Pluribus
English - SciFi/Drama9 Episodes ~ 45 minsApple TV
Apple TV has quietly emerged as the HBO of this generation. It's original films have had a slower growth trajectory, despite an Academy Award for Best Picture with CODA and the recent summer blockbuster F1, it is the platform’s television slate that tells a very different story. Apple has curated one of the most diverse and solid series libraries across genres.
It must be said that their Sci Fi catalogue, in particular, operates at another level altogether, with Foundation, Severance, Silo being some of their stand outs.
When Vince Gilligan—the creative force behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul—reunites with Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler in BCS), expectations were understandably high. The early promotional material for Pluribus revealed almost nothing.
Just when one begins to think that a premise as audacious as Severance might be difficult to surpass, Pluribus arrives with an idea that is equally unsettling. The pilot episode is among the finest hours of TV.
The series posits a mysterious virus unleashed upon Earth, by an alien species. Rather than destruction, the virus induces a state of perpetual happiness across the planet. Humanity becomes uniformly content, fulfilled and always smiling.
Except for a handful of people across the world, who remain unaffected.
Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), a semi-successful writer, is one of these unlucky—or perhaps fortunate—few. The world around her has changed irrevocably. She loses someone close to her, which only deepens her bitterness. Everyone else is happy, and more disturbingly, everyone has become a singular one, desperately invested in ensuring that Carol is happy.
The rest of the season’s eight episodes follow Carol as she navigates this new normal, quietly but stubbornly fighting for her right to free will, while also attempting to figure out how to save the world from this virally induced bliss.
She tries to make contact with the remaining unaffected individuals, each of whom is dealing with the situation in very different ways. One is thoroughly enjoying the “good life,” flying on Air Force One and living in Elvis’s suite in Las Vegas. Another, Manoussos (Carlos Manuel Vesga), appears ideologically aligned with Carol. He is self-righteous to an almost comical degree, living in isolation and refusing any of the niceties "they" offer.
When he receives a video message from Carol, he travels all the way from South America in the hope of finding an ally, this is where Season One ends.
Vince Gilligan has already said that the story is intended to unfold over at least three or four seasons. Clearly, it takes its time. In all honesty, there was only one episode that felt inert. Otherwise the show is extremely engrossing, because you just wonder to what extent "they" would go to win Carol's acceptance, while trying make her one among them.
The early episodes focus entirely on Rhea Seehorn’s reactions to what feels like a "Cast Away"ish psychological isolation. She is phenomenal. Karolina Wydra, as Zosia, Carol’s designated chaperone is also very good. She convey genuine empathy while simultaneously serving as a persuasive ambassador for “them.”
Fans of BB and BCS will immediately recognise the geography of Albuquerque. There are detours into Las Vegas and other desolate North American landscapes, alongside stretches set in the jungles of South America. The cinematography is striking and the series is visually beautiful throughout.
If you prefer fast pacing and require constant narrative propulsion, Pluribus may test your patience. But if, like me, you trust Vince Gilligan and are captivated by Rhea Seehorn's performance, this is a journey worth committing to. I am very much looking forward to the next season.
Be nice - No spamming in comments