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Rhea Seehorn, left, plays jaded romance author Carol in Pluribus on Apple TV.Anna Kooris/Apple tv
The Latin phrase widely considered America’s unofficial slogan, “E pluribus unum,” means “Out of many, one.” Pluribus the TV show is creator Vince Gilligan’s cheeky nod to that motto, but it’s also an apt description of the premise: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.”
That logline was all Gilligan fans had to go on heading into the early November release date of Apple TV’s latest buzzy series. After the premiere, however, it turns out the series is just as complex and dripping with metaphors and duality as you’d expect from the man who created Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
Pluribus begins with the discovery of a spatial signal light-years away. That signal is actually a recipe for a virus, which, through a series of events, infects the entire world. Collectively, this new “we” is equipped with endless happiness and the inability to harm any other living thing.
Among the infected, only 13 across the globe are immune, including a jaded romance author named Carol, played by Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn. Suddenly, Carol stands alone among many who claim to want to help her and solve the problem of her immunity.
The premise is very Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, particularly when a White House representative (played by Peter Bergman) speaks to Carol through the television or when a woman who looks exactly like Carol’s fictional heroine appears to calm her down.
The kicker is that whenever Carol’s temper gets the best of her and she rages out and demands answers, it’s too much for the infected. They go into a shock-like state that potentially kills about 10 million people at a time, adding even more pressure for Carol to either find answers or eventually become one of them.
When Carol insists on meeting the handful of other non-infected humans who speak English, she’s shocked they aren’t as eager as she is to solve this thing. Instead, they want to join their loved ones in eternal bliss. Carol, whose partner did not survive the initial infection, is desperate to retain her independence and can’t let go, which may be the key to humanity’s survival.
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The series is a nod to Gilligan’s The X Files days, but takes place in Albuquerque, where the likes of Walter White and Saul Goodman famously resided. There are plenty of unique camera setups and shots that also pay homage to those former projects, including a choreographed Petri dish scene and wide angles of the vast landscape.
It’s a visual feast that changes to mirror Carol’s moods, and Seehorn helms it all with aplomb, bringing layered emotions to each captivating scene. She’s a cynical misanthrope who makes people happy with self-proclaimed crap writing, but she also longs to belong and contribute something meaningful. The role seems written for Seehorn’s range and will keep her top of mind come awards season.
However, the story itself really punches during times of political uncertainty and anger. Through its exploration of happiness, Pluribus raises questions such as what sets humanity apart, what it means to follow the crowd for the greater good and when is it important to stand up for what you believe.
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This is an existential piece that goes beyond Gilligan’s past explorations of ego and individual morality, reflecting instead on a world in which everyone is inherently good. Or, at least one species’ idea of good. There are connections to be made with conformity and social media group-thinking, not to mention parallels to current anxieties about AI taking over the world.
This happiness is manufactured, and the price of inclusion is opposition. Is it really happiness without choice?
In the past, Gilligan has wondered what drives good people to do bad things. Here, he’s flipping that script by examining what happens when you have to be good or truly bad things happen. The moody and unique offering can be slow throughout the first season’s nine episodes (a second season is on the way), but that pace serves the narrative and forces viewers to sit in discomfort. Still, this show is by no means dystopic. Instead, Pluribus is a methodical and sometimes meditative study of humanity with elements of a psychological sci-fi thriller and a terrific character anchoring the action.
