“Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator, Vince Gilligan, finally released to the world the first season of his newest show, “Pluribus,” late last year on Apple TV. The show stars Rhea Seehorn—who previously played Kim Wexler in “Better Call Saul”—as Carol Sturka, a deeply cynical and pessimistic author who finds herself hating where she’s at in her life. Then, a virus that had been quietly infecting the world’s population bit by bit has now suddenly spread worldwide in a night. Carol, one of only a handful of survivors, now faces a world where nearly the entire population has been inducted into a hivemind.
The first episode of “Pluribus” is certainly disturbing and jarring, what with the mass death and destruction caused by this sort of joining. But, for the rest of the season, the show takes a tone more akin to drama mixed with black comedy.
The show deals heavy in the topic of isolation and fear of the unknown. Fear of these people who now behave as one entity, and isolation from now being the only person in the general area who thinks for themselves.
Aside from interactions with the survivors, every single interaction Carol has is with the same conglomerated being that knows just about everything about her and everything that every person in the world knows, given them a personality far from human and almost more akin to talking to an AI chatbot.
Naturally, the show explores the other survivors as well, and incredibly, despite there being such a wide array of characters from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds all with different personalities, the show balances each of them in their respective scenes and makes them feel like completely real people, no matter how frustrating their decisions and personalities may be.
This same idea applies to Carol, as no matter how frustrating some of her behavior may be at times, the show constantly reminds the viewer of everything she’s lost and the incredibly devastating situation she’s in. After all, how is someone supposed to behave in a situation such as this?
Such a compelling character is of course due in part to the impeccable writing, but it is no question that Rhea Seehorn’s performance blows it out of the water and makes Carol feel all too real. Despite the outlandish plot, Seehorn manages to make every bit of fear, sadness, anger cut through the screen.
A very notable example of this is near the end of episode 7, entitled “The Gap.” Without spoiling plot details, the sadness that Seehorn communicates through both her facial expressions but also her body movements and posture is so palpable that it’s almost sickening.
The composition of the show must also be mentioned, as it is arguably Gilligan’s best work in that regard. Every shot in the show feels like a work of art, carefully crafted to both express the intended tone and bring out every color of the shot in vivid, vibrant detail. Something as simple as Carol dumpster-diving or digging a grave looks gorgeous and alive. This is to say, every shot feels intentional. The show does not waste a moment of your time in this way, even when something mundane is occurring.
The main downside that viewers often bring up about the show is its slower progression. It is true that the plot of the show takes its time to progress, and there are often scenes that go on for 8-10 minutes, or even longer. It also doesn’t help that the show starts off with an intense bang before slowing down considerably, so it’s understandable that some viewers may feel a bit of whiplash in that sense.
Despite this, the show is absolutely incredible once you begin to understand what it’s going for. It is an uncompromising expression of Gilligan’s artistic vision, and if the show continues to be this fantastic in future seasons, it could very well end up as Gilligan’s best work to date.
Rating: 10/10