In the era of second-screen viewing — where many streaming platforms are opting for storytelling designed to accommodate audiences who scroll on their phones while they only half-watch the other screen — Vince Gilligan’s latest series requires your full attention.
The anticipation surrounding the “Breaking Bad” creator’s new series was reportedly so intense that Apple TV servers experienced outages during the debut of Pluribus” last year.
And yet, despite being firmly in the target demographic for a Gilligan series, it took me a while to finally get around to it.
I thank my lucky stars that I miraculously managed to avoid spoilers because this sci-fi drama is best experienced with as little prior knowledge as possible.
While some reviewers have said the pacing slows down after the action-packed pilot, “Pluribus” builds the story’s momentum with each scene, twist, and reveal, so the eventual payoff is worth the wait.
Most importantly, the story deliberately unfolds through visual detail and blink-and-you’ll-miss-them style moments. Like the best prestige television of the past few decades, the makers trust the audience to observe rather than simply consume.
Visually, “Pluribus” is breathtaking; sweeping desert vistas, urban spaces and cityscapes backdrop a world that’s both familiar and disorienting.
At the heart of it all is bestselling fantasy romance author Carol, played remarkably by “Better Call Saul” actress Rhea Seehorn. When a mysterious alien transmission changes the shape of human existence — and collective consciousness — seemingly overnight, the writer finds herself emotionally and psychologically scarred. Her fate is shared by a handful of other individuals scattered across the globe. The rest of the human race is held together by the Joining, a hive mind-like entity that links them into one.
“Pluribus” excels by not leaning into the typical alien invasion arc. Instead of destruction, they embody love, peace and ecological restoration.
An ordinary American woman situated within a grand sci-fi premise, Carol carries a volatile mix of misery, loneliness, grief, confusion and a desperate instinct for survival. And they just want her to be happy.
Days after finishing “Pluribus,” I found myself thinking less about its science-fiction mechanics than its underlying questions about art, individuality, community and belonging.
What do we lose when everything difficult about being human is replaced with comfort? Perhaps it really is our flaws, contradictions, messy emotions and even our loneliness that makes us human.
