The first episode of Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus is already one of the best, most gripping TV installments of the year.
Over the course of an hour, Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) crafts his own mini disaster movie, unfolding a tale of a virus that spreads across the globe and infects everyone with total happiness. The virus also acts as a kind of “psychic glue,” binding the world’s population together in a hive mind. Only 12 people are unaffected, and one of them is the deeply miserable Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn).
As Carol panics over the viral apocalypse and grieves the loss of her partner Helen (Miriam Shor), the infected reach out to explain the situation to her. They give her a direct line to an authority figure: Davis Taffler (Peter Bergman), the U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation. Given the hive mind of it all, he isn’t really Davis anymore. He’s part of a global collective. But since he was near the White House, fully healthy after the infection, and wearing an authoritative suit, the being that was once Davis became the best candidate to speak to Carol from the White House press room.
In order to get Carol to reach out to Davis, the infected plaster a phone number — (202) 808-3981 — on a C-SPAN broadcast of Davis in the press room, with news tickers begging her to call them. She does so, opening herself and viewers up to answers about what is happening.
But what happens if Pluribus‘ audience tries to call the phone number themselves? I tried, and I’ve got good news: Calling the number doesn’t infect you with the happiness virus.
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Instead, you get an unsettling voice message. “Hi, Carol,” the message tells you. “We’re so glad you called. We can’t wait for you to join us.”
Ominous! And basically a shortened version of Davis’ speech to Carol, minus the explanation of the science behind the virus.
The message then tells callers to dial 0, saying they’ll reach out to you via text. The call ends once you press 0, but the text message comes through soon after, reading, “Your life is your own, Carol. You have agency!”
Then, if you’re so inclined, you can sign up for updates from Apple TV. So if you want to live your Carol Sturka fantasy, give the infected members of the world a quick ring. Or don’t. After all, your life is your own.
Pluribus premieres Nov. 7 on Apple TV, with a new episode every Friday.
