Pluribus (with spoilers)

[Roller]

Looks like we did it 13 years ago. Late September, 2012.



I think we hit most of those. I don't recall the pickup point or The Grove (though we might have gone to those). We also visited the laundry and the FBI building where Hank worked. Maybe some other places as well that aren't coming to mind at the moment. Oh yeah, we saw the building where Saul worked, though it was hard to recognize. Twisters was fun. I was excited to eat there and it was absolutely... ok. Nothing special, but it filled the belly.

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I brought some home for my friends as well. I still have mine somewhere. I couldn't bring myself to eat it. It was too cool to eat. It's not like I can't find sugary candy in a bazillion other places.

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Cool! I couldn't eat much of mine, either, though I had a taste.

The hotel we stayed at was the Parq Central, which used to be a psychiatric facility. I just looked at the map, and I see that it was only a block or so from The Grove. Interestingly, I also noticed that the street next to the cafe is Walter St, which would be a funny coincidence unless it was changed because of the show.

 

[MEJHarrison]

The hotel we stayed at was the Parq Central

The hotel we stayed at was my wife's son's apartment. It was tiny, cramped and not much in the way of amenities. But it was cheap!

Her son and his wife still live down there. And her daughter is getting ready to move back next month to be with her boyfriend.

 

[Roller]

Episode 9 dropped tonight, so no need to wait until Thursday. Only one more to go in season 1.

 

[Cmaier]

Episode 9 dropped tonight, so no need to wait until Thursday. Only one more to go in season 1.

Tonight’s was the season finale.

 

[Roller]

Tonight’s was the season finale.

Dang, you’re right. I had read that there were 10 episodes. Since this one was #9, I was expecting another.

 

[Roller]

The good news about the finale: I loved it. No guarantee that y’all will, but my wife and I did.

Medium news: It took an interesting turn and ended in a cliffhanger.

Bad news: We may not see season 2 until late 2027 or even 2028. That’s incredibly frustrating for us viewers, especially in my demographic.

 

[Cmaier]

The good news about the finale: I loved it. No guarantee that y’all will, but my wife and I did.

Medium news: It took an interesting turn and ended in a cliffhanger.

Bad news: We may not see season 2 until late 2027 or even 2028. That’s incredibly frustrating for us viewers, especially in my demographic.

Since they gave it a two season order up front, I would hope the second season won’t take quite that long. But if it does, it will give me a good excuse to rewatch the first season later.

First season reminded me a lot of the first season of BCS. A lot of character work to set up the actual plot, which comes later.

 

[Eric]

My take is that it started out strong and lost a lot of steam after the first couple of episodes. It drudged through with its slow pace and left a lot more questions than anything.

While RT had a 98% before we even got to see it, the user reviews are 68%, for me personally it probably falls in the 50% area. Good enough for a second season that I'll watch but this thing needs direction in a huge way. If the struggles of a bitter cynical woman is your jam then this is the perfect show but if you're after cool scifi and an interesting plot line it falls short.

Here's to hoping for a better season 2.

 

[Roller]

My take is that it started out strong and lost a lot of steam after the first couple of episodes. It drudged through with its slow pace and left a lot more questions than anything.

While RT had a 98% before we even got to see it, the user reviews are 68%, for me personally it probably falls in the 50% area. Good enough for a second season that I'll watch but this thing needs direction in a huge way. If the struggles of a bitter cynical woman is your jam then this is the perfect show but if you're after cool scifi and an interesting plot line it falls short.

Here's to hoping for a better season 2.

I suspect you’re going to be disappointed.

The slow pace is an approach Gilligan has used before, and he’s explicitly embraced it for Pluribus. He also said that he thinks there’s enough of an audience who appreciate it to sustain the show, which is probably easier on Apple’s platform. That’s not to say that your opinion is more or less valid, though.

My only concern is the rate at which new seasons will appear. At my age, intervals of two or three years can make a real difference.

 

[Eric]

I suspect you’re going to be disappointed.

The slow pace is an approach Gilligan has used before, and he’s explicitly embraced it for Pluribus. He also said that he thinks there’s enough of an audience who appreciate it to sustain the show, which is probably easier on Apple’s platform. That’s not to say that your opinion is more or less valid, though.

I agree that I'll likely be disappointed but it won't be a dealbreaker. The answer is simple, less episodes. They could've easily made this into 4 episodes but even Gilligan must capitulate to studios and their demands for more to fill out a season and it really dragged this show out.

My only concern is the rate at which new seasons will appear. At my age, intervals of two or three years can make a real difference.

All shows seem to suffer this same fate and TBH many times I've completely forgotten the plot (and some of the characters) by the time new episodes air. This is also likely why they have such comprehensive recaps.

 

[MEJHarrison]

I agree that I'll likely be disappointed but it won't be a dealbreaker. The answer is simple, less episodes. They could've easily made this into 4 episodes but even Gilligan must capitulate to studios and their demands for more to fill out a season and it really dragged this show out.

I actually enjoyed the slow pace. They weren't afraid to let the scenes play out. TV/Movies used to have a slower pace, but people have gotten used to a faster pace. I saw someone say recently (can't recall where) that Gone with the Wind would be a huge flop today because audiences would find it too slow and drawn out.

As mentioned your opinion is equally valid. There's no right or wrong. But I loved it and can't wait for the second season.

 

[Eric]

As mentioned your opinion is equally valid. There's no right or wrong. But I loved it and can't wait for the second season.

I'll definitely watch, too. Sounds like it could be a while and by then we'll surely have forgotten most of this. Columbo never made us wait for years.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/12/10/disappointing-news-about-the-pluribus-season-2-release-date-on-apple-tv/

Pluribus Season 2 is officially greenlit by Apple TV+ but is still a long way off, with creator Vince Gilligan noting it will be a significant wait as production (likely starting Spring 2026) and post-production take time, potentially returning late 2027 or 2028, but fans are eager for more after the cliffhanger finale.

 

[Roller]

I actually enjoyed the slow pace. They weren't afraid to let the scenes play out. TV/Movies used to have a slower pace, but people have gotten used to a faster pace. I saw someone say recently (can't recall where) that Gone with the Wind would be a huge flop today because audiences would find it too slow and drawn out.

As mentioned your opinion is equally valid. There's no right or wrong. But I loved it and can't wait for the second season.

Back in the day, most TV shows had well-defined annual runs with 24 or more episodes. Even if a season ended in a cliffhanger, it was usually fairly certain when the series would pick up again after a summer hiatus, so there was less angst. The "Who Shot J.R.?" phenomenon on Dallas comes to mind, even though the reveal didn't come until a few episodes in the fourth season. I wasn't a fan, but it was impossible to escape the hype.

Now, with far fewer episodes spread much further apart, audiences are more likely to lose patience and interest, even if they're OK with the leisurely pace of storytelling. I also prefer it that way, but I find the long, uncertain interval between seasons frustrating.

 

[Eric]

Back in the day, most TV shows had well-defined annual runs with 24 or more episodes. Even if a season ended in a cliffhanger, it was usually fairly certain when the series would pick up again after a summer hiatus, so there was less angst. The "Who Shot J.R.?" phenomenon on Dallas comes to mind, even though the reveal didn't come until a few episodes in the fourth season. I wasn't a fan, but it was impossible to escape the hype.

Now, with far fewer episodes spread much further apart, audiences are more likely to lose patience and interest, even if they're OK with the leisurely pace of storytelling. I also prefer it that way, but I find the long, uncertain interval between seasons frustrating.

Yes, I've lost interest in several shows that have such long gaps between releases. Maybe it's just that we grew up with seasons and schedules but it kept you interested over multiple years and we knew (and anticipated) when it was going to be released in the fall.

Now they just seem to spitball it with no consistency.

 

[Roller]

Yes, I've lost interest in several shows that have such long gaps between releases. Maybe it's just that we grew up with seasons and schedules but it kept you interested over multiple years and we knew (and anticipated) when it was going to be released in the fall.

Now they just seem to spitball it with no consistency.

It reminds me of the lyric in Weird Al's I Can't Watch This: "I hooked up 80 channels and each one stunk." There are so many streaming, cable, and network services now, but it's still hard to find something I want to watch and stick with.

 

[Cmaier]

It reminds me of the lyric in Weird Al's I Can't Watch This: "I hooked up 80 channels and each one stunk." There are so many streaming, cable, and network services now, but it's still hard to find something I want to watch and stick with.

I end up rotating through old series to occupy my time, waiting for the next season of something I care about. Better call saul, breaking bad, Fringe, Columbo, Mission: Impossible, Sopranos, etc. Sometimes months go buy without me watching something new.

 

[Nycturne]

We finally binged the first reason this week. Been keeping out of the thread to avoid spoilers. We watched all of Breaking Bad, but fell off of BCS because it started taking a little too long to get where it wanted to go. Not sure which side of the fence this show will wind up being, but I’m actually pretty okay with the first season. Not happy it will take ages to get the next season.

But my thoughts:

• The aliens are somewhat unimportant to the story, outside the fact that there’s clearly a chain of propagation. It seems likely that the signal from Cygnus (Kepler 22b) is another civilization that got colonized by the wetware virus. And that the signal is its way of propagating across the interstellar void.
• I’m still not sure the virus actually has much motive beyond propagation. Unifying a planet and kicking in the feel-good juice is a good way to ensure resources are spent building the infrastructure required to beam the next signal back into space. Doesn’t really matter if the species it colonizes survives after that signal is sent. Much like it doesn’t matter if a male praying mantis survives after copulation. I got hung up on this a bit in early episodes, wondering why someone would create a hive mind that could roll into action against an invader, but now I think there is no bigger plan. It really is just a novel virus with a novel propagation strategy.
• Gilligan really seems to like writing trash people. Two people looking to fix things, and one is a stubborn zealot and the other is just as stubborn, but unmoored and drifting? It really is the story of two broken people trying to fix a broken world. And I am kinda mixed on the whole concept there. Having to deal with this version of Carol and Manousos will wear thin for more than a season or two without character growth, IMO. So fingers crossed on that front.
• I do appreciate that we seemed to get some new detail every episode the is helping put together the bigger picture. It is slow, but there’s at least something to chew on. So far.

Neat trivia thing. The location of Carol’s little cul-de-sac has the same view of the nearby volcanic field that showed up in materials related to Myst. In the "lore", Atrus’ grandmother found the city of D’ni underneath a caldera in New Mexico, effectively kicking off the whole story behind the games and Cyan used photos from the same area: