Season 1 Episode 9: La Chica o El Mundo
Air Date: December 24th, 2025
Synopsis: Season finale. Manousos arrives in Albuquerque and complications ensue. Carol visits the last best place on Earth.
Directed by: Gordon Smith
Written by: Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock
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I don’t understand how Carol suddenly became so trusting toward the Hive. Why does she think she’s talking to Zosia directly just because she told her to say “I” instead of “we”? She was clearly deeply hurt when Zosia said she loved Manosous just as much as she loved Carol. But really, that shouldn’t have surprised her. By now, Carol knows a lot about how the Hive works.
And why did she request an atomic bomb instead of her eggs? I was pretty sure it was her eggs until she mentioned it to Manosous.
I really liked the episode, though. The live-translator joke was genuinely funny. I just hope season two doesn’t take too long to come out.
She asked them to come back and that episode ended with an emotional hug. I think she got desperate alone and got carried away with this illusion that Zosia was her girlfriend.
And why did she request an atomic bomb instead of her eggs?
I’m sure there is an in-universe explanations, but wouldn’t that be lame? An atomic bomb makes a more interesting story. It can be used to destroy the giant antenna that controls the hive.
It’s a good show. Nothing spectacular IMO. A solid 7. I didn’t have an issue with the slow pace, but I do have an issue with this slow place + having to wait 2-3 years for a new season. Watching an entire season for nothing to happen and now I have to wait 2-3 years for plot to continue inching forward again? I’ll likely have lost almost all interest in this show when season 2 comes out.
The best part was the cold open. Any semblance of society only existing in the proximity of an immune. The goat was heartbreaking.
The goat thing was the element my wife and I discussed more than anything else.
Last week we learned that they don’t keep pets, but they told Carol that if a pet wants to maintain a relationship with their individual then they’ll honour that. We also know that they can’t willingly hurt anything that lives. So with that in mind, why did they abandon the goats?
Evidently they don’t need goats for anything, but that one in particular was obviously a pet, with an attachment. And they’ve just left it for dead knowing that it has essentially no survival skills.
Which led me on to pondering whether they still farm livestock. Do they still maintain sheep herds in order to harvest wool? Do they eat eggs?
I didn’t consider the goat/dog parallel. I wonder if it was a conscious choice or a slight oversight on the writers’ part.
If there’s something I’ve learned from the work of Vince Gilligan it’s that there are rarely oversights on the part of the writing. Everything has a meaning.
Speaking of the goat scene, was that the Andes mountains in Chile? Or somewhere else?? I absolutely love that style of clothing they wear. I’m amazed some fashion house hasn’t appropriated a riff on that look.
Chekhov’s gun finally got fired.
They used video backgrounds three times that I noticed, during the couple’s retreat. They never get the lighting right, when they do that.
Carol doesn’t always seem to remember that she’s talking to one mind that has 7 billion parts.
Apparently, four seasons are planned. I don’t know if the show will last that long. I hope they get one more season and just compress whatever is planned into it, rather than drag it out. If we get another season like this one, it may get cancelled before we get the whole story. Possibly, though, because they’ve kept up the number of passed days at the start of each episode, season two will start some years in the future, with the intervening time told in short flashbacks–that Carol somehow escaped being converted with Manousos’ help, and they’re on the run.
You’re so wrong
Not sure why she asked for an atom bomb and didn’t ask for her eggs.
Do we know for sure that she didn’t ask? We only know that she didn’t get her eggs.
Probably the “biological imperative” would be stronger in this case, and they would refuse her request. Nonetheless I think such scene would be good addition, because it would shed more light on how the Others thought process, and Carol wouldn’t look stupid.
I’d like to see her try. Knowing Vince Gilligan I could see Season 2 starting with the hive delivering her eggs to her. Just to close up the loose end.
Hell just ask for her eggs to be destroyed or it will hurt her. She doesn’t need them herself. Also ask for them to destroy any research related to her eggs specifically or it will hurt her. You’d have to phrase it like a damn monkey paw wish though because the Others will use any loophole.
I feel like they’d refuse.
Honestly, this was the weakest episode for me. What happened to Carol during the 40-day solitude period? Why did she suddenly become protective of the Hive? She was anti-Hive for seven episodes, telling fellow munies that the people around them weren’t their family. Then after the 40-day breakup and sleeping with Zosia, she’s suddenly all protective. I expected her to call the Hive back and try to get closer to Zosia to explore ways of freeing people from the Hive. Remember that moment in episode 8 when Carol asked Zosia something personal and she stuttered, as if briefly disconnected from the Hive? Nothing came of that?
Some viewers haven’t loved the show’s pacing, but this episode moved so fast I feel like we missed crucial pieces—what actually happened to Carol, and why has she changed so suddenly?
And why didn’t she forbid them from developing the personalized virus? Or take the eggs back? All that “You wouldn’t do this if you loved me” dialogue feels completely unlike the Carol we’ve seen all season. At this point, we need a spin-off just to explain what happened during those 40 days of solitude.
Also, it’s impossible to produce stem cells from eggs alone. Eggs only carry half of Carol’s DNA. It seems more feasible to clone her using her full DNA from hair, skin, saliva—basically any somatic cell—than to derive stem cells from just half her genetic material. We’d need a biologist to clarify, but this feels like total bullcrap to me.
And why didn’t she forbid them from developing the personalized virus? Or take the eggs back? All that “You wouldn’t do this if you loved me” dialogue feels completely unlike the Carol we’ve seen all season. At this point, we need a spin-off just to explain what happened during those 40 days of solitude.
I agree that she probably should have asked (and may have did offscreen). I think they’d refuse. It would contradict their priority which is infecting Carol.
Why did she suddenly become protective of the Hive?
She had always been protective of people and felt bad if they collapsed after she got angry. 40 days is quite a long time to be completely isolated and if Zosia hadn’t come back, Carol probably would have killed herself. Also, notice how she confronts Manousos with similar arguments she was initially confronted with by the other humans: “Have you even tried talking to them? You could learn a thing or two.” She wants to be the one who knows better than others even if that means switching sides depending on who she’s talking to.
Like I get that she’s a selfish person who immediately lost interest in saving the world now that she wasn’t in danger but I agree with you, it’s absolutely crazy that the show is trying to convince us she ate the blue pill so hard that she gets mad at the one person in the entire world that wants to save it. Why is she so dismissive and rude to him? Isn’t this literally what she was preaching? All of this because she had sex? Lol.
And why didn’t she forbid them from developing the personalized virus? Or take the eggs back?
I guess it’s implied that they can’t honor requests to not turn her, but this indeed still a big plot hole. Why can’t she just fly over to where they’re doing the testing and steal the eggs back? They can’t do anything to stop her. I don’t understand how owning an atom bomb and saving the world is somehow easier than arguing with the hive to stop doing research.
I’m probably not going to be back for season 2 whenever that releases. Happy for the people in the community that are having fun but this felt like a big waste of time.
I guess it’s implied that they can’t honor requests to not turn her, but this indeed still a big plot hole. Why can’t she just fly over to where they’re doing the testing and steal the eggs back? They can’t do anything to stop her. I don’t understand how owning an atom bomb and saving the world is somehow easier than arguing with the hive to stop doing research.
It’s probably insurance for when they do process the virus to infect her. Basically saying that get too close and I’ll detonate it.
I don’t know what hurt Carol more. Zosia revealing that they found a new way to Plurb her, or Zosia saying that she loved Manousos just as much as she loved Carol. Probably the second one. I think Carol could live in a fantasy as long as Zosia loved her uniquely. They probably could have convinced her to willingly join, eventually.
Also Chekhov’s atom bomb.
Yeah you could see how crushed Carol was when Zosia dropped that bombshell. No matter how much Carol coached Zosia to say “I” instead of “we,” Zosia is still a member of the hivemind and their “relationship” will always reflect that.
I’ve enjoyed the little piecemeal details we’ve gotten about Zosia’s past so far. I’m really looking forward to meeting the real Zosia. Hopefully next season Manousos’ faraday cage pluribus signal jammer can make that happen. I’ve been wondering about the real Zosia’s sexuality and if she’d even still have feelings for Carol without the hivemind’s influence.
It would be cool if real Zosia felt disgust at Carol, maybe for having sex with her body, or she would just detest her behaviour. Basically I would like real Zosia to have personality opposite to the “Zosia” persona created for Carol.
The finale was definitely a roller coaster, and I loved the callbacks.
- I was terrified the attempt to join the Peruvian girl was going to fail, but glad it didn’t go that direction
- Apparently the goat was just a goat. Man, I’ve seen Jurassic Park too many times.
- In episode 8, when Carol and Zosia were talking outside, there were two airborne planes visible in the background. Could have just been IRL air traffic during filming, but now it seems those planes were the hive and likely ferrying the custom viruses for the other immune.
- Loved the ongoing live translation gag with the phone
- Carol’s reaction to and view of Manounous seems to be very similar to the other immune’s attitude toward Carol (at least until the end)
- Carol refusing all of Manounous’s op-sec was both hilarious and wise. Like, of course she wouldn’t get in a van with a complete stranger wielding a machete.
- Now we know what Manounous was looking for when he was scanning and logging the radio frequencies
- Laxmi calling again just to bitch at Carol and Carol anticipating it.
- Goddamn Manounous is tenacious. The sheer force of will to get things done and learn what he needs to learn to accomplish his goals. I’m just kind of jealous.
- After Carol leaves with Zosia and the rest of the hive, I thought for sure it was going to be a dream sequence
- It was expected but still heartbreaking when Carol and Zosia split up because, despite their relationship, Zosia is still compelled by the hive’s imperative. And Carol rightly feels violated and betrayed.
- The build up of hearing the helicopter at the end had all kinds of theories brewing:
- Carol coming back after splitting with Zosia (confirmed but not as expected)
- When it came into view hauling cargo, I thought Manounous had the hive bring him equipment to build a radio tower so he could broadcast his anti-hive signal
- When we see Zosia piloting it and Carol along side her, I have no idea what the cargo would be
- “Would you give me a nuclear bomb?” Apparently very much yes.
Lingering Questions
- Why only landlines? They explicitly stated cell phones would no longer work, but why? They seem to be keeping all the rest of the infrastructure up and running (water, sewer, power, landlines, etc).
- How does the hive knows who’s calling? Yes, caller ID exists. But Carol calls from random phones and they always know it’s her. I guess the drones saw her setting Manounous up in the neighbor’s house and noted that phone number for him?
- Are the joined still operating refineries for all the jet-setting they do, or is there just a lot of aviation fuel stockpiled?
Can’t wait to see where season 2 goes, and I hope this series isn’t going to suffer from the 2 year gap between seasons that’s becoming sadly common with streaming shows.
They don’t need phones or radio. Only the unconverted use phones. (When the helicopter took off, she pushed the mic up because she doesn’t need it, that was a fun little detail.) It’s easy to know who is calling, they’re watching from the sky, they know they walked to the other house, they know the phone number of that house, they know Carol left, etc.
- Why only landlines? They explicitly stated cell phones would no longer work, but why? They seem to be keeping all the rest of the infrastructure up and running (water, sewer, power, landlines, etc).
Cell phones operate in the RF spectrum. Manousos confirmed this episode that the Hive also operates in the RF spectrum. It’s a huuuuuge spectrum, so the fact that Manousos found anything is surprising, but at the same time there is likely less interference at the moment.
Also in the first episode we see Carol doesn’t use a cellphone, which may be a parallel to Carol not speaking/using radio frequencies aka not being part of the Hive.
I caught that the hive used RF spectrum but didn’t make the connection to that being why they likely shut down cell towers. I need to re-watch the last episode when I have more time to see what the frequency was that he found. Would be interested to see if it’s within the cellular bands (mostly out of curiosity).
Also in the first episode we see Carol doesn’t use a cellphone
I must’ve missed that completely.
The radio frequency is 8.613 MHz (or 8613 KHz) and is designated as “maritime mobile”. There are some mobile frequencies nearby, but I don’t know if they’re in use or just allocated.
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