i think thereās a lot of people who frame the hivemind as like, forcing carol into a relationship because the fact she very canonically felt sexual and (delusional) romantic feelings for another woman so shortly after the death of her wife makes them uncomfortable. like we hear her call zosia āfuckableā unprompted, which sort of undercuts the idea that the hive forced her to do All of That. she is lonely but she is also just a hopeless romantic unfortunately. like even charm offensive is a romantic episode even if it is also sinister and strange. carol isnāt just like a hapless victim, sheās both charmed and still committed to her investigative work. carolās character does not begin and end with her grief, thereās more to her than that. the interpretation of the show which renders her a powerless victim is both off base in terms of canon and just sad to think about. sheās got a little whimsy too
i think people ignore the very deliberate parallel between the waitress carol had a crush on and zosia for this reason too, in the sense i think we know so little about carolās life itās easy to assume it was always just helen. i appreciate that miriam shor and rhea seehornās interpretation (which isnāt like canon but really interesting to think about) of the timeline of carol and helenās courtship goes hand in hand with carol having a period of her life post-college where she was on her own and had a familiar haunt where she had a thing for the cute waitress. i love you 90s lesbian carol. and to present day carol whatever you do donāt confront the fact that the hive also flung zosia from thousands of miles away for your pleasure and comfort
