In the newest episode of Vince Gilligan’s Apple TV series, a famous face delivers the show’s most unsettling message. The sixth episode, titled “HDP,” confirms the dark theory many viewers had after last week’s cliffhanger. The mysterious milk sustaining the blissful hive mind contains human remains, and the person explaining why this is necessary is none other than John Cena.
The episode resolves the mystery that ended Episode 5, where Carol Sturka, played by Rhea Seehorn, discovered a warehouse freezer filled with human body parts. In “HDP,” she takes her evidence to Las Vegas to confront another immune survivor, Mr. Diabaté, portrayed by Samba Schutte. He is already aware of the grim reality and plays Carol a special informational video from the collective. The video’s host is a cheerful version of John Cena, who breaks down the hive mind’s logic with unsettling clarity.
What HDP Means and Why the Hive Mind Needs It
The acronym HDP stands for “Human-Derived Protein.” In his video, Cena explains that the global collective, known as the Others, faces a massive problem. Their core directive prevents them from harming or interfering with any form of life, which includes plants. This means they cannot harvest crops, pick fruit from trees, or farm animals. While they can consume existing stockpiles of food, it is not enough to feed billions of people.
Cena presents the math: nearly 100,000 people die each day from natural causes and accidents. The Others use these remains, which they say would otherwise go to waste, to create a protein supplement. This HDP is mixed with other food stock to create the shelf-stable liquid carried in the show’s iconic milk cartons. Cena’s on-screen presentation notes that HDP makes up 8 to 12 percent of the mixture.
“We cherish the memory of these people and appreciate their sacrifice,” Cena says sincerely in the video. “Given our druthers, would we choose to consume HDP? No… but we’re left with little choice.”
The collective assures Carol she will never be forced to consume HDP, framing the practice as a difficult but logical solution to prevent starvation.
Vince Gilligan and the Cast on the Shocking Cameo
Series creator Vince Gilligan explained that using John Cena was a deliberate choice to make a disturbing idea more engaging. He described the cameo as a “non sequitur” that would delight the audience.
“Who better than John Cena to make palatable the idea of eating human flesh?” Gilligan asked rhetorically in an interview. “He just has this personality and with everything that he does you find him likable and you find him trustworthy… He actually made it sound pretty reasonable.”
Executive producer Gordon Smith echoed this, stating, “John Cena was the right balance of friendly, famous and trustworthy — and we also just thought it’d be fun to watch him say all that creepy stuff.”
For actor Samba Schutte, who plays Mr. Diabaté, the casting was perfect for his character. He noted that the hive mind would have chosen a figure that Diabaté himself sees as an authority. “Who better to justify cannibalism than John Cena?” Schutte said with a laugh.
Rhea Seehorn filmed her reaction to Cena’s video without the actor present. She later saw the footage for the first time while shooting her character’s horrified response. “Not that I’d be surprised, but it’s just we don’t think of him as somebody that delivers news coverage about eating people,” Seehorn remarked. “And yet there he was doing a great job at it.”
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Behind the Scenes of a Busy Cameo
Scheduling the cameo was a challenge due to Cena’s busy timetable. Gilligan revealed that the segment was shot during a whirlwind 24-hour period in Tampa, Florida, to accommodate Cena’s schedule. The actor filmed his part on a soundstage, while Seehorn and Schutte filmed their reactions in Las Vegas weeks later.
Gilligan shared a fun anecdote from the Tampa shoot. “He nailed it in like three takes,” the creator said, “but in between takes, there’s a piano, and he’s like playing the piano, and he’s really good.”
In a macabre behind-the-scenes detail, the prop head that Carol discovers in the freezer is not a random creation. It is a scan of Vince Gilligan’s own head. Gilligan joked about getting his “Alfred Hitchcock moment,” referring to the famous director’s habit of making brief cameos in his own films.
The Bigger Consequences for Carol and the World
Cena’s explanation is not the only devastating news Carol receives in the episode. After the video plays, Mr. Diabaté reveals that the HDP solution is only temporary. He tells Carol that most of the world’s population will still starve to death within the next 10 years because of the food shortage. The remaining immune survivors, excluding Carol and a man named Manousos, have been meeting secretly to discuss solutions, having deemed Carol too disruptive to include.
This rejection causes Carol to break down in tears, compounding her isolation. The episode ends with another immune survivor, Manousos, having listened to Carol’s audio tapes, now on his way to find her, suggesting a potential new alliance.
How to Watch Pluribus
Pluribus is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. New episodes of the nine-episode first season are released weekly. While the official release date for Episode 6 was Friday, December 5, Apple TV+ often makes new episodes available on Thursday evenings at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The season finale is scheduled for release on Thursday, December 26.
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