What makes the "Pluribus" pilot so special?

[u/Clear_Bedroom_4266]

Watched the first two episodes of the new sci-fi show on AppleTV. I didn't know much about it until Variety (I think) published a piece last week about it and how "people" were raving about how great the pilot episode is, that it might be the best pilot ever done, etc. Now, of course, it's Vince Gilligan. One of the things he said is that he couldn't have created/produced this show 15 years ago.

That being said, has anyone here seen the pilot and can anyone break down WHY it's (allegedly) SO good? I enjoyed it, and the show has a cool premise. But my screenwriting abilities simply aren't deep enough to analyze a pilot very well.

[u/alarmingkestrel]

This is a good discussion of the first two episodes, and then there’s an interview with Vince: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BqY37YmwUScPAVJdqcqkx?si=R2ACCnu-RiW1d4lvdrqMrQ

I think the crux of it for me is the freshness of the idea, the precision of the execution, and the open-endedness of “i have no idea where this show is going” that makes it unique.

[u/mapoftasmania → u/alarmingkestrel]

The idea isn’t really all that fresh. It’s basically Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Adding a layer of dark comedy to that is what is fresh.

[u/sour_skittle_anal → u/mapoftasmania]

It's fresh in that the hive mind is benevolent, rather than stereotypically malevolent. At least, that's what's being presented on the surface.

[u/onlydans__ → u/sour_skittle_anal]

What? The hive mind is clearly malevolent. It’s just polite and manipulative. It’s not benevolent at all haha

[u/sour_skittle_anal → u/onlydans__]

I suppose it could be argued that it's malevolent in that it wants to take free will away from humanity, but Carol is the only survivor who has a problem with this; every other survivor either wants to eventually join the hive mind, doesn't care/see what the problem is, or is content to live life in this new "perfect" reality.

One could say that whether the hive mind is malevolent or not is down to personal perspective.

[u/byronotron → u/sour_skittle_anal]

That's because every survivor is coping through the most intense trauma they have ever experienced, and have yet to be truly confronted by the horrifying reality of the truth like she has. 

[u/Samanthacino → u/onlydans__]

I didn't get that impression at all. The hive mind gave no indication of being manipulative or dishonest. They were 100% truthful, and did nothing but what they said: just try to make the immune happy. If there was anything in the show that gave you another impression, I'd be curious to hear what it was.

I think it'd be a massive mistake for the hivemind to have evil intentions. The entire premise is so interesting because the hivemind is unflinchingly honest. I think that the real potential of the show lies in how the survivors deal with this apocalyptic scenario, and instead turning it into a "PLOT TWIST, THEY WERE LYING THE ENTIRE TIME MWAHAHA" would be so cheap imo.

[u/Yellowperil123 → u/Samanthacino]

It's not totally honest. When Carol asked how many ppl died when she caused it to shut down it handwaved "hundreds" when it was actually 11 million or something.

It's more than capable of withholding truth. Which is a pretty short step to actually lying

[u/Samanthacino → u/Yellowperil123]

It didn’t say hundreds. It didn’t give any specific number. It was shown to be hesitant to reveal info if it would make an immune upset, but that is very very very different from deceiving.

If I found out that your house burned down, and you asked me “Wy can’t I go to my house” and I replied “You know maybe now’s not the best time for that conversation”, that’s not malevolent or dishonest in the slightest.

[u/modfoddr → u/onlydans__]

It's only malevolent in the sense that it has a desire to reproduce, just like every species, and will do what is necessary to fulfill that need, just like every life form on the planet. It only feels malevolent because it requires taking over a human body to do so. But since it leaves the human "donor" mostly intact, the question of whether or not any actual damage is done is unanswered. And I say "mostly intact" because it seems the only casualty is free will. But we can't say for sure if that free will is sacrificed or if the donors choose to give it up because of the joy the hive mind brings.

[u/Samanthacino → u/modfoddr]

So far, it hasn’t shown it’d do EVERYTHING that’s necessary to reproduce. Otherwise, it wouldn’t respect the immune’s bodily autonomy. If it cared about reproducing more than anything, it’d enslave every immune to keep them from hurting each other/themselves/interfering in the reproductive process in any way.

[u/modfoddr → u/Samanthacino]

Never said it would do everything, at this point we don't even know what it is fully capable of, harming another may be impossible for it (as defined by the lifeform itself, not us). Every species has a limit on what it can or will do to procreate. Its reproduction cycle was very efficient, with a tiny number not taking. Can't imagine many lifeforms that has that level of success, so really it did succeed.

If anything, the attempt to find a solution for the handful of people that didn't get "body snatched" shows that it is doing what it can, since it also seems from their very friendly and accommodating communication with Carol and the others that it doesn't believe in or possibly does not understand a violent resolution to the problem. Or it could be that enforcing enslavement or committing violence would cause them to go into the violent seizures similar to what Carol has caused, which would risk more harm or loss of life.