Pluribus (“PLUR1BUS”) is a new Apple TV+ series from Vince Gilligan, the Breaking Bad guy. It stars Rhea Seehorn in a twist on the “last person on Earth” story. It looks like a winner!
The premise:
An RNA virus that originated from an extraterrestrial signal has transformed humanity into a permanently happy hive mind. (That gives the show plenty of opportunities for humor.) About a dozen people appear immune, but the hive mind seeks to assimilate them. Most of the immune group have decided to accept the situation, but a cranky novelist argues with the others, agitating for a cure. As of the end of episode two, she seems to stand alone in the world. The tagline: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.”
Part of the show’s genius is that the hero is not somebody we would normally relate to. She’s a super-Karen and a generally testy character. She really wants to speak to the manager, but there is no manager anywhere on Earth. That adds a layer of mystery into the series, since we don’t know at first exactly what is wrong with universal peace and happiness, and we initially like everyone else better than we like her.
I assume the show will eventually reveal some evil plot by the extra-terrestrials who sent the virus. But if Gilligan really wants to break away from the cliches, it would be the ultimate switcheroo if it turned out that the aliens are benevolent, that they just want Earth to be happy to prevent our combination of animal aggression and nuclear technology from creating a chain reaction that would destroy ourselves and the universe. That would mean that our hero, the person we are invested in, is actually our Thanos, and her success would mean the end of all existence.
(I don’t expect the show to be that clever.)
Two seasons have already been approved. Two episodes aired today, and a new episode is set to air every Friday through December 26. The show has some outstanding cult potential, ala Severance, as demonstrated by its cult-like 9.1 rating at IMDb. The show is rated 100% at RT, and 93% on the Popcorn Meter. It is rated 87/100 at Metacritic.
Karolina’s nudography.
She has done nudity before, but nothing significant since True Blood, 11 years ago.
2013 – True Blood – s6e10
2014 – True Blood – s7e1
2018 – Sneaky Pete – s1e2
2019 – A Score to Settle
Your theory of the aliens is pretty much the plot of Keith Laumer’s novel “The Monitors”, a satirical sci-fi story. The movie version of the book screwed up the ending and the alien’s movies so don’t go by that if you have seen it.
I guess that shows I could never be a sci-fi writer, or it could show that almost every idea has already been aired somewhere, and that true originality is so rare as to be nearly non-existent.
Anyway, I’m excited to see why the aliens sent us this virus.
And when they show up, how will we see them without Roddy Piper on our team?
Reading up a little bit, I see that Laumer and Rod Serling were both born in Syracuse, NY, only one year apart. I don’t know what that means.
I wonder if they ever crossed paths later on.
Looks like she has a little nude history: True Blood, some Nic Cage thing
On it
I need to watch this. And someone should remind Vince Gilligan that he’s on Apple TV+ now so it’d be OK to see Rhea Seehorn nude, too.
It would be a lot more than OK. I wonder if there’s a chance?
It doesn’t seem to be set up that way. Given that the rest of the world is part of the hive, their sense of shame or embarrassment about nudity is gone, which creates a great opportunity to get others naked.
But for Rhea – not so much.
But… but… Hear me out.
Series finalé: Rhea’s character joins the hive mind and she spends the rest of the episode frolicking naked.
Now THAT is good screenwriting!
The first two were pretty fun. I liked the start of part 2 where it shows the hive-mind in action. People are working together but totally silently, there no “lift on 3.One, two…”. They can read each other’s minds so they don’t need it.
I can’t picture where he’s taking this, but I trust Vince Gilligan that it’s somewhere good. Seeing Albuquerque shot by him is like running into an old friend.
I’ve been waiting for this since Saul ended and he said that he was working on something for Rhea. She put in one of the best acting performances I’ve seen.
Robbed of an Emmy
Lots to work with on this show. Can the uninfected breed and have resistant offspring? Can their blood be used to create an antigen? How does the hive distribute jobs with everyone knows how to do everything. Will the hive adapt to anger? Could you literally fuck yourself?