‘Pluribus’: Vince Gilligan Explains Why John Cena Had To Cameo & Deliver That Big Reveal To Carol
Spoiler Alert: The following article contains details about the plot of Pluribus Episode 6, “HDP.”
Apple TV‘s Pluribus has seen its fair share of delightful cameos to date: There was the nod from real-life Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, whose hive mind avatar thanks a bewildered Carol (Rhea Seehorn) for her vote, as well as a voice role offering a mini reunion of sorts for the Better Call Saul alumna and her former co-star Patrick Fabian.
But perhaps the one surprise appearance that takes the proverbial cake is John Cena‘s unexpected — or “non sequitur,” as creator Vince Gilligan describes it — one. The WWE star-turned-performer and Peacemaker actor appears in Episode 6 of the lauded sci-fi mystery-box thriller, titled “HDP.”
Following the cliffhanger events of “Got Milk,” it’s confirmed that the collective uses less-than-savory means to quell its appetite: After stumbling on an overwhelming number of discarded milk cartons, Carol traces back their origins to a dairy facility that’s been transformed into a storage warehouse for produce and other foodstuffs, uncovering in the process vacuum-sealed human remains. Episode 6, the acronym of which stands for “human-derived protein,” finds Carol heading over to Sin City to discuss the troubling matter in person with, perhaps, the sole survivor willing to engage her mounting concerns, Mr. Diabaté (Samba Schutte), who is more so preoccupied with living out his wildest James Bond fantasies — poker, villains and arm candy to boot.
The problem is: He’s already aware of the “eating people” thing, admittedly disconcerting as it is. Cue, a video that will properly explain the situation, narrated by and featuring Cena.
“We just thought, ‘Who better than John Cena to make palatable the idea of eating human flesh, you know?’” Gilligan tells Deadline about the decision to cast the Ricky Stanicky star. The Breaking Bad creator noted he first met Cena amid filming the segment, which came about during a whirlwind 24 hours in Tampa, Fla. on a Saturday to accommodate the multi-hyphenate’s stacked timetable. “Boy, that guy has a schedule. That guy is a busy guy, and he was nice enough to shoot this thing.”
In the roughly three-minute-long infomercial, Cena outlines that, as stated before, the collective cannot purposely harm, kill or otherwise interfere with all manner of life — the key here being the final directive. That intrinsic moral code precludes even innocuous human intrusions like harvesting wheat or apple-picking, and the hive mind can subsist on the chance wind-felled fruit for only so long.
That means roughly 7 million people are in a “caloric deficit,” requiring “certain measures.” Those measures? The production of a shelf-stable liquid comprising stockpiled food (especially that in danger of spoiling) and 8-12% of HDP, manufactured from the nearly 100,000 people that die daily from natural causes or accidents.
“We cherish the memory of these people and appreciate their sacrifice,” Cena delivers sincerely, noting that a majority of cultures have looked down on anthropophagy, or cannibalism, and the collective is “not that keen on it ourselves.” The message ends with an assurance Carol will never have to consume HDP, and the notion that although the ever-cheery group would have preferred to deliver this unsettling reality to her in person, “we need our space.”
“He was just the coolest guy,” Gilligan recalls of the experience. “And it was one of those things: Who would [be] someone who would delight the audience when he or she popped up to explain why humanity now lives off of protein from human bodies? It’s such a non sequitur, and yet, in a way, it’s not because he just has this personality and [with] everything that he does you find him likable and you find him trustworthy; you think, ‘Man, I’d like to have a beer with that guy.’ So why shouldn’t he explain why human-derived protein is the way to go for humanity now? He actually made it sound pretty reasonable, and that was the intention, and it just made us laugh when we thought of having him do it. And luckily, he said yes.”
After the clip plays, then comes the next bombshell from Diabaté: Most of the world’s population will starve to death in the next 10 years as a result of the lack of available food. The survivors, excluding a reclusive man named Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), meet regularly without Carol (having deemed her disruptive) to discuss ideas on how to save them. Carol’s loneliness and despair mounts at the snub, and she breaks down in tears in the bathroom.
Later in the episode, Carol also discovers the collective has finally figured out how to turn the survivors via a procedure that entails stem cell tailoring for which she must give her consent. In a burst of emotion over this small triumph, Carol vehemently denies her consent. When Diabaté tries to cajole her into reconciling with the collective, her stance is clear: “Fuck ’em.”
The concluding moments of the episode depict Manousos, who has now listened to Carol’s tapes, en route to find her. Following episodes will drop weekly, until the Season 1 finale, due out Dec. 26.
