The series "Pluribus" — the most wrong post-apocalypse or something more? We talk about a bold thought experiment on TV

Carol Sturka, who lost everything but her own individuality in a utopian end of the world, is ready to fight for the return of her flawed, broken world. Still from the series

It would seem that everything has already been said about the end of the world in cinema. We've seen nuclear wastelands, zombie invasions, and climate catastrophes. But Vince Gilligan radically rejects both familiar genre tropes and his own images of a criminal world full of dust, violence, and moral decay. Instead, he offers the opposite: a sterile paradise of collective mind, where the apocalypse is filled with kindness, care, love, and compassion.

The series "Pluribus", whose final episode symbolically premiered on Apple TV+ on Catholic Christmas, December 24, 2025, refers in its title to the Latin motto on the Great Seal of the United States "E pluribus unum" — "Out of many, one."

This story questions the main value of Western culture — individualism.

What if the end of the world is not about death, but about absolute, infinite, forced happiness? Is it worth trying to destroy universal paradise for all humanity, if you personally remain unhappy in it?

Twelve Apostles in Reverse

The main character, Carol Sturka, brilliantly played by "Better Call Saul" star Rhea Seehorn, is a writer. She writes mediocre romantic fantasy called "The Winds of Waikara," has a loyal fan base, but deep down considers herself and her work absolutely worthless. She dreams of creating something real, but cannot escape the vicious cycle of commercial success of her "gum."

Sturka is the embodiment of modern intellectual cynicism: perpetually dissatisfied, gloomy, she seems physically incapable of enjoying life, even when she is with her wife and manager Helen (Miriam Shor).

Павялічыць

Carol, even with her wife Helen, seems physically incapable of enjoying life. But she knows how to love. Still from the series

It is such a person who is among a dozen people on the planet — a kind of 12 apostles in reverse — who were not touched by "The Joining."

An unknown extraterrestrial virus, which came from space as a signal, rewrote the consciousness of all humanity, erasing the boundary between "I" and "we." In an instant, wars, hunger, inequality, and loneliness disappeared. People became "The Others" — a single organism with, as it is called in science fiction, a collective gestalt consciousness, existing in a state of permanent euphoria and agreement.

Павялічыць

At first, "They" contact Carol through television, choosing the most representative individual who survived "The Joining." Millions of people, including Carol's wife, did not survive this transformation. Still from the series

For Carol, this "salvation" became a personal hell. During the transformation, her wife Helen died, the only close person who was her support. And while the world around her merged in an ecstasy of unity, Carol is left alone with her grief, anguish, and confusion. But instead of breaking, she transforms her pain into a driving force of resistance.

The Dictate of Kindness

Unlike the recent series "The Three-Body Problem," where an alien intelligence was also perceived by some people as salvation from human incompetence, in "Pluribus" there is no usual division into "ours" and "invaders."

Павялічыць

Carol Sturka remains in absolute solitude in the new world. Still from the series

Gilligan's "Others" are not colonizers or racists, but consistent humanists and pacifists. They cannot cause any harm to a living creature: neither to "apostates," nor to insects, nor even to plants — this is both their strength and their curse.

Sincere and harmless, they die by the millions even from the slightest aggression directed at them.

They live in a happy communist utopia, where every individual is part of one whole, where there is no violence or inequality, where everyone is satisfied, where there is no consumption beyond what is necessary. The streets, shops, restaurants, museums are empty, the lights in cities have gone out, animals are set free, and everything necessary is delivered smoothly and distributed equally.

But physically, "They" are still human. And it is for the return of their individuality, of her familiar broken, unjust world, that Sturka is ready to fight. However, against her selfish plans arise the boundless love and care of "Them."

Павялічыць

The whole world lies at Carol's feet — she can have anything she wants. But with this "wrong" world of kindness and understanding, she is unable to come to terms. Still from the series

The collective mind is ready to fulfill any request: organize a theater of normal life to create an illusion of normalcy, provide a presidential airliner, bring an original work of art from any vault, and even deliver a hand grenade.

"We" physically cannot lie, and this makes dialogues with them surreal.

Sturka cynically uses this to understand how to turn the world back.

Personal Paradise

Despite the general meekness of "The Others," which sometimes borders on idiocy, they possess a powerful weapon — omniscience. They have seen Carol through the thousands of eyes of people who were close to her throughout her life, including the eyes of her beloved Helen. They know all their shared secrets. They are capable of creating a personal paradise and an irresistible temptation for Carol.

Павялічыць

Is the heroine capable of resisting when a "Trojan horse" appears at her gates — the woman of her dreams, who loves her unconditionally no matter what? Still from the series

Such a temptation becomes Zosia (Polish actress Karolina Wydra). She is specially sent from the other side of the world on the first flight to become a comfort for Sturka and a guide to "The Joining."

"Their" gift is insidious: Zosia knows everything about Carol that her deceased wife knew — her secret desires, fears, literary tastes. Moreover, Zosia is the embodiment of Sturka's literary dream, a copy of the heroine whom the writer, for reasons of better sales, was once forced to replace with a male character in her books. It is impossible not to fall in love with Zosia.

Павялічыць

Carol and her companion Zosia. Still from the series

Carol feels an internal resistance to such an arrogant invasion of her soul, her memory and sorrow, but she cannot reject "their" gift.

Satire on the "Golden Billion"

When the heroine meets other "survivors" in hopes of convincing them to figure out how to fix everything, it turns out she is the only one dissatisfied with the new world.

Павялічыць

Most of the "survivors" are ordinary people from the Global South who also wish to merge into the collective mind with their loved ones. Still from the series

Here, a subtle satire on the "golden billion" comes to the fore in the series. Carol is the only one of those untouched by "the joining" for whom English is her native language. Among the renegades there are no scientists or politicians. These are ordinary people from the Global South, for many of whom previous life was full of hardship.

Павялічыць

All the "survivors," except Carol Sturka and her mysterious ally, are completely satisfied with the new world: those who were once nobody are now everything. Still from the series

Sturka gradually reveals some of the most horrifying aspects of "the transformation" to others. For instance, each individual loses their own individuality, but in return gains access to the knowledge and memories of all other people on Earth.

In this world, your biological child is simultaneously your parents, spouses, lovers, and even your gynecologist. But apparently, this only frightens Carol.

It suddenly turns out that only the privileged American woman clings to the old order, where passport and skin color determined fate. The rest eagerly await "the joining," as the new world offers them an equality they never had.

Павялічыць

Besides Carol Sturka, only Manusos Oviedo (Carlos Manuel Vesga) from Paraguay is scared by the new "correct" world, refusing contact with "Them." Still from the series

The Trolley Problem

"Pluribus" is a large-scale thought experiment in the spirit of the classic ethical "trolley problem." Western culture has accustomed us to believe that the status quo is sacred, and any alien influence must be repelled with weapons in hand, without even delving into the details.

But Gilligan asks an uncomfortable question: is it worth saving the world as we know it?

Павялічыць

Carol tries to find out how she can reverse "The Joining" and make people normal again. Still from the series

The viewer catches themselves thinking that perhaps the truth is not on the main character's side at all. If Carol wins and restores everything as it was — will she be happy when she sees a news report about war, hunger, xenophobia again, or meets a homeless person on the street?

Even "Their" unappealing secrets, which come to the surface as the plot unfolds (such as the source of their nutrition), do not change this fundamental feeling. Carol wants to destroy paradise for everyone. In this endeavor, she finds an unexpected and even more obsessed ally, but by the end of the season, the struggle is not so much between external forces as within Sturka herself, who is torn between mutually exclusive choices.

We Are All Carol Sturka

For the absolute majority of the time in the series, we are alone with Carol Sturka. And everything she thinks and feels can be read from her face. Rhea Seehorn's performance is a separate kind of art. She almost always reflects general dissatisfaction, disgusted contempt, incomprehension, anger, universal fatigue, and an endless spectrum of emotions that are difficult to put into words.

Павялічыць

Carol Sturka, performed by Rhea Seehorn, will leave no one indifferent. Still from the series

Carol is a strong and independent woman experiencing a life and creative crisis, resorting to wine to drown her problems. She is resourceful, quick-witted, impulsive, and sharp-tongued.

It's very easy to love the heroine, because such a stubborn cynic lives in each of us. In real life, social norms restrain him, but when alone or in online comments, we let him loose.

A Leisurely, Beautiful Apocalypse

"Pluribus" stands out not only for its "wrong" end-of-the-world story but also for its leisurely, meditative rhythm. In an era of short clips and action-packed blockbusters, such a pace might seem like a challenge, but it is necessary here.

The series is not dragged out — it is just long enough for the viewer to physically feel the loneliness and emptiness in which the heroine finds herself. Sometimes the creators ironize about this: for example, when they make us listen to a long answering machine message 20 times per episode along with Carol.

Павялічыць

Every frame in the series is visually precise and aesthetic — even if a trash can appears in it. Still from the series

The visual sequence emphasizes this savoring of time that has stopped. The cinematography turns mundane things — milk cartons in a trash can, shadows from blinds — into high art reminiscent of Warhol's pop art.

We see long, geometrically precise shots of deserted cities and New Mexico landscapes, interiors of luxurious but no longer needed restaurants and museums.

The creators seem to relish the beauty of the world in the construction of scenes, geometry, and color. This is not aestheticization for the sake of aestheticization, but an attempt to show the world as it will remain without our hustle and bustle: majestic and indifferent to humanity.

Future Plans

The project's success is confirmed: Apple TV+ ordered a second season even during the broadcast of the first. Moreover, showrunner Vince Gilligan stated that he has a developed plan and ideas for approximately four seasons. He noted that the plot is written far in advance to avoid situations like in "Breaking Bad" (when the screenwriters first came up with a machine gun in the trunk, and then for a long time didn't know how to logically use it).

What will drive future seasons becomes clear from the finale of the first.

But the series leaves viewers in uncertainty: do we really want Carol to win?

• 9
• 1
• 0
• 2
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0