Bizarre Inquiries We're Eager for Pluribus to Address

Warning: light spoilers for Pluribus Season 1.

Vince Gilligan's latest venture, the Apple TV sci-fi series Pluribus, has quickly become a standout hit. As the first season progresses, viewers are left with some bizarre questions that they hope will be clarified before the finale. Here's a closer look at what makes this series so intriguing.

The show features Rhea Seehorn, known from Better Call Saul, in the role of Carol Sturka, a renowned author who suddenly finds herself as the sole "survivor" after a global event merges the rest of humanity into a collective hive mind. Carol faces the daunting task of preserving individuality in a world where everyone else shares thoughts and abilities. Remarkably, the children inherit knowledge Carol once only shared privately, and ordinary people suddenly gain skills like flying airplanes, inherited through the hive mind. Amid this, Carol is the only person who truly grasps the dangers of this collective consciousness.

Bizarre Questions Awaiting Answers

Fans are left pondering some truly strange scenarios. For instance, what happened to pets during the mass transformation? The hive mind originated through saliva, which raises questions: are animals affected? Do they remain under control, or did they simply vanish? Despite Carol and others roaming the world extensively, there are no abandoned cats or dogs visible, leaving fans wondering about the fate of Fido and Fluffy.

Another perplexing issue involves intimacy within the hive mind. Can humans share sensual experiences collectively? Early episodes explore this quandary when Samba Schutte's character, Koumba Diabat, opts for a hedonistic lifestyle and requests Carol's permission to take a hive mind representative as a lover. Since the hive mind seems to share experiences, such as collapsing emotionally when Carol becomes angry at a single individual, the nature of desire and consent becomes a complicated and eerie subject.

Even more unsettling is the question of childhood within the hive mind. Are children born with the combined knowledge of humanity? How does traditional learning or artistic expression function in a world where all minds are interconnected? Can creativity maintain its uniqueness, or is it universally homogenized? And what about dreaming how does an individual mind experience dreams when part of a collective consciousness?

These unusual questions highlight Vince Gilligans exceptional skill in crafting a detailed and thought-provoking world. Pluribus continues to release new episodes on Fridays, with Season 1 set to conclude on December 26.

Author: Zoe Harrison