‘Pluribus’ Season 1 Review: A Fancy Character-Study

Vince Gilligan is perhaps the most noteworthy showrunner since the existence of the role, which by description dates back to sometime in the late 70s, but the term itself wasn’t first used until the early 90s. Before the 70s, TV shows were studio-controlled, which meant almost all the writers were contract workers who had no say in the overall vision of the show. There were exceptions, such as Rod Serling with Twilight Zone, who had the freedom to not only create and host the show but also have the power to have control over the stories told—most of which are ones he wrote or co-wrote himself. Read our Pluribus review below.

The Twilight Zone is a clear influence for Pluribus, as Vince Gilligan admits himself, even citing that he based the name of protagonist Carol Sturka on a character named Will Sturka from Season 1, “Third from the Sun,” of the show. The first time we ever heard about the show was when Apple won the bid to air it, and the show was described as being “compared to The Twilight Zone.”

The pilot of Pluribus even feels like a modern-day The Twilight Zone would look if given an astronomical budget. It feels like all the goodwill Vince has from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul has rolled the red carpet for Vince to do something that’s such a vast departure from his earlier shows while still having elements of what made them the fantastic shows they were.

Pluribus begins with a pair of scientists discovering an extraterrestrial radio signal from 600 million light-years away that they decode. A year and a half later we find that the re-created code within is being tested on animals, which then subsequently leads to the spread of the virus to all of humanity.

Pluribus follows Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), the author of a popular romantasy book series, who’s dissatisfied with the complacency of her own work as she caters to, in her own words, “a bunch of dummies.” Her life is flipped upside down when suddenly everyone around her starts to turn. Eventually almost every single human have their mind all melded together to create a hive mind. Some humans—including Carol’s wife, Helen pass away during the transition, while there are 13 who are immune to the virus—one of them being Carol.

The show’s first episode is absolutely insane by every metric. There hasn’t been a pilot that immersive and well-done since, arguably, Fargo or, going back further, Lost. A major aspect in that is how well it’s directed by Vince Gilligan himself. In every way Pluribus feels like Vince was given a blank check, and the pilot itself reflects that wonderfully. The set pieces masterfully capture the chaos of “the turning” with Carol front and center, which makes it all the more impressive. Every shot and frame feels deeply in service of Carol as a character and her reaction rather than purely showcasing the scale of the event.

There’s a lot of plot movement in the first episode, which made the subsequent slow-down in that department more jarring for some. I didn’t really find that to be an issue. I thought it was a wonderful character study paced to do exactly that. It helps that Rhea Seehorn gives a brilliant performance as the character—if she wasn’t on her A+ game the entire time, this show wouldn’t work in the slightest.

Carol Sturka is a fascinating character not only because she’s advertised as the most miserable person on earth but also because the show makes it clear at every step that she was like this before the joining. She’s had a lot of the same issues—her attitude and her alcoholism mixed with her displeasure of her work and life, all of which is now purely exacerbated by the loss of Helen and the world itself. What makes Carol so fascinating is we may not agree with everything she does but hell, we’d all want to be fighting the same fight to bring back the world as it was.

The one issue I did have with the characters is just the function of the Hive. Looking back at a lot of shows that function as character pieces, they usually end up focusing on a large variety of characters which Pluribus lacks due to the way the story unfolds. For most of the show we focus only really on Carol and the Hive. Everyone else is in and out, and even one of the other survivors, Manuosos, despite being what is essentially the second most important character to the show is barely present for most of it. The Hive is very singular by design, and there’s only so much exploration that can be done, so in some ways the show feels empty in that regard, especially compared to previous Vince Gilligan shows. I do wish the show was more expansive with its characters at times.

What the Hive does end up giving the show, however, are some very unique set pieces. There are moments where they come in and steal the show with their uniformity. Hell, even the smaller moments when Carol interacts with a random member of the Hive in a simple conversation are where the show is at its best with its dry humor.

What helps make the show so compelling for me is how well made the show is. There is rarely ever a dull moment in that department. In particular there are some wonderful and beautiful scenes that make it feel like it has the best visuals on TV. There’s a montage of sorts in one of the later episodes that absolutely perfect not only because it captures the nature it shoots so well but also because it is able to make it about the character, which in this case is Manuosos. We learn so much about him through the journey and moments like that are what make the show so good.

What I love so much about Pluribus is that it feels like something I’ve never seen before. Not just on TV but in media in general. Some moments create a feeling I’ve never felt watching any other media, which is the biggest compliment I can give it. It’s far from perfect in some respects, but it sets out to do what it does very well. There are moments that feel like they could’ve been more impactful or had a larger focus, but I’m happy with what we’ve received, and I’m even more hopeful for what is coming in Season 2.

Pluribus Season 1 starred Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, Carlos-Manuel Vesga as Manousos Oviedo, and Karolina Wydra as Zosia.

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