We’re a few episodes into Pluribus, Vince Gilligan’s trippy new Apple TV sci-fi series, and I have questions: Where have all the animals gone? And are they Joined too?
As Carol (Rhea Seehorn) understandably drinks her way through the sudden creepy hellscape that is an almost entirely hive-minded human race, she’s not bothered by a pesky mosquito, comforted by a stray dog, or able to ride a horse into the sunset.
The total number of species on Earth is estimated at 8.7 million (including plants), yet in Pluribus, there’s not a golden lion tamarin, Irish wolfhound, or Egyptian tortoise to be seen. What’s going on here?
Are animals affected by the Joining?
Considering that the “virus”-like “psychic glue” connecting humanity began with alien technology being decoded, tested on animals, and transferred to humans with a lab rat bite in episode 1, it remains to be seen how the animal kingdom is dealing with what’s known as “the Joining.” If, as was explained in episode 1, “We is us,” does that include all creatures, great and small, on Earth?
We still don’t know who developed the sequence, or whether all animals have been affected by the virus dusting we saw in episode 1, which turned most of the remaining humans, but the rat does appear to experience the same type of temporary paralysis Joined humans do when Carol upsets them. On the other hand, in episodes 1, 2, and 3, we don’t see any animals joining the ranks of mind-connected humans teaming up to do the same task, and not one of Carol’s neighbours has a pet aimlessly hanging around looking for food.
However, we do learn a few things in episode 2 about what happened to some animals after the Joining.
Joined humans let all animals out of zoos.
In Carol’s non-Joined human summit aboard Air Force One, Koumba Diabaté (Samba Schutte) mentions that “all zoos are empty.” Xiu Mei (Sharon Gee), who lives near Beijing Zoo, says that the Joined humans were the ones to empty the zoos. “They let loose all the animals,” she says, explaining that she tried to shoo a giraffe from eating a tree outside her place, but it paid her no mind. “Apparently, when it came to the lions and the tigers, they suffered quite a few maulings,” Koumba adds.
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My question is, where did they all go? Are they all back in their natural habitats, devouring each other and restoring the circle of life or what?
As for pets, I see not one dog or cat or hamster in Pluribus. In the episode 2 summit, Mei defiantly says she did not “give away” her dog, without explaining further, but Koumba says, “All dogs are off their chains.” Is there some kind of dog paradise where our four-legged friends are making a sweet, sweet home for themselves and allowed to go for walkies whenever they damn well like? Are dogs more individual than humans at this point? Could dogs walk us?
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Joined humans “can’t purposely end life,” and they’re all vego.
Then there’s the whole vegetarianism of the Joining. In episode 2, in the opulent long lunch in what looks like Tuscany, it’s clear that animals killed before the Joining are being preserved (or cooked for non-Joined humans) — Koumba is served chicken, Carol is given salmon. Later in the episode, Carol is offered bacon and eggs. In episode 3, when Carol’s local supermarket is entirely restocked in a matter of minutes by Joined humans, that includes the meat sections.
But in episode 2’s lunch, we learn that Joined humans do not kill animals — when Koumba says he asked for lobster, Zosia (Karolina Wydra) explains, “We searched a wide radius, but the only lobster currently available is live.” When asked by fellow non-Joined human Lakshmi (Menik Gooneratne) whether the Joined are vegetarian, Zosia responds, “That would be our preference, yes,” and further explains killing insects is also off the table. “We can’t purposely end life. It’s not in our nature,” she says.
Is this because animals share the same “psychic glue” as humans? Or is there something more afoot here?
Koumba further inquires what would happen if he caught a fish or killed a chicken, and Zosia tells him, “We would mourn the passing of all these creatures,” but also would cook them for him if asked.
There are some on Reddit posing theories about the state of animals in Pluribus, including one theory that the giraffe didn’t listen to Mei because it’s not part of the Joining. This theory goes for the lions and tigers too, as Koumba mentioned human maulings — this suggests these animals at least aren’t part of the harmonious hive mind. Hopefully Gilligan sheds some light on the state of our free-roaming animals in episodes ahead.
Pluribus is now streaming on Apple TV, with a new episode every Friday.
