Vince Gilligan has been at the helm of some of television’s most pivotal moments of the last 30 years — from working on the pop culture touchstone that was “The X-Files,” to helping define the antihero era with “Breaking Bad,” and then delivering one of the best TV spin-offs of all time with “Better Call Saul.” Now, Gilligan is joining the streaming landscape by returning to his roots and going full sci-fi with his latest show, “Pluribus.”
Like with each Gilligan project, “Pluribus” is being released in a vastly different era for the medium of television than his previous work, and in some ways this feels intrinsically like a post-lockdown, post-streaming wars show, while still being uniquely Vince Gilligan.
Rhea Seehorn teams up with the producer once again to remind audiences and awards voters that she is one of the best actors working today. She stars as Carol Sturka, a bestselling romantasy author with a fervent fanbase she abhors and a book series she considers to be nothing but “mindless crap.” She is neither blessed nor cursed by her talent or fame, she is just indifferent, permanently sporting a grimace of discontent. Not even when a cataclysmic event changes the world and turns the entire human population into extremely happy, content and optimistic people does Carol change her expression. She was miserable before, sure, but now she’s the unhappiest person on the planet, stuck in a new reality but determined to bring the world back to what she considers normal.
Though it’s a show with plenty of surprises and worldbuilding, “Pluribus” is not interested in being a mystery box show that’s just building up to grand reveals and answers. Instead, both the audience and Carol find out exactly what changed the world so drastically in the very first episode (granted, there are still unanswered questions, but not fundamental to the premise of the show), and the rest of the season takes an approach more akin to “The Leftovers.” It’s not about what happened, but rather how it changed those who are left and — in the case of Carol — whether something can be done to reverse it.
Every episode follows Carol as she navigates the complications of this new normal, while rebelling against the world.
“Pluribus” is by far Gilligan’s most serialized work yet, as the show works toward a clear singular goal from the beginning. And yet, Gilligan and his writers’ room understand the value of episodic storytelling, especially in streaming. Each episode tells a clear story with an arc and an ending, even if they build on each other and push forward the overarching narrative of the season. The show retains Gilligan’s trademark cold opens, which serve as a fantastic way of building the world of the show, transporting us to vastly different places or introducing new characters, while building up mystery and suspense. It is a small choice, but it nevertheless feels like an echo of a type of TV show that simply isn’t being made anymore and makes “Pluribus” all the more special for it.
Episode 7 in particular tells a heartbreaking yet incredible story about Carol’s deep longing and loneliness, going through a “Last Woman on Earth” type journey while desperately trying to deny that her walls are slowly crumbling. In many ways, this is Seehorn’s one-woman show, as she is isolated for most of the first seven episodes available for review. As Carol is the only person who feels anything but happiness on the planet, Seehorn has to bear the emotional weight of the entire cast and the show itself, and she does it with stride.
From the get-go, Carol is a fascinating protagonist. Though she is being billed as the “most miserable person on Earth” by press materials, she is also kind of Gilligan’s first heroic character because of what she’s trying to accomplish. Except, things aren’t that simple. Yes, Carol is a very different kind of protagonist than Saul or Walter White, but she is still recognizably a Gilligan protagonist in how deeply flawed and contradictory she is. She may have good intentions but still does some pretty despicable things and takes advantage of the new world despite acting vehemently against it. “Pluribus” is in many ways a show about contradictions, a mind-bending, darkly comedic, philosophical and often heartbreaking show about what it means to be human, and whether our flaws are worth fighting for. Though “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is a clear inspiration (there are references to several ’70s sci-fi movies throughout the show), “Pluribus” also has many parallels to the ending of the groundbreaking anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and what it has to say about embracing humanity and life.
It helps that “Pluribus” is a gorgeous-looking show, with Marshall Adams re-teaming with Gilligan after serving as director of photography on “Better Call Saul” since its third season and establishing the visual language of this sci-fi drama. The use of the Albuquerque desert, especially the cul-de-sac in the middle of nowhere that Carol calls home all serve to accentuate the loneliness Carol radiates even before the cataclysmic events that kickstart the show. Though visually in conversation with “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” this is a much more visually ambitious show, with a bit of a globetrotting story that takes us all around the world, from beautiful scenes set in a Norwegian ice hotel, to claustrophobic scenes deep in the inhospitable jungles of Central America. The mix and match of camera shots, montages and long takes all serve Carol’s state of mind, while also just making “Pluribus” feel like a production that boldly goes against the abhorrent “second screen” effect of the streaming era. This is a show that demands your attention, and it rewards you for it.
Through the first seven episodes of “Pluribus” available for review, it is clear that Gilligan and his team are working toward a specific goal, one that is much clearer than either of his previous New Mexico-set shows. Still, it is apparent that this team can easily keep throwing surprises (and wrenches) at Carol and the audience to keep the story going for a little while longer (it is already confirmed for a second season), and despite Carol’s deep unhappiness, that’d be more than welcome news.
Vince Gilligan is back, and TV is better for it.
“Pluribus” releases new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.