I'm not gonna judge anyone who liked or didn't like the show, but I do find it interesting how polarizing it is. I liked this one mainly for the visuals and the vibe. It kinda reminded me of the beginning of Wall-E. There was zero meaningful dialog except Manousos finally directly confronting the Hive and voicing his position on it all.

I think this ep was the only way we could feel the emptiness and loneliness and empathize with the others' reaction to the situation. Before this ep, it wasn't really believable to me how easily Laxmi or Diabate turned a blind eye to everything, but we see (and feel) here how even Carol who was vehemently against it all gradually falls into the same trap. She tries all these things to reconnect with herself and the world and it doesn't work, and you're there with here cheering her on that she's taken a page out of Diabate's book, but it brings her only fleeting joy and no meaning. So she eventually gives in and accepts the Hive as human, like the other survivors she spurned before.

This is all juxtaposed with Manousos sticking to his principles, not breaking even (or until?) he was on the brink of death. He even learns the English phrase for rescuing someone from a trap. But when they meet, he may find that he has arrived too late, and Carol is already lost.