On my 17-hour flight to Australia, I had no other choice but to download and watch the new and rising series Pluribus. Pluribus, released on Apple TV+, offers a unique perspective, transitioning from a sci-fi show to an apocalyptic genre piece. Vince Gilligan, known for his series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, seems to be returning to his paranormal roots.
Pluribus begins with a story of a mysterious alien message, decoded by scientists, which, as always, originates in a lab. Receiving this message, the first outbreak starts through saliva-kissing and sharing food. They essentially die and are brought back to life, with everyone in the world becoming at peace and a part of a large hive mind. Eventually, all people in the world became infected—all but 13 immune people. One of the 13 people, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), is a well-known and successful romance/fantasy author and is unsatisfied with her own work. Once the virus gets around Carol, she begins to spiral trying to figure out how her life will end up in a world like this.
I believe Gilligan has put a great deal of thought into this new series. Others who thought that it was slow didn’t realize how complex it really is. Carol is already mentally alone, and once this virus affects her, you can see how much she really misses the real world. Gilligan twists the story in a way that makes it both hilarious and eerily scary, which brings back a bit of the series Breaking Bad‘s tone, connecting to the theme of unhappy protagonists. This approach can be humorous because of stubborn characters, situational irony, and relatable content.
Each Pluribus episode was released a week after the previous, except for the first two, which were skillful and smart choices by the creators. Although most of the time this upset me, it kept me hooked onto the show and thinking about what decisions Carol would make next.
“Pluribus” is not normally spelled with a 1, unlike in the stylized title of this show. “E pluribus unum” translates to “Out of many, One” in Latin, and it is the original motto of the United States to symbolize how it is one nation. Pluribus also has a meaning of “From many” or “Of many.” Yet, another meaning is hidden behind the title, and watching the show reveals this. The “1” in the title represents how the “hive mind” in the show is all one, or in other words, all together.
Pluribus brings a new point of view and pays important attention to detail. Gilligan’s work is flawless once again. When the first season of nine episodes came to an end, the second season came to my mind. Will Gilligan continue his work again and bring another unsurpassed show, or will this just be a one-hit wonder?
