Is Pluribus Good? Spoiler-Free Review Of Apple’s Interesting New Sci-Fi Show

Pluribus, aka Plur1bus, is the new Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad creator) show on Apple TV+. I must admit, I hadn’t heard anything about this until it came out.

I saw it pop up on my Apple TV thing and read the premise. I was intrigued. I then saw it was by Vince Gilligan, and I was in.

I will try and avoid spoilers and only include stuff that is in the trailer and generally released blurb.

What’s Pluribus about?

In the first episode, aliens manage to infect humanity and turn us all into a hive mind. The memories of the infected people remain, as do their skills. This means we still have pilots and surgeons and so forth.

But not everyone is turned – some people are immune. Not many, and the number varies as new people are born or die, but we are talking just over a dozen or so.

The thing is, the aliens have taken over, but they are really, really nice. They will do anything you ask and don’t lie. And as the memories of a person who has joined the hive are still there, people still have feelings for loved ones.

This puts the survivors in something of a quandary. Some just go along with it because they have family, some hate the alien takeover because – well, the aliens have taken over – and some (specifically one that we see) just go on a shag fest. Because if you are uninfected and ask a hive-minded person to have sex, they will. Because they are nice.

Oh, and all war and conflict have ended, the environment has been saved, and, frankly, the world becomes a better place. Generally, the aliens are annoyingly chill. It is like the world has been taken over by well-organised hippies. However, there is also the threat that if you are immune and they find a way to convert you, they would.

The main characters

Pluribus stars Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, a romance novelist who becomes one of the few unassimilated survivors. Karolina Wydra plays Zosia, one of the hive-mind types who helps Carol come to terms with all the crap going on. Carlos-Manuel Vesga plays a guy called Manousos who is in South America, really hates the aliens, and is mega-paranoid. In contrast, a character called Mr Diabaté (Samba Schutte) really loves them – and by that, I mean literally – he has sex with tons of hot women and lives in Vegas.

There are other characters, but these are the main ones. Apparently Vince Gilligan wrote Pluribus with Rhea Seehorn in mind, and she is definitely perfect for the role. All the actors involved are superb.

Most of the main characters have pretty decent arcs and are well fleshed out. Except Mr Diabaté, who is a decent character, but he has hit a lifestyle he likes and doesn’t change much. You can’t really blame him. In reality, I would imagine well over half of all men would behave the same. (Not me, though, I am more enlightened and happily married.)

What I liked and didn’t like

Let me say from the outset – I really enjoyed Pluibus. The acting is top-notch, the premise is great, and the writing is high-quality.

The premise is one of those that makes you wonder how you would behave in a similar scenario. I would definitely be living in a luxury suite in a hotel in Thailand or Italy, overlooking the sea. Probably fighting urges not to be like Mr Diabaté. Which brings up something I wish were explored a little more. How does it work when your loved ones being part of the hive mind? This is touched on a little, but not much.

I’m married and would, in such a scenario, stay with my wife. (In Thailand or Italy.) I think others would too. To be fair, there is one character who is immune, has kids and a husband, and does just that. But how would you feel about someone when you know they are partly alien, and everything you do is shared with billions of others? It would certainly damage the intimacy. But of the main protagonists, we mostly see people who were friendless and unlikeable, so it doesn’t really come up. I would like that explored more.

The main complaint I have read is that it is quite slow. I kind of agree, but I don’t mind that. Breaking Bad also had some ludicrously slow moments, especially when Walter White was with his family. There are bits that I think could have been edited, but it really didn’t bother me all that much. I thought it is worth mentioning, because if you found Breaking Bad a bit of a slog, you will think the same thing here.

Final thoughts

As I said, I loved Pluribus. It is a great setup. I am not alone in liking it either, it has now become Apple’s most watched show, overtaking Severance (which is brilliant and you can read my review here) and Ted Lasso (not my cup of tea).

I would say that bodes well for series two being greenlit, but that actually happened when series one was approved. I have heard rumours that it might end up being a four or five season show, but I read that on Reddit, so who knows.

tl;dr – Watch Pluribus, it’s great.