Multibus episode 3 has been released on Apple TV – and its ending raises a big question about The Joining and Carol’s attempts to undo it.
Titled ‘Grenade’, the sci-fi drama’s latest entry is pretty explosive in more ways than one. However, it is the final scene of the episode that reveals something significant about The Others, aka the people who succumbed to the mysterious viral-like entity in Multibus‘ premiere in two episodes. And, crucially, how Carol might be able to stop it.
The last scene of the episode sees Carol sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for news about Zosia. The latter is in surgery after being injured by shrapnel from Carol accidentally setting off a grenade – a “gift” to her from Zosia earlier in the “Grenade” episode – that explodes seconds later.
Luckily, Zosia will be fine after an unnamed DHL delivery driver performs surgery on her. Remember that the Others are connected by a ‘psychic glue’ so that they collectively share each member’s knowledge and expertise. You can read more about all that in my Multibus‘ The Conjunction Explained Article.
Anyway, after said delivery driver informs Carol that Zosia will survive, the conversation quickly moves on to Carol asking why the Others would give her a hand grenade. After all, she was being sarcastic when she asked for it earlier in the Apple TV Original’s latest chapter. But while the Others realized she might be joking about receiving one, they weren’t 100% sure Carol was being sardonic, so Zosia gave her one.
As the conversation progresses, Carol begins to ask escalating questions to see what the Others would be willing to give her if she asked for it. Items on her shopping list include an RPG launcher, tank and nukes. It is not until she asks for the last thing that her interlocutor does not immediately say “yes”; The DHL employee instead hesitated before asking “…why do you want one?”.
The long and short of the chat that follows is ultimately that The Others would grant Carol’s request and give her a nuke. Of course, they would weigh the pros and cons of doing so, and they wouldn’t feel comfortable handing over a world-ending weapon to Carol. But in the end, they would be unable to utter one of the simplest words in any language: “no.” As the DHL driver says “we would move heaven and earth to make you happy, Carol”.
This could have huge implications for the plot of the Apple TV series going forward. If The Others can’t say no to The Old Schoolers—FYI, that’s the term used by creator Vince Gilligan to describe the 13 people who are immune to the virus—what’s to stop Carol from asking them to find a way to reverse its effects? It is not within The Others’ viral-based programming to refuse her requests, so if Carol realizes she has the power to force them to find a way to interrupt The Joining, they would have to grant her request.
That said, I’d be furious if that was the answer to solving the biggest mystery at the heart of one of the best Apple TV shows. Not only would that be an easy narrative cop-out, but it’s also way too early for The Joining to be undone.
Considering we’re only three episodes in Multibus‘ two seasons—Gilligan believes it could go up to four seasons, but Apple only ordered two to begin with—there’s simply no way that’s how Carol will topple The Joining’s effect on humanity. Given the many twists and turns in Gilligan’s other critically acclaimed shows i Breaking Bad and Better call SaulI’m convinced it will take more than Carol asking The Others to find a cure to permanently reverse The Joining.
I have put my full faith in that being the case, Mr. Gilligan, now don’t let me down.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
