Here, finally is my Pluribus Season 1 review and though I thought the Season was very good, I have a big ‘but’ going forward I’ll address. This will be a full SPOILERS review folks, simply because it has been a couple of weeks since the finale.

I’m going to assume most readers of this review have seen the show and want to see if my opinion matches there’s. If instead you are contemplating watching the show and don’t want spoilers?

Unique, inventive, though not the show you are expecting after the opening episode. If you like Vince Gilligan shows, you’ll be happy here. If you are new to Vince Gilligan, you may find it a little slow to get where you think it should be going. This is why Vince is such a good writer in my opinion, but this is the Netflix generation.

SPOILERS Below

I like many viewers was shocked by the opening episode. The trailers for the show, whilst teasing something very odd, didn’t spoil what is a dramatic opening episode. The sci-fi aspect was teased a little, but never to this extent. That being said, once we get past the opening episode, the show feels much more akin to Gilligan’s usual style.

Yet, in terms of genre, it would also be fair to say Pluribus is definitely sci-fi, which does not match Gilligan’s most famous shows of the past. So, it’s sci-fi, but done in a very Vince Gilligan way. Once of Gilligan’s trademarks is not taking the story where you expect it to go, and allowing you to experience the story only through the eyes of the characters within it.

I see comments and theories online all the time about what the secret alien plan is and when the motherships are going to show up. That’s not going to happen folks. That’s not what this show is about thematically, which is why they said it would take 640 years for that signal to have arrived on Earth. If you’re expecting a big alien reveal, or a dark forest theory contender here, I think you’ll be disappointed in the long run.

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The problem some fans may have with Pluribus is the pacing which is slow and deliberate. It’s show, not tell and its a show you have to be paying attention to. It won’t be filled with exposition here. Thus, some fans will find it slow and will find it’s not for them.

Apart from me struggling with suspension of disbelief a little to begin with, I enjoyed it. I think I just needed to accept that the spreading of the virus and the distribution of survivors was a macguffin to set up the real story Vince wanted to tell.

The show has a very small recurring cast. That means season 1 has a lot of Rhea Seehorn on her own and it’s remarkable how watchable that remains. Seehorn is a top, top actress and Carol frankly isn’t a nice person or particularly smart or insightful. It’s hard for us not to look for a hero, but I don’t think Carol will ever be a hero.

I do think the arrival of Manousos was needed, maybe even an episode earlier in Season 1. Though I’m excited to see these two clash and work together in Season 2. I wonder how long it will be before some other survivors join them? Or, will someone like Lakshmi become an antagonist for Carol and Manousos? I look forward to Season 2, though that’s where my fripe comes in and it should not affect the grade, so…

GRADE: B+

Smarter than the average show, excellent basic idea. A show that’s designed to make you think and often the story being told is a visual one, so no looking at phones. It will be too slow for some that might have enjoyed the opening, but Gilligan fans will be very happy.

My One Big Gripe

Yep, I do have a major gripe with this show, and it’s an off-screen gripe. It looks like it could be 2028 at the earliest before we get a Season 2. Now, there are VFX shots in this show, but at it’s core it’s a cast of three people on a set. The show was greenlit for two seasons, not one and see how it goes.

Therefore, by his own words it seems the delay with Season 2 is going be the fact Gilligan and his team have still to sit down and write it. Now, I know Gilligan is huge and probably asked for this time, but it will hurt the show. I’ve seen a lot of fans already saying that Season 1 was decent, but not good enough to wait 2-3 years for a Season 2, then another 2-3 for a Season 3.

In my opinion, knowing they had Season 2 in the bag, the writing process should have been started on Season 2 before filming took place on Season 1. After the success of Season 1, the show probably gets renewed for Season 3 and 4 and then they can start writing Season 3 and so on and so forth. There’s no reason they could  not have held the broadcast of the show back a year and a half just to save time in between seasons. In my opinion, it’s lackadaisical for me. Vince managed to make a season of Breaking Bad every year and it had more episodes and a bigger cast.

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This trend of TV shows being years between seasons needs to stop. Though I will admit that most shows that do this do not out the thought into every little detail of a script like Gilligan and his team do. The man is a genius, and so I would allow him more grace here than most. But… When the set up of the show is so simple, with such a small cast, I feel less generous.

What did you think of Pluribus Season 1 and what do you think of my take/review on it? I’m most excited for what’s next because Gilligan shows usually improve every season until the end. Do you think Gilligan can do that again? also, let me know what you think of my gripe on the length between seasons below.

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