This Is One Bus You Want to Be On

Shortly before Christmas, the biggest-ever show on Apple TV+ wrapped up its nine-episode first season. If you've heard of Pluribus, it totally lives up to the hype. If you haven't heard of it... let me correct that now.

Actually, let me first give you the chance to come to the show knowing only as much about it as I did when I began episode one. I knew that it was the newest series from creator Vince Gilligan. After Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, I would automatically be interested in whatever project he tackled next. Also, I knew the show starred Rhea Seehorn, perhaps the most excellent element of many excellent elements of Better Call Saul. So... not just a return for Gilligan, but a return team-up for two collaborators from whom you could reliably expect great things. That's all I knew about Pluribus, and all I needed to know. And so my mind was pretty much blown as the nature of the show was gradually revealed in a wild first episode.

If at this point you are sold like I was, then maybe just go watch episode one. But if you need more.... 

Pluribus is about the end of the world as we know it. A massive plague of alien origin sweeps the globe, turning all of humanity into a single linked hive mind sharing all knowledge, capabilities, and goals. Well... almost all of humanity. Fantasy romance author Carol Sturka is one of only 13 people worldwide who is immune to "the joining." She's full of loathing -- both for the circumstances and, perhaps not so deep down, for herself. And it's unclear what's harder for her to believe -- that humanity's weird new unified "We" wants nothing more than to make her happy, or that the other survivors like herself don't seem to want to save everyone from their bizarre, Body-Snatched fate.

There have been some convincing think-pieces written about how Pluribus is a metaphor for the rise of AI. Vince Gilligan himself has said that it actually grew from his idea about a weird world where everyone serves the whims of one person... but realizing that since happiness is the death of drama, he knew he'd need to muddy up the situation a lot to ever get a workable story. Regardless of whether you think Pluribus is a timely metaphor or a thought-out dream, it is a towering achievement of writing. Each episode is a delicate dance of slow burn and huge revelations, a combination of global and personal stakes, a balancing act between "what would you do?" and "what will she do?", and so much more.

The high concept demands that Rhea Seehorn appears in almost every scene of almost every episode. (Though with a few very interesting exceptions.) You couldn't ask for a better actor to take on such a demanding role. Carol is far from the most likeable character, and yet you can understand so much about why she is the way she is, and you have nothing but empathy for her situation. Seehorn's monumental talent is on full display as she runs that gauntlet, all the while having to handle some of acting's most famously difficult challenges: making internal thoughts clear without dialogue, acting drunk, believably talking to yourself... pretty much everything but working with kids and/or animals. (But who knows what season 2 will bring.)

Two unexpected co-stars emerge as the story unfolds. I've already spoiled more than I think I should, so I don't want to say anything about the roles played by Karolina Wydra and Carlos-Manuel Vesga. Suffice it to say that each of them has some serious acting challenges of their own, and each of them impressively rises to the occasion.

But "challenges" abound through every aspect of the production. Strange scenes you'd find nowhere else on television call for elaborate sequences in a supermarket, precision driving of semi trucks, a recreation of a certain famous vehicle, scenes set in other countries (sometimes actually filmed there, sometimes not), and so much more. To have maximum control over the main environment of the show, they actually built a residential cul-de-sac out of nothing. They employ a choreographer whose sole job is to coordinate the performances of the dozens, sometimes hundreds, of background actors who are all supposed to behave like they share one mind.

I loved watching new aspects of the story come to light with each episode, and I love where the season ended. Vince Gilligan and his team had the advantage of knowing they would have two seasons before they started the first, so one writing challenge they didn't have to negotiate was coming up with an ending that served equally as a season or series finale. It will be a while before they put season 2 together, but I can't wait to see where it goes. I give Pluribus an A.