“I’ve seen this movie. We’ve all seen this movie and we know that it does not end well”

The months-long tick-tocking clock counting down to the debut of Vince Gilligan’s first trek outside the Breaking Bad Universe in two decades is a perfect metaphor for my life in television purgatory since Better Call Saul closed shop more than three years ago.

After being one of the most hyped series in television history, the greatest showrunner on the planet returns with Pluribus, a sci-fi genre bending mystery starring one of the best but somehow most unappreciated actresses in Hollywood, Rhea Seehorn.

Pluribus follows a post-apocalyptic alien takeover of planet earth by a creed of friendly and seemingly harmless extraterrestrials.

In the lead-up to its release, Gilligan spoke at length about no longer wanting to pen anti-heroes, but instead good old fashioned good guys you can cheer for guilt free

Enter Rhea Seehorn’s Carol. A successful romance novel writer in a loving relationship with surefire character flaws, but a reasonable every-woman with what appears to be a pretty understandable conscience.

Carol’s interactions with the alien force are uncomfortable and feel more like the inner monologue wanderings of a nervous, lonely soul. She interacts with it with empathy and kindness. The one she even seems to like doesn’t have a name. She just calls it “pirate lady,” but as patience wane so does her tolerance.

There’s something about the picturesque quaintness of Gilligan’s Albuquerque neighborhoods that just feel like home. You’re half expecting to see Skyler White emerge from a pool or a Venizia’s pizza slide off a roof. The landscape acts less of a canvass and more of an ostentatious memory of euphoria’s past; a pretty cool illusion given the story is told from the perspective of a last-woman-on-earth survival guide 

Gilligan is nothing if he isn’t the master of every sensory. The series second episode doesn’t see a single word of dialogue until the 13:19 mark but it beautifully tells the tale of literally everything happening on planet earth.

It remains to be seen exactly what it is that Carol is fighting against but my wife almost immediately pointed out it likely could be an allegory for a society completely addicted to plug in devices. Communication in Pluribus feels no longer interpersonal. It’s generic and reeks of a behind the cell phone glow with an overtone of ChatGPT eloquence. 

Both episodes of Pluribus are A+ quality. Rhea Seehorn is as incredible as expected, and it’s obvious that television’s next great thing has arrived in epic fashion

It’s going to surprise no one, but it gets my full, unabashed stamp of approval. I’ll almost certainly watch both episodes again this weekend.

Run, don’t walk.

Pluribus is finally here. What an unconditionally perfect happy day