Pluribus review: Breaking Bad showrunner’s sci-fi takes on happiness

Pluribus
Vince Gilligan, Apple TV

If I asked you to name the best episode of a TV show (as I often ask my patient friends), you could do worse than choose “Ozymandias.” One of the last episodes of Break the badan extraordinary drama about a chemistry teacher who begins cooking meth after being diagnosed with cancer, it is a complete and unimpeachable triumph of writing, acting and directing.

Being part of a unique and perfect episode of a television show is a great legacy. Creation of two fantastic series – Break the bad and its sister show You better call Saul, that changed the landscape of the medium – is something else entirely. Suffice to say that Vince Gilligan, showrunner par excellence, does not have much to prove with Pluribushis new science fiction series for Apple TV.

Having seen the first six episodes of the nine-part season, I can say that it was made with the utmost confidence and doesn’t hold your hand through the twists and turns of its deceptively rich premise.

Carol (Rhea Seehorn, a veteran of You better call Saul) is the author of Winds of Wycaroa series of popular pirate-themed corsage books. Writing on her sinewy forearms and stiff mizzen masts has earned her a comfortable life, but she is not fulfilled. But there are worse things than creative malaise, as she is about to discover.

One evening, on a book tour with her agent and partner Helen (Miriam Shor), everyone around Carol stops in their tracks, then bursts into spasms. Once their seizures are over, they are very different. It turns out that Carol is one of the few people who isn’t affected. It’s unclear exactly what happened, but it likely had something to do with a mysterious radio signal first detected 439 days earlier. The base four pattern of the signal repeats every 78 seconds and is broadcast 600 light years away.

Carol is unaware of this, only that virtually everyone on the planet is elated, free from the petty gripes of humanity. What’s more, they will move heaven and earth to get her to join them.

I understand why they are so obsessed with Carol. She is glorious in her bad mood, even before she becomes the most miserable person on the planet. In fact, she reminded me of Paul Sheldon in Miseryheld prisoner by a seemingly benevolent fan – but in Carol’s case, she’s being watched by billions. Her peers will serve her tirelessly until they understand why she is different and how to fix it. Soon, Carol begins to learn the rules of her new reality, realizing that she is not as helpless as she might seem.

There are many satisfying ideas in Pluribus. Can a society become a utopia without the consent of its citizens? Is it still a utopia if only one person feels trapped? The most promising thing, beyond Seehorn’s stellar performance, is that it’s unabashedly character-driven, the kind of show that devotes half an episode to someone trying to bury a body. Nothing is rushed, but nothing is superfluous. He builds something, and when you expect him to zig, he zigs.

It says a lot that, even though I’ve seen most of the first season, I have no idea where Pluribus is heading. I imagine many viewers will be turned off by such uncertainty, and the leisurely pace of the series could also be divisive. But I found it fascinating Pluribus doesn’t hit any of the obvious notes of a big-budget sci-fi series.

With a second season guaranteed, I’m confident it will produce its own “Ozymandias”, once it gains momentum.

Bethan also recommends…

Break the bad
Vince Giligan

If you need convincing of Vince Gilligan’s credentials, watch his early masterpiece. The story of a chemistry teacher who turns to cooking meth. It’s a tragedy in five acts and a character study of one of television’s greatest antiheroes.

Stranger
Adapted by Ronald D. Moore

There is a great moment in Pluribus where a character rearranges a bookstore so that their partner’s books are more visible. Diana Gabaldon Stranger the series can be found on a bottom shelf. I can’t speak for the books, but the TV adaptation is swoon-worthy.

Bethan Ackerley is sub-editor at New scientist. She loves sci-fi, sitcoms and anything scary. Follow her on X @inkerley