# Pluribus (New Vince Gilligan show on AppleTV) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, apple\ **Created:** [November 7, 2025, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659 "2025-11-07T12:10:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/101 "2025-11-14T10:13:52Z")
I think it’s more than that. If they left her alone which she requests over and over they would be shielded from her negative feedback. It would be safer for them. They seem compelled to actively try to make her happy even though the conflict that creates is dangerous for them. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/102 "2025-11-14T14:29:04Z")
Loving the series so far. Can anyone fill me in, maybe I missed something? At the end of the second episode, I thought she decided to join the rest of the immune on a trip to Las Vegas, by hurriedly running out of her plane and flagging down AF1 before it takes off. But this episode just picks back up (after the icy flashback in Norway) with her on a flight home, with Zosia, on the Wayfarer plane. Did they just refuse to let her on? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/103 "2025-11-14T14:30:11Z")
I don’t remember anything about going to Vegas – she stopped the plane to get Zosia back. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/104 "2025-11-14T14:32:17Z")
Ahh, okay. I thought the hedonistic character asked her to join them on a trip to Vegas, and perhaps that’s where they were going, but if all she was doing was refusing to let Zosia join them, then that makes sense. I was thinking Carol wanted to join _them._ Thanks, I knew I was missing something. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/105 "2025-11-14T16:29:11Z")
I was a bit disappointed in this ep? We didn’t learn anything new. It just gave examples of how the Plur1bus will indulge Carol in anything she asks for. Anyone able to translate the Spanish interaction for us provincial English only speakers? ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/106 "2025-11-14T17:24:53Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It just gave examples of how the Plur1bus will indulge Carol in anything she asks for. I think this is what we learned. _Anything_ she wants that is in their power to grant, she can have. I really liked the episode, but I’m concerned that maybe it isn’t going anywhere. If it is just a character study about what happens when the rest of the world will do whatever you want, then that might be an interesting 22 minute _Twilight Zone_ episode, but not two seasons (planned so far) of 8 hours each. I’m willing to trust the process, and will certainly keep watching, because the third episode just hit me in all the right ways. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/107 "2025-11-14T17:30:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Anyone able to translate the Spanish interaction for us provincial English only speakers? He said “Stop fucking with me, leave me alone, bitches.” Carol told him “Fuck you, motherfucker.” (That’s from using Google Lens to translate the subtitles. The other lines were obviously just Carol trying to identify herseelf.) ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/108 "2025-11-14T18:09:04Z")
I find Carol’s assumption that they brought her a fake grenade to be out of character and implausible. She’s smart enough to know that they’re doing everything they can to fulfill her every wish and that they seem to be extremely literal and surface level in their understanding of her requests. They brought the Mauritanian guy Air Force One, of course they’re going to bring Carol a real grenade. Characters on Vince Gilligan shows do not generally have to hold the idiot ball – they don’t have to act like idiots to advance the plot, and I think that’s exactly what happened here. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/109 "2025-11-14T18:29:49Z")
I agree with that. But I can also see an argument that she’s naive enough to not expect someone she’s still viewing as her adversaries to bring her a live grenade. Still, it was a fucking stupid thing for her to do. Always treat shit like that as if they’re live. I’ll note that this episode wasn’t written by Vince, but still, he’s running the show. The next scene in the hospital, with the DHL guy, was certainly fun. Especially her questioning whether they’d let her have a nuke. We’re starting to see just how immaculately solicitous and subservient they are to her, and she makes them nervous. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/110 "2025-11-14T18:59:37Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I find Carol’s assumption that they brought her a fake grenade to be out of character and implausible I don’t, because who would expect a real grenade? When a 9 year old asks for a hand grenade, they get a plastic one from Walmart. When an adult asks you take some time to find a nice metal replica. Plus, we’ve seen no evidence that Carol has hands on experience with such things. It’s easy to believe that any American has as little or as much experience with guns as the plot requires, but heavier ordinance requires more than just “plinking with my uncle on the ranch” or whatever. I am a bit gutted about the square body burning. Gilligan always has such excellent car casting, and that was a great post-apocalypse truck to cruise around in. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/111 "2025-11-14T19:11:27Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I don’t, because who would expect a real grenade? Anyone who has interacted with a human hive mind that seems eager to fulfill my every need and hangs on my every word. Anyone who has seen them bring the VC-25 that typically serves as Air Force One across the world just because one guy asked for it. This is obviously not a normal situation. This is not a child asking mommy for a dangerous toy. At the very least, even if she thought it was fake, she could certainly not be sure, and as such a reasonably smart person would never take the chance by playing with it like that. In addition, Zosia reacted with alarm when Carol pulled the pin – you would have to ignore that to continue to think it was somehow fake. I’m willing to go with a lot of what seem like illogical or strange reactions from the people who survived the joining because they’re in such a bizarre and extreme situation that their responses could vary greatly, but this one is just common sense and obvious. It’s just completely implausible that Carol didn’t even have the slightest doubt that it was real, and if she had thought there was even a small chance it was real she wouldn’t have done that. Pretty implausible to me. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/112 "2025-11-14T19:21:57Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Anyone who has seen them bring the VC-25 that typically serves as Air Force One across the world Yes, but it came with a flight crew and ground crew. They didn’t just say “you should be able to fly this plane to Balboa, good luck.” Extravagant, but not anymore dangerous than whatever airliner happened to be nearby. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Zosia reacted with alarm when Carol pulled the pin Yes, and it seemed to me that Carol was surprised when the handle popped off. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > if she had thought there was even a small chance it was real she wouldn’t have done that Because people under a huge amount of stress, who’ve already had several drinks, don’t behave completely logically and rationally? Even then, even if she thought it was real, she was testing Zosia. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/113 "2025-11-14T21:04:51Z")
“Would you…like an atom bomb”? If she said yes, the decision to deliver one had been made to do so. Whether it would already be set up with a “ignite” switch is anyone’s guess but it isn’t coming from ACME Corporation. This episode made it absolutely clear that they are working to assimilate all 13 “around the clock” and around the world. How they’re doing that I don’t think we’ll discover. Carol is in every scene and so far as we know there are no un-willing test subjects to experiment on. They have everyone’s DNA and knowledge. There’s no reason (esp. since we know there are 15 episodes left) to doubt Zosia that it will take some time. Zosia didn’t quite answer the question, “So no matter what, I’m fucked” yet Carol knows the rhetorical answer. Next ep she’ll need a new truck, perhaps some more DVD box sets, and/or a trip to see Manuoso, who seems a real nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/114 "2025-11-14T21:09:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I don’t remember anything about going to Vegas – she stopped the plane to get Zosia back. This. I had also thought she may have had a change of heart, but I think she just wanted the pirate lady back. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/115 "2025-11-14T21:27:57Z")
> [@Coriolanus](#): > > This episode made it absolutely clear that they are working to assimilate all 13 “around the clock” and around the world. How they’re doing that I don’t think we’ll discover. Carol is in every scene and so far as we know there are no un-willing test subjects to experiment on. They have everyone’s DNA and knowledge. There’s no reason (esp. since we know there are 15 episodes left) to doubt Zosia that it will take some time. Here’s my thought. Zosia was being so cagey with how long it would take to get the “cure” done because they’ve already figured out they **can’t** be assimilated. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/116 "2025-11-14T22:22:01Z")
Why withhold that information from Carol? She’d be relieved if she knew that she couldn’t be assimilated. I think it’s simply that they don’t know enough about the problem to estimate how long it may take to solve it, though it does seem like Zosia is being a little cagey instead of saying that, so there may be some ulterior motive at work. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/117 "2025-11-14T23:43:51Z")
The vector for this DNA/RNA virus has primarily been saliva - the tongue kissing, licking the donuts, perhaps spiking the water supply, and such. If the rat bite scene was the initial vector, by the time Carol (I should pay more attention to the times given) is signing her book, “they” were ready to go widespread. Nobody in the military - crews on things like subs and space stations rotate - and few in the general population live in isolation. Presumably, the fine vapor or powder the planes spread was to have ensured anyone else not-immune would get it. At the end of episode 2, they sounded pretty sure the number of immune was 12. I don’t believe Zosia was asked, yet she casually let it be known that now it’s 13. How Manousos was until recently unknown - and I reckon he has no “minder” like Zosia - is unknown and opens the possibility there are _some_ number more - presumably also immune - that can only be reached by drilling and TNT, whether or not they have phones. Hundreds, even thousands, don’t matter (unless one has a lab and emerges with the antidote). We know that initially infected, those people suffer a grand mal seizure (falling backwards is typical) and the collective does when an immune gets angry. Now we know there is a flaw in their global “census,” as it were. They already have access to every piece of tech created and certainly will direct some attention toward “people detection,” whatever that may be. Any other interesting flaws that added up might matter? Everyone is going to die - I reckon, including “The Others”. I would think procreating might be near the top of “The Others” list and rather forbidden to the immune. How that is enforced when the first imperative is “be nice to them” is again anyone’s guess. Lastly, that food emerged really fast. Do they just walk (we never see them driving unless it’s a truck to Sprouts) to some depot from wherever they live (in the dark at night) to pick up some veggies? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/118 "2025-11-14T23:45:16Z")
I was expecting them to staff the store for Carol. Then she could have walked the aisles and one of them could have offered her a free sample of something. And they would keep the store running 24/7 just for her. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/119 "2025-11-15T00:57:41Z")
I enjoyed the third episode. So much plot was advanced during the first two. This one was just about ice hotels, paraguayo swearing, grenades, stocking up at the grocery store, assimilation and the pros and cons of procuring an atom bomb. A bit of a cliché, to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659/120 "2025-11-15T04:41:03Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I was expecting them to staff the store for Carol. Then she could have walked the aisles and one of them could have offered her a free sample of something. And they would keep the store running 24/7 just for her. Bit of a comment on first world wastefulness there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluribus-new-vince-gilligan-show-on-appletv/1024659.md?page=7)