Trying to clarify the meaning of The Moans (they're a proper noun because I say so) in the Stursia kiss. They're not just sexy moans; they feel incredibly specific. The genius of this show/Rhea Seehorn is such that you're like "what is meant by this one specific acting choice that lasted a second or two at most" and you're taken on a mental odyssey and it always leads to some good fucking food.
Speaking of food. Imagine that you're starving and you feel like you've been starving forever and that you're on death's door, and suddenly you come across a feast of some of your favourite food, all laid out for you. You're afraid it's poison, but someone comes along and force-feeds you the first bite and after that you don't give a damn about poison; you can't give a damn about anything. Eat. Now. You move towards it by instinct, trembling violently, half-afraid it's a mirage. You desperately start stuffing your face with food like you're afraid it'll be taken away from you at any moment. The food is absolutely delicious, partly because you're starving. You moan, partly in relief, largely because finally, finally, food and it's here and you're not gonna die (unless you eat too fast and choke on something, which is a possibility).
The food is touch, intimacy, love. Sex, too, but to quote The Handmaid's Tale, "nobody dies from lack of sex. It's lack of love we die from." Carol was well-fed for over 20 years, until Helen was violently ripped away, and soon after that she was without human contact for 40 days. In this scene, Carol wonders if the hive will leave her again; she's staring down the abyss of being literally completely alone forever, and I think trying not to have a panic attack over it. At this vulnerable moment, Zosia kisses her. And Carol has her own biological imperative: Eat. Now.
The Moans contain the whole goddamn story. They're desperately sad. They're also really hot