Saul gone?
No, it's not all gone. We have Pluribus, now.
Pluribus is turning out to be an extraordinary show due to the trademark slow burn narrative style of creator Vince Gilligan. The world experienced this with BB and even more with BCS, however Pluribus seems to be on a hyper slow burn mode. It's taking forever to reveal things and I think that's the whole point of watching a TV series. I love the way Rhea Seehorn put it one of her interviews, when asked about what kind of show is Pluribus? She said "It's lean-forward television and not lean-backward television". That's exactly what Pluribus is.
Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico the series centers on author Carol Sturka, who is one of only 13 people in the world immune to the effects of "the Joining". This event, caused by an extraterrestrial virus, has transformed the rest of humanity into a peaceful and content hive mind known as "the Others", who consistently accommodate the wishes of those who remain unaffected. (Wikipedia)
The story's premise opens up vast creative possibilities for the writers, directors, and the actors. This series is a blend of post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, dark comedy, mystery, and thriller genres. There are three big questions that need to be answered. What happens to these 13 people? Can Carol find a way to change the world to what it was earlier? What's the purpose of the hive mind?
The show begins with the joining of the hive mind and Carol losing her partner. Her entire world is literally over, all is lost, everything turns upside down, and she is the most frustrated, depressed, and lonely soul on the planet. She is living through hell, as she grieves her loss, and at the same she is forced to accustom herself to a new world of "we" and "us". The first-person singular pronoun doesn't exist any more. No more "I" except for 13 people located in various parts of the world. In the US, it's only Carol.
There's only the collective now, everyone knows everyone on the planet and the hive mind has one collective mind or a world mind, if you want to put it that way (U.G. Krishnamurti spoke about the world mind several times. Well, it's not exactly similar, however there are some parallels. I might be digressing here, however it's only an interpretation) I think the show creators are making a point, as this subject is of utmost importance in our current times of rapid AI rise, uncertainty being the order of the day, AI based thinking, sloppy and greedy ambition of silicon valley, and where people are on the the verge of losing their critical reasoning, creative thinking and natural learning abilities. It's the perfect theme for our times. Pluribus shows a note in credits, which says "This show was made by humans".
We're in S1 E6, and only Carol seems to be worried about changing the world, safeguarding her individuality and resisting the hive mind. Only 11 individuals are seeing the brighter side of the joining. Apart from Carol, there's one gentleman in Paraguay who seems to be paranoid at a different level than Carol and is yet to experience what the hive mind has to offer.
I have many questions about how money would work, and what about all the jobs of billions of people around the world? So far, we have only seen how they share resources, consume food, end of the arms race, no wars, zero crime, irrelevance of correctional facilities and prisons, police and armed forces. I think we'll see more of what such a world would look like in upcoming episodes. What about all the schools, universities, and other public resources? Will they turn into housing complexes or storage facilities? How does the economy even run? How do they manage feeding everyone?
What about money? Are all resources shared equally amongst the hive mind? I wonder, because people are still continuing in their existing work clothes and doing tasks of the collective. Now anyone can fly planes, perform surgeries, do scientific research, and do anything the other can do in the hive mind, as it's all shared knowledge and experiences now. However, everyone is still in their pre-joining wardrobe and it's quite amusing. We're yet to see what the hive mind can and can't do. So far, it's been established that they can't lie, they don't fight, and they all think as one mind telepathically or whatever. What about love and procreation? Lots of questions.
I'm already seeing a lot of subtle similarities with BCS. In E6, Carol turns investigator, and there's a warehouse footage recording scene which is similar to the laundromat basement scene where Lalo Salamanca investigates and tapes his findings. Also the peeking and jumping into the dumpster shot is similar to what we have seen with Jimmy at Sandpiper retirement homes in BCS. I thinks it's quite clever and an intentional writing and directing choice to connect with the cult following of earlier shows.
After the initial episodes, I'm also starting to see lots of inanimate object point of view shots, similar to the creator's earlier works. Vince is known to capture the movement of inanimate objects and make them come alive through interesting framing of shots. He never loses an opportunity to pour life into the workings of inanimate objects like wheels, carts, appliances, escalators, elevators, etc. These objects are part of the character's environment and we see their point of view in the isolated world of the character.
Another observation is the interesting choice of Carol's house in Albuquerque, located high above sea level, at a point where she has a good view of the city. She's literally lonely on the top. It also feels like a mini fort, probably signalling a war between her and the hive mind. The yellow branding of the show is obvious for happiness and why it's not the answer to everything. The yellow costumes in the first episode (Carol's leather jacket) was quite the choice.
So far, the show has been a fantastic journey, except for one inconsistency. The hive mind is ready to do anything for Carol and the 12 others. However, when Carol pushes the limits, they move away from Carol, deserting her in Albuquerque. She is unhappy about it and they don't really care now? Well, they are available on the phone, however they have clearly hurt her feelings, which is against their mission. Probably we'll connect the dots and reason with this in later episodes. This series has immense creative possibilities as anything and everything is possible in such a refreshing story.
Excited to find answers to the three big questions. What happens to the 13 people? Can Carol save the world? What's the hive mind's future plan? I see great potential in Pluribus and I sense this might turn out to be one of the greatest TV shows the world has ever seen.
Originally published on LinkedIn on December 7, 2025