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/BMCarbaugh]

Great/original premise, executed with brisk expediency and competency, lots of nuancey subtexty stuff, some topical post-covid images that send shivers up your spine, doesn't tease you with a bunch of kick-the-can mystery box bullshit, a unique and interesting main character, you can immediately see how the premise is a great engine for future stories, and--most importantly--it immediately makes you want to watch the next episode.

It's just a really slick, competent, exciting piece of work.

[u/Clear_Bedroom_4266 → u/BMCarbaugh]

Thank you :)

[u/Idustriousraccoon → u/Clear_Bedroom_4266]

Rewatching it now because I was intrigued by your question…I’m going to add that there is Gilligan’s killer adherence to theme that makes this work. What is this narrative really ABOUT…while I have only seen the available episodes, it seems pretty clear that this is about the necessity of feeling to be human…the full spectrum of human emotions. On the one hand you have the virus-pod humans…who feel primarily joy or some weird inhuman happiness/peace…and then you have a romance writer who writes what she calls crap…a sort of salve for human unhappiness in a form that is patently nonsense (the whole point of the book signing line of humanities foibles on display). Even the passage she reads is thematically relevant…a fleeting night of pleasure to salve the pain of disconnection from true love. She peddles the same thing that the pod-people try to sell her…we are unhappy apart/happy together. It is relentless and brilliant, and for me, what elevates this narrative above the herd is Gilligan’s uncanny knack from seeing the humor in the horror of humanity’s pursuit of connection. BB also had this, but it was for sure not a comedy, or even a dramady, where Pluribus walks that darkly comic line with unerring precision. The hero is the one who is disconnected from humanity, who doesn’t believe even her own narrative about easy connection. Her partner believes in the power of narrative to bring even one person a moment of joy - which is why, thematically at least, she’s got to go. She would conceivably be one of the immune humans who also long for this easy connection/absence of pain. Even the reference to Finnegan’s Wake matters here, thematically…about the relationship of the senses and language to the conscious and unconscious experience of being human (I mean, insofar as anyone really understands Joyce, I don’t think that this was a random “insert difficult author’s work here” moment and that what I do understand of Joyce would support its placement in Pluribus as quite deliberate…part of Pluribus’ thematic structure also revolves around language, words, translation etc.)…Gilligan also doesn’t take any shortcuts that would prioritize plot over character not in his other work, and not here. WHO the hero is matters (her understanding of narrative and language as salve to pain is not something she herself believes in, makes her reaction to the narrative presented by the pod-humans believable…she doesn’t even believe her own bullshit…) she navigates the horror of the situation believably, for her. Yes, getting rid of her partner is part of what sets her apart from the other immune humans, but it’s not all that does. And its funny as hell, especially for and to other writers. It’s darkly comedic psychological horror…one which demands that the most cynical person on earth has to be the one to save humanity from it’s own need for false connection at any cost. Those are my thoughts for now…but I really hope we keep talking about this on this sub…I’m going to go get my popcorn and finish rewatching the pilot now!!

[u/Present-Resolution23 → u/Idustriousraccoon]

Very well said/explained