Vince Gilligan has been, for all intents and purposes, the king of prestige television for the past two decades. He defined the meaning of hard hitting, thrilling, introspective TV with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Coming off the emotional, satisfying, and explosive ending of Better Call Saul, Gilligan was already teasing his next project– a sci-fi show starring Rhea Seehorn, the showstopping actress who portrayed Kim Wexler in BCS. The wait is finally over.
Pluribus released on November 7 on Apple TV, a streaming service that is now rife with thought-provoking science fiction, between Pluribus and 2022’s Severance. The tagline states: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness”, a description that is as fascinating as it is accurate. If that is not enough to convince you, allow me.
Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) indeed feels like the most miserable person in the world. She writes trite romantic fantasy novels, showing derision for her work and her fans despite the success it brings her. Her wife, Helen, does her best to cheer her, but Carol’s default state seems to be misery. Even Helen states, during a flashback, “Come on, this is totally your bag. You love being miserable.” Carol soon has more than enough reason to be miserable: an alien virus has infected all of humanity, connecting them to a hivemind and making them unnaturally happy. Carol wants nothing to do with it, despite how the Joined, as they call themselves, may try to court her.
Given the premise, the story hinges on Rhea Seehorn’s capabilities to hold her own on screen, commanding it and engaging audiences solo. Thankfully, she more than succeeds. Fans who saw her potential on BCS will not be disappointed, as Seehorn showcases even more facets of her acting capabilities in her own show. Often, it feels like a one-woman play, with Seehorn more than commanding our attention. Gilligan was one of the first to see her true potential; he wrote the role specifically for her.
A far cry from the focused, steely, and stony Kim Wexler, Carol is a mess– an ex-addict who is grieving the death of her wife and the end of all humanity; her imperfections are what make her so likeable and easy to root for. With every discovery she makes and step she takes towards discovering the Joined’s weakness, the audience cannot help but hope for her unlikely success, even as she stomps crankily and nihilistically through her house. The Joined themselves prove to be plenty likeable and fascinating. Carol mainly interacts with Zosia (Karolina Wydra) whose sunny smile and unfailingly polite and concerned manner cannot help but endear you towards her, or rather, them. The Joined’s motivations are murky, and this mystery is the true beating heart of the show.
One can clearly see Gilligan’s roots in The X-Files director’s chair with his exploration of absurd sci-fi that skirts the line between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The World’s End. His quirky, dark comedic sensibilities from the early days of Breaking Bad are also on display, creating a fun, thrilling, and exciting atmosphere for Seehorn to play in. Hiveminds rose to prominence in sci-fi fiction in 1960s America, influenced, no doubt, by anxieties surrounding Communism and the Red Scare. In today’s age, however, Gilligan can use his hivemind to reflect very different human anxieties and societal problems– conformity, toxic positivity, artificial intelligence, and more come to mind. Given Carol’s complicated relationship to her sexuality, the hivemind trying to change her to be like them and everybody else brings up bad memories for her.
Gilligan seems happy to let people come to their own conclusions about the themes of the show. Old fans who have stuck with Gilligan through it all, happily seeing Hollywood recognize his talent, and new viewers brought in by the sci-fi premise or female protagonist (a shift from the toxic men who lead Gilligan’s past work). With only five episodes out, theories buzz online like happy bumblebees, and I greatly look forward to all the shocking reveals and emotional catharsis we have grown to expect from Gilligan.
While Carol may be on a mission to save the world from happiness, Plurbius is a show that seems to be on a mission to bring as much joy to audiences as possible. It is a show that proves the potential of Gilligan and Seehorn, showing that they are far more than one-trick ponies. It is a show that brings back classic sci-fi with a new twist. It is a show that thrills and delights and we cannot wait to see where it goes. In this, perhaps, we are all a hivemind, as we are all likely to be glued to Apple TV every Friday, awaiting what new adventures Carol will take us on.