Need an account? Print subscribers If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one. Non-subscribers Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber. Register to post events If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here . Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content. ‘Pluribus’ explores human identity, existential angst through sci-fi lens Rhea Seehorn seeks help from a human race that’s about to become far too helpful in “Pluribus” on Apple TV+. Courtesy photo Wednesday, November 12, 2025 3:00 am By Kirk Boxleitner What if the human race as we know it became all but extinct, replaced by something extremely alien to what we are now, and the whole world got better as a result? If you were one of the last remaining humans, what would you do? “Pluribus” (stylized as “PLUR1BUS”) on Apple TV+ gives Vince Gilligan — creator of “Breaking Bad,” co-creator of “Better Call Saul,” and the writer, director and producer of “El Camino” — room to explore this premise, which evokes many of the same angsts as “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the zombie genre. Similar to the 1995 film “Species,” the action in “Pluribus” kicks off when astronomers receive an extraterrestrial transmission, with instructions for creating a specific genetic sequence, one that inevitably escapes the confines of its containment to infect humans. What’s interesting about this virus is that, while its blueprint is alien in origin, all the raw materials for its composition come from right here on planet Earth. Likewise, although this virus joins all the humans it infects in a hive mind, there’s no alien intelligence directing them. All the linked humans retain the knowledge, memories and even emotions they possessed as individuals, but every other member of their hive mind now shares the contents of their heads. When “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was remade the first time, in 1978, it weaponized Leonard Nimoy’s presence in its cast to hammer home the idea that the end of hate would also mean the end of love, and passion of any kind, but what’s fascinating about “Pluribus” is that its hive mind of humanity is driven by genuine compassion. Not only is there no crime, war or bigotry within the hive mind of humanity, but they’ve released all the animals that were in zoos, even as this resulted in a number of humans getting injured or killed, and they can’t even bring themselves to take an animal’s life for a meal, although once an animal is dead, they have no qualms about preparing and eating it. This makes sense when you realize that, for a hive mind made up of billions of humans to be able to function, it must be fundamentally optimistic and conflict-averse. And this is one of the biggest problems plaguing our protagonist, Carol Sturka, a burned-out fantasy romance novelist played by Rhea Seehorn, with whom Gilligan worked on “Better Call Saul,” because Carol is one of roughly a dozen human beings on the planet who’s immune to the hive mind virus. Carol lost her life partner during the infection wave, and while the hive mind of humanity has informed her that they’re working on a way to “cure” her immunity to the virus, so she can join their collective, in the meantime, they are infuriatingly acquiescent to her requests, allowing her to do whatever, and go wherever, she might wish. Even when the collective intrudes upon Carol’s privacy, it’s only out of concern for her health and well-being, or to offer easier, more efficient ways to carry out whatever tasks she’s chosen. I’m not the first reviewer to point out that “Pluribus” presents a profound metaphor for suicidal depression, because Carol resents everyone around her for being so earnestly motivated to comfort her, and make her feel better. This, in turn, feeds her guilt, thereby making her wish all the more that she could remove herself from an existence she finds so miserable. The collective’s compassion becomes nightmarish when Carol learns, the hard way, that losing her temper with any human who’s part of the hive mind will cause every human who’s part of the hive mind to lapse into uncontrollable seizures for several minutes, all at the same time, regardless of what they were doing at the time. This is another brilliant parallel with real-world depression, because when you’re depressed, and others try to help you out of your depression, you recognize that you’re hurting their feelings, simply by being unwell. This can lead to a doom spiral of self-loathing, that many depressed people seek to mitigate by putting on a false front for those around them, to avoid inflicting their depression upon others. In Carol’s case, the consequences of not politely masking are immediate, global and horrific. I’ve probably made this show sound like a bummer, but so far, it seems endlessly compelling, especially since it’s being helmed by Gilligan, who was a crackerjack writer, director and producer of several episodes of “The X-Files,” so he knows how to explore science fiction. Other items that may interest you Source: http://www.ptleader.com/stories/pluribus-explores-human-identity-existential-angst-through-sci-fi-lens,236002