the first times you see Carol admit to having a happy memory where she was actually present instead of finding fault all the time. She says what was great instead of what wasn’t good, and then she’s hit with, ‘Wait a minute, is this all just for a certain purpose?’

For the kiss scene, Seehorn noted that “Karolina also has a very difficult side to play. [the Others] be manipulative? Why are they kissing Carol? Are their feelings real? Are they able to disentangle these two things from each other? »

Wydra relished this ambiguity, hoping that audiences would experience a tug-of-war over whether to support Carol and Zosia’s romance.

“I want people to think, ‘Wait a second, is Zosia finally breaking away from the collective, and you’re starting to see her individuality, and she’s really falling in love with Carol? Are these feelings mutual and they’re both experiencing this at the same time?'” Wydra told Mashable in a separate video interview. “Or does the collective have all the memories of [Carol’s late wife] Helen, and they know what Carol likes and what will tickle and excite her? The kind of joke I have with her, is it really Zosia’s personality, or is it the collective that wants to do everything to make Carol happy? »

The need to make Carol happy led to a key decision for the kissing scene: who would initiate the kiss.

“When we did the kiss, we played around with who was leaning on who,” Seehorn said. “In the end, Zosia leaned towards me, in part because she can see the pain and despair that Carol feels, and how alone she feels. Whether that’s that manipulative or not, that’s definitely open to interpretation for the audience.”

Pluribus is now streaming on Apple TV. The season 1 finale will air on December 26.