What makes you, you? Is that thing worth more to you than world peace, ending human suffering, or eradicating world hunger? These are some of the questions that Vince Gilligan—best known for creating “Breaking Bad”—probes in his newest show, “Pluribus.” The Apple TV exclusive is masterfully directed, and star Rhea Seehorn shines with an outstanding performance as the cranky and independent protagonist Carol Sturka.
Without divulging any ending spoilers, the show is set in the aftermath of an alien pathogen infecting the entire global population with a virus that connects all of humanity into one collective hive mind. All knowledge known by any infected person is now shared by all. Fly an airliner, perform open heart surgery or any other skill: Every infected person now shares these skills. Also, every single secret thought, action or desire of any infected person is now known and shared by all. For an unknown reason, 13 humans, globally, were immune to the virus and retained their independence and private lives. Many millions did not survive the initial infection. The hive mind is extremely friendly and helpful to the immune individuals, and promises them that they can retain their independence while at the same time working toward a scientific way to convert them, promising them that when it’s found, they will have a choice whether to take it or not. The hive mind infected population is unable to kill any living organism, including plants, leading to them deriving their protein source from the bodies of dead people (fun, huh?).
The main plotline of the show follows Carol Sturka, a cranky, independent romance novelist from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who is one of the 13 immune to the virus. Carol is one of the only in the group to think that they have an obligation to try and set the world back and reverse the virus somehow. The others point out that there are no more wars, crime, racism or political strife…so just maybe the virus improved the world. Carol remains determined to keep her individuality no matter what. On the other end of the spectrum, the Peruvian survivor Kusimayu makes the decision to join the hive mind once a way is found.
Gilligan has spoken about the deeper themes the show is exploring, and has suggested that he is really interested in his viewers’ perspectives on which side of the philosophical divide they come down on: Is our current reality with all its problems and free will superior to an alternative universe without any of those problems, but a loss of our free will and individuality? While production began before the advent of ChatGPT and the readily available AI chatbots, many fans have drawn parallels between the hive mind and artificial intelligence.
I think that for Christians, the show really touches on one of the most fundamental questions in Christian apologetics and theodicy: If God exists and is all good, powerful and knowing, then how come so much evil also exists? And the answer lies in two equal attributes of God that appear to be in tension: His justice and His love. Love requires freedom, and God both loves His creation and wants His creation to be able to love. But there can be no love apart from freedom. There can also be no judgments of right or wrong if the subjects of the judgment have no agency to choose between them: We don’t try and convict animals who attack people, because animals do not make judgments; they act on instinct.
Pluribus offers us, as Seventh-day Adventists, an opportunity to engage with popular culture on the answers we have to these fundamental human questions. The Great Controversy theme is ultimately the story of how God resolves the problems of sin, suffering, rebellion and disorder while at the same time maintaining humanity’s individuality, free will and autonomy. Rather than solve these problems by striking Lucifer and the fallen angels, and then our first parents, dead or enforcing their compliance (or creating them without the ability to rebel in the first place), God instead creates them free, and then allows them to choose whether or not they will obey Him or choose their own path. But he also doesn’t abandon them to the consequences of their own self-destructive path. He chose risk to Himself to offer them the choice of redemption. In “Christ’s Object Lessons,” Ellen White says, “Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul.”
So grab your popcorn, enjoy the show and probe the deep existential questions of life with a fun, action-packed show.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.