Vince Gilligan’s Return to Television Is Slow But Involving, Original, and Philosophical Science Fiction

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When Vince Gilligan, creator of one of the best shows ever (or maybe THE best show ever) with “Breaking Bad,” and then maybe the best spin-off ever (and some folks think ALSO one of the best shows ever) “Better Call Saul,” announced that he was going to make a new show, I was PSYCHED. THEN they announced his next project would go back to his sci-fi, “X-Files” roots, and I was EVEN MORE psyched. THEN they announced that “Twilight Zone” would serve as a major inspiration. At that point, I just kinda sorta shit myself. 

 

But no matter what my expectations were, “Pluribus” turned them on its head, and was far more strange, deliberate, original, and unpredictable than I thought it’d be. 

 

The premise itself definitely has some famous sci-fi inspirations, such as "Twilight Zone” and especially “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” but from there, “Pluribus” resoundingly does its own thing, as it follows grumpy author Carol Sturka as one of only a handful of humans left in the world not infected by an extraterrestrial, but not necessarily malevolent, hive mind. 

 

“Better Call Saul” vet Rhea Seehorn plays Sturka, and she is just fucking awesome, a comic curmudgeon occasionally yielding to veiled vulnerability. And the world that Gilligan throws her into is just so impressive, as he gives his chummy alien invaders a fascinating and detailed mythology that’s still plenty entertaining and easy to follow, and also allows for some seriously creative, and gorgeously shot, sequences that definitely need to be seen instead of me spoiling them for you here. 

 

But maybe the real prize of “Pluribus” is how thoughtful it is in the midst of all of the amazing cinematography, world building, and acting. Like all of the best science fiction, the show uses the fantastic to explore different philosophical, moral, and existential questions. In this case, its questions about community, conformity, individualism, the value of living with pain vs the paradise of a utopia. I've written a fat ass review about it, but could really write a whole paper if I wanted to, but I’ll spare you. 

 

“Pluribus” takes its time with all of this, and occasionally is frustratingly slow and maybe a little too deliberate. But wouldn’t you rather have a show that takes its time to build something original, with something important to say, than just get mind-numbingly entertained? Personally, I would.