Pluribus: The Dystopian Times In The World?

Pluribus (Season 1, USA, 2025) Series is a psychological Sci-Fi drama. It effectively employs dark humour to convey a powerful socio-political message to the audience. But did we really get the hidden message?

Series Review [Spoiler-Free]: Pluribus (Season 1, USA, 2025) English

In FOCUS: American Sci-Fi Delivers a Politically Loaded Cacotopia Tale, with a Hidden Message?

Series Synopsis

In a world overtaken by a mysterious wave of forced happiness, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), one of the immune few, must uncover what’s really going on – and save humanity from its artificial bliss.

In other words, the most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.

When the world is taken over by the Zombies, you don’t want to turn into a zombie. But in this show, with what happens, you kind of ask yourself, ‘Maybe it isn’t so bad…

Vince Gilligan | YouTube

Pluribus Means

Pluribus, the title of this American series, is based on the Latin word for “many.” Please note that it has been stylised as “Plur1bus“. Most likely referring to the official motto of the USA, E Pluribus Unum.

[E Pluribus Unum, which is Latin for "out of many, one," is recognised as the traditional motto of the United States. It symbolises the creation of a unified nation from a variety of states or diverse individuals. This motto is displayed on the Great Seal and U.S. currency, representing the concept of unity emerging from diversity, whether it concerns colonies forming a country or immigrants establishing a nation.]

Series Storylines

The latest science fiction (Sci-Fi) series focuses on an alien virus that transforms most of humanity into a blissful, peaceful hivemind called “The Joining.” However, this unusual (yet good and smart) zombie-like situation leaves a small group of immune individuals, including the protagonist, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), and a few others.

Both Carol and Manousos (check their featured image shared on top) wish to resist assimilation into the ‘hive-mind’ situation and find a way to reverse the widespread takeover of mind, body and soul of fellow humans by the aliens. It seems that the alien virus can propagate an RNA sequence. Carol noticed that the aliens have been fostering collective joy but stripping away the freewill of humanity.

So, this dark, contemporary, anti-utopian and totalitarian science fiction primarily revolves around a writer, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) and her newly alien virus-infected friend, Zosia (Karolina Wydra). During the course of her investigation, she further finds that people like Zosia have become slaves of the aliens. They have stopped using their brain cells and simply want to belong to a ONE big hive group.

So, what is the way forward for Carol and Manousos? Also, did you notice the SOS in Manousos’ name? What can they do to stop the extra-terrestrial takeover of the Earth?

Should they use the Radio Frequency method or the Atomic Bomb?

Well, one of them is the spine-chilling possibility, indeed.

Right-Wing Politics?

In recent years, our world, especially the democratic nations, has been witnessing the rise of the Right-Wing politics of an extreme nature. And, the domestic politics in the USA is different.

It seems that the (extreme) Right-Wing ideology and political pluralism (like E Pluribus Unum) are commonly viewed as fundamentally incompatible ideologies. Not surprisingly, many political analysts suggest that the recent populist movement in the USA is the antithesis of pluralistic values. For example, the popular Right-Wing phrase in the USA, like America First, centres on a conventional identity.

So, Right-Wing politics often contrasts with E Pluribus Unum, the traditional motto that symbolises unity among diverse groups. Remarkably, the critics also argue that the US President’s rhetoric and policies, which stress division and exclusion (including anti-immigrant views, cultural conservatism, etc.), directly oppose this essential American ideal of a collective national identity formed from different backgrounds.

It is worth reiterating that ‘Pluralism’ is a vital principle of liberal democracy, which emphasises the acceptance and accommodation of various interests, beliefs, and social groups.

In addition, is the control of the human minds by the aliens similar to the attempt to control the people’s brains by contemporary politicians? They are misusing the AI, mass media and social media to enslave the common public for their own agenda. Closer home, in India, we are also seeing the powerful politicians pushing the ideas of ONE nation, ONE Party, ONE government, ONE religion, ONE language, ONE piece of thinking, so on and so forth. Thereby, remaking an entire society!

So, what could a writer like Carol do when the world around her has changed for the worse, and almost everyone has completely lost their minds?

SCREAM!

Series Poster

[So, does the predominantly yellow colour in the poster associate Carol with the motif of danger?]

Global Domination?

In the recent global trend of revisionism, the US President simply wishes to dismantle the global order that was established by their predecessors, after the conclusion of the Second World War.

Noticeably, Carol wants to challenge the quiet takeover and total domination of humanity (and the world) by the aliens in the series. It seems Carol and Manousos wish to reverse the process of aliens’ authority.

… once that culture has been amalgamated, it’s all consumed into by them; they’ve got every culture on earth all in there. They’ve got every language, they’ve got every work of art, every piece of music. But what does it all mean when we lose individuality? Yeah, these are all questions I want the audience to be asking. And I love hearing people mention this stuff! It makes me very happy when people have interpretations of this show I hadn’t even thought of, that makes my day.

Vince Gilligan | Vulture

And then certainly the above two paragraphs could be one of the interpretations, right or wrong?

So, should we treat the ‘Plur1bus’ series as a cautionary tale for the thinking people of the world, like Carol (writer) and Manousos (engineer), who are battling an apocalypse?

Where the people around them have changed.

So, should they simply lose their minds, their individuality, their independence, and join the hive?

Or what else can people like Carol do, loudly scream in pain, irony, helplessness, and fear for what lies ahead for humanity as a whole?

Positives Points

➕ The Pluribus series, created by Vince Gilligan, is set in Albuquerque, mirroring the locations of his two acclaimed series, Breaking Bad (2008-2013) and Better Call Saul (2015-2022) in recent years. In a certain way, this unique sci-fi series also reminds us of the rabbit holes of The X-Files (1993-2018) series, in which he wrote quite a few episodes. All of these did make us nostalgic about these three shows.

➕ Genuinely, the entire team of writers (named below) deserve a round of applause. With Vince, they have not only created a thought-provoking drama but manage to keep up the suspense and mystery for so many weeks. Moreover, the storyline was very imaginative and layered. The aliens took control of the minds of the US President, the Mayor, etc. And the scene involving Air Force One was too good.

➕ The lead actress Rhea Seehorn, who plays the protagonist Carol Sturka, deserves all the major acting awards and accolades coming her way. She is simply terrific in this role. She really owns it. Too good.

➕ We also liked the performances of Karolina Wydra (Zosia) and Carlos-Manuel Vesga (Manousos). And in the first season episode, La Chica o El Mundo (The Girl or The World), they really stepped up.

➕ Not to forget the technical aspects, we also appreciate the use of music, cinematography, editing, etc., for the great effects. All of them came together almost perfectly to create an engrossing series.

Series Rating

Conclusion

It seems there is a lot of upheaval happening in the minds of sensitive people like American filmmakers to come up with a series like this. FM team thinks that Pluribus is certainly a thought-provoking one and is open to the fans’ and viewers’ interpretations. Certainly, Pluribus is the top series of 2025. If you haven’t seen the Pluribus series yet, go ahead and watch it. Now, you can binge-watch it and enjoy.

Key Details

Series Trailer

[Video link:- Pluribus — Under The Umbrella (Featured Image) | Scene | Apple TV | YouTube]

[Also, read the spoiler-free series review: The Diplomat (Season 3/USA/2025) in our Focus Magazine.]

Awards Won [News Updated]

Poster & Featured Image of Pluribus (Season 1/ USA/2025) Series | Pictures Credit: Sony & Apple TV.