Just watched episode 1 . Fantastic start. I have a theory on why she wasn't infected. They chose a very specific frame to linger on amidst all the madness.
*** PLURIBUS *** (from Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad)
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Last: 4 hrs ago by Average Joe
krosch11 said:
Just watched episode 1 . Fantastic start. I have a theory on why she wasn't infected. They chose a very specific frame to linger on amidst all the madness.
What frame?
When she was loading her partner into the back of the truck, she drops something, and the camera zoomed in on it and stayed there for what felt like a long time.
She specifically drops her cigarettes, and her partner asked her "since when do you smoke? " so maybe its a reaction between the bodies first response to a cigarette at time of virus exposure . it was just odd that it lingered so long on the cigarette pack
She specifically drops her cigarettes, and her partner asked her "since when do you smoke? " so maybe its a reaction between the bodies first response to a cigarette at time of virus exposure . it was just odd that it lingered so long on the cigarette pack
Helen was also smoking and got infected before she fell backwards and hit her head on the ground
yes and undoubtedly milllions more smoking across the globe, but it was Carol's first time (or that i inferred from Helen's question). I just found it odd that the camera stayed on that pack for so long. But could have just been to make the whole experience more absurd. I just thought that was going to a variable of cause somehow. Maybe one of many?
regardless, fantastic show.
regardless, fantastic show.
I seriously doubt it was her first time smoking....more likely she just hadn't smoked in a while.
Given her other addiction probably right. Could just be looking into it too much first episode in.
I did think there would be a bit more drama in this episode, but such an awesome ending.
And Manousos is one of my favorite VG characters, he is going to crush next season.
And the eggs did come into play, should have seen that coming.
And Manousos is one of my favorite VG characters, he is going to crush next season.
And the eggs did come into play, should have seen that coming.
I read that they are looking at 2+ years before Season 2 comes out.
I hope not. What an ending! He is close with the frequency
"Atom bomb."
TCTTS said:TexAgs91 said:
Yeah, I get what happened, and to put what I said above another way, I'd be fine with it if I were watching the series after it had been completed.
But when these vibe episodes come, I'm just thinking about how they're slow rolling the rest of the season to leave us with Manousos appearing at her door step, and then end credits and a year long wait.
Hopefully that event happens but we get more that we weren't expecting, otherwise it's like the season has already ended and we're just watching everything we knew of at the end of the episode before last play out for 3 episodes.
I'm more and more convinced that Carol and Manousos are going to clash at first. When Carol made the video that Manousos finally watched, she hated the Others just as much as Manousos. The only difference was, her hatred was partly expressed by making them do her bidding (thus being in contact with them) while Manousos flat out refused contact. Carol also needed to engage the Others in order to study them and thus try to find a way to reverse the virus. Manousos was trying in his own way (scanning the radio stations), but again, in utter solitude. Still, Carol and Manousos' hatred/goals were the same.
Now?
Manousos is going to show up (my guess at some point in the second half of the next episode), only to find a different Carol than the one in the video. A somewhat defeated Carol. An exhausted Carol. A Carol who has found a way to tolerate the Others/co-exist with them in her own way… which is almost assuredly not going to sit well with Manousos.
IF that ends up being the case, Gilligan likely isn't going to save that clash for season two. Or, rather, we'll at least see the beginnings of their clash play out this season, and then maybe see the rest of it over the first few episodes of next season. I say this because that clash is too juicy, and lends itself too much to Carol's character arc this season, to be paused then resolved next season. In other words, any cliffhanger is more likely to be plot centric, not mid-character-arc centric, if that makes sense.
We need to see the "cost" of Carol "choosing" the Others THIS season, through Manousos's eyes, for any of this to pay off in satisfying fashion, and for her to be able to come full circle before the season ends.
Think of it this way… essentially, the job of a writer is to play God to your characters, testing their moral fortitude by throwing challenge after challenge at them, ultimately having them come out the other end a changed person. And right now, to that end, it appears to me as if Gilligan is testing Carol's RESOLVE. She's too lonely and too desperate to keep fighting, to keep rallying, to keep trying to find a cure. So she gives in and accepts the Others, if only because of how much she needs that hug, even though she almost assuredly still begrudges them deep down.
That said, if you had to name one, what is the one quality Manousos represents above all? What did half of this episode spend underlining emphatically? Because I would say it's, not coincidentally… his RESOLVE. In other words, thematically speaking, Manousos is Carol's resolve marching across half the planet to get to her, and then she's ultimately going to have to choose whether to embrace that resolve again or not. And my point is, I don't think Gilligan is going to save that choice for season two. IMO, in this scenario, the better season one "cliffhanger" is Carol finally "waking" from her stupor to embrace Manousos' mission/point-of-view - to embrace her RESOLVE again - and then, at THAT point, we cut to black, so to speak, heading into season two.
Then again, seeing as I'm not nearly as seasoned as Gilligan when it comes to this stuff, maybe he has something even better planned. I'm not saying I'm right - chances are I'm wrong - but this is all my current read to the best of my expertise.
That was so damn good.
To the point where I'm going to go ahead and say, for me, best show of 2025. Just under the wire.
To the point where I'm going to go ahead and say, for me, best show of 2025. Just under the wire.
Seven Costanza said:
I read that they are looking at 2+ years before Season 2 comes out.
I would guess mid-2027 at the latest. They already had a two-season order, knew they'd be back, and this team is used to pumping out 10-episode seasons on a yearly basis with Better Call Saul. They're efficient as hell and as professional as they come. I'm not at all saying next year - this is a bigger show than Better Call Saul production/location-wise - but I would be shocked if season two premieres any later than summer 2027.
The manipulation was perfectly presented with the Peruvian girl. We have the little village and all of the cultural activities to make her feel comfortable, then "Boom, we got her! Pack up your resources and start marching to go sleep in a warehouse." It helped move the story along by showing us that they had a method of converting the normals and that one had chosen to convert, but also to put the viewer in the mode of "everything they say or do with the normals is 100% to get them to convert" when watching Carol traveling the world with her AI robot girlfriend.
Helluva of a call! I just hope it's not 2 years before season 2 comes out. That episode literally felt like it was 20 minutes!
One of my favorite moments was at the end of the opening when the goat runs after someone who used to care about it. I think that crystallizes what this show is about. What's the point of humanity and some complete connection if you lose the real individual connections? They mentioned it last time with the dogs who follow their owners around, and this time they showed it.
I could spend hours just scrolling and posting tweets.
pluribus finale without context: pic.twitter.com/qFnfjJsxCN
— issa phae (@petalsforissa) December 24, 2025
so the book carol is reading here #pluribus
— rhi (@toothgapz) December 24, 2025
(The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin) pic.twitter.com/lrHCcqcW2d
O cara percorreu 9 mil km do Paraguai aos Estados Unidos pra ficar dentro de um porta-malas.
— Realista pessimista (@LucasNo56933329) December 24, 2025
Porra mah. Sulamericano só se fode. #pluribus pic.twitter.com/4IBVDABZ1E
Btw, I think this is the only show my entire family has unanimously loved/agreed on. Parents, both sisters, and both of their husbands all love it. Most of us watched the finale together tonight and were enraptured from start to finish.
the moment they found out pluribus would be named pluribus #pluribus pic.twitter.com/PAusXNc8hd
— Cris ✨ (@lionesspike) December 24, 2025
The whole behind the scenes is out now,. That's the first scene. Interesting watch.
Pluribus — From Every Angle | Behind The Scenes | Apple TV https://t.co/R6KVRYfXHC @YouTubeより
— 宮瀬 (@gmysr) December 24, 2025
プルリブス撮影裏話出た 20分もある！？
Awesome, thanks. Will check it out.
schmendeler said:
"Atom bomb."
So do we think an actual atom bomb is in the crate (yes, I get the callback), to be used as a potential threat/collateral - or - has Carol somehow figured out a cure/fix, a key aspect of her plan is in the crate, and "atom bomb" is a figure of speech (she's going to wipe the virus off the face of the earth while saving humanity)?
Then again, Manousos seems to be well on his way to figuring it out as well, and would obviously be integral to the operation, to the point where Carol probably couldn't figure out much else without him.
Just wondering how others read that moment.
As I was watching it I was probably 80/20 real vs. allegory. But after a bit of thinking about it, I'm probably like 2/1 the other way now.
the theme of this episode, from the crying little goat to Carol’s desperation to believe that she means something MORE to Zosia, is love, and the way the hivemind, which ostensibly represents a “loving” way of life, cannot truly replicate that emotion at all #Pluribus
— Sarah 🥭 (@Lightenerrthang) December 24, 2025
It’s coming…. https://t.co/22XNhQFi0K pic.twitter.com/6jIPAYElNP
— RheaCrave 💋 (@inniemarkhelly) December 24, 2025
this made me feel so physically sick i just know sixteen year old carol heard this too and this is going to do such damage to her all over again pic.twitter.com/VuvrrIIeXb
— mekenzie (@lottiesacolytex) December 24, 2025
ok theory: the key (or at least one of the keys) manousos was missing while trying to wake rick up was actually knowing an important memory of his!! that's how we free zosia with chekhov's mango ice cream #pluribus
— vale 🍁 comms open!! (@sitthefools) December 24, 2025
TCTTS said:schmendeler said:
"Atom bomb."
So do we think an actual atom bomb is in the crate (yes, I get the callback), to be used as a potential threat/collateral - or - has Carol somehow figured out a cure/fix, a key aspect of her plan is in the crate, and "atom bomb" is a figure of speech (she's going to wipe the virus off the face of the earth while saving humanity)?
Then again, Manousos seems to be well on his way to figuring it out as well, and would obviously be integral to the operation, to the point where Carol probably couldn't figure out much else without him.
Just wondering how others read that moment.
Third option: Not an atom bomb, but something that will end the entire human race. Failsafe to keep them from spreading to another planet/civilization.
Manousos says something like "cure it or kill them all." Carol most likely doesn't have the cure, but she could get a virus or something that would wipe out humanity.
And, honestly, an atom bomb wouldn't be that affective. Too small to wipe everyone out, and their resources are too spread out throughout the world that you couldn't do much damage.
Brad 98 said:
So they can't feel everyone's pain, but they know of the pain.
I don't understand why if they don't feel everyone's pain, why does Carol's temper tantrums knock out the planet?
No, I don't care what CNN or Miss NOW said this time
Ad Lunam
Ad Lunam
Fantastic mystery.
Seems like the theory about earth bound synchronizing signal is correct. The individual is still there underlying the infection/sync signal and can be accessed via emotion/personal memory just as the signal can be disrupted by emotion. IMO this sets up to have Carol join at some point and be pulled back to individuality and reveal (to Manousos?) information from the collective about where the signal is being broadcast / how to destroy it
The whole gender ambiguity thing in Carol's book via Raban, in Left Hand of Darkness, and amongst the hive is another interesting angle - this marble hasn't found its resting place for me for me yet though
Seems like the theory about earth bound synchronizing signal is correct. The individual is still there underlying the infection/sync signal and can be accessed via emotion/personal memory just as the signal can be disrupted by emotion. IMO this sets up to have Carol join at some point and be pulled back to individuality and reveal (to Manousos?) information from the collective about where the signal is being broadcast / how to destroy it
The whole gender ambiguity thing in Carol's book via Raban, in Left Hand of Darkness, and amongst the hive is another interesting angle - this marble hasn't found its resting place for me for me yet though
The "atom bomb" could also be all of the Carol's frozen eggs and in-progress research to find the combination specific to her joining the hive. Destroying that would delay their progress and give Manousos and her time to figure out a cure. Obviously the hive mind still has information stored in their mind cloud, but now they would need Carol's stem cell direct from her body to finish the work.
If it is an actual atom bomb, exploding it in mid-air can send out a massive, far-reaching EMP to disrupt signals and electrical systems on the ground. I have been wondering if Manousos will use the drone hanging on the street light to track where it was being controlled from, and if there are repeater stations around the globe for the hive radio signal or if each individual is the "repeater station". The past two episodes make it seem like each individual repeats the signal, but it feels like there has to be a local/regional station to control items like the drone.
If it is an actual atom bomb, exploding it in mid-air can send out a massive, far-reaching EMP to disrupt signals and electrical systems on the ground. I have been wondering if Manousos will use the drone hanging on the street light to track where it was being controlled from, and if there are repeater stations around the globe for the hive radio signal or if each individual is the "repeater station". The past two episodes make it seem like each individual repeats the signal, but it feels like there has to be a local/regional station to control items like the drone.
I was very skeptical about this show at first, but wow was I wrong. I feel like we could talk so many theories and what-ifs every day until the 2nd season comes out. With it being the number 1 show on Apple TV, honestly how many seasons do you think we get, and if they cancel it will they let Vince wrap up the show?
'Pluribus' Creator Vince Gilligan Explains That Ominous Finale Punchline and What Lies Ahead in Season 2 https://t.co/Z6YnNiZC3r
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 24, 2025
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