TL;DR – A masterpiece in tension and build-up.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that viewed this series.

Warning – This episode contains flashing lights.

PLUR1BUS Review –

Today I begin my first dive into a work of Vince Gilligan. I know his work is quality, but unfortunately for me, by the time that Breaking Bad was accessible in Australia, it had already been mostly spoiled. It also meant I did not have the energy to explore Better Call Saul, even though I know it is excellent. But now it’s the time for fresh starts and as the show came highly recommended by my friends, and some dabbling into science fiction helps things along nicely. I found it the right time to press play.    

So, to set the scene, one evening, two SETI scientists find a repeating message coming from space. It is nothing bouncing off the Moon. It is a code repeated every 78 seconds and sent from 600 light-years away. As the scientists try to break the message, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is busy signing the latest addition of her romance fantasy book. But little does anyone know that one bite and a kiss later, the entire world changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

Tension

If nothing else [and there is more than that], this first episode is a masterclass in how you build tension. It all starts with the opening countdown, which always puts you on edge like waiting for the aliens to strike in Independence Day. You know something is coming, and the optimistic vibe of the scientist actually works to put you more on edge, because if there was ever a group of people to gallop forward in excitement without taking the proper care, it is them. This means even before we have met our lead character, we are already in a heightened state of unease.

Of course, that tension is only amplified once the Hivemind starts taking over, the blank stares and seizure shakes as people get converted. The insidious way people act and talk in unison, which must have taken an age of choreography to get right. Or the simple way that everyone knows your name. In my life, I have had a couple of times when a random person knew who I was and my name, and it was kind of unsettling; here, that is amplified immensely. If I was to nitpick, I am not sure from what is presented in that opening episode that the virus had logistically the time to convert the whole Earth before Carol talks to the not-president (Peter Bergman) on the TV. But that is only a minor issue.  

We Would All Be That Guy in a Zombie Apocalypse

The closest genre that we can use to explore this first episode is the opening moments of a zombie apocalypse because the initial transmission is much in the same way, and people also act similarly. I do think we should cut people in the opening moments of a zombie apocalypse a bit of a break, because we know they are in a zombie apocalypse, they do not. However, there is a moment in here where two characters potentially doom humanity by acting in very human ways. A tired scientist who, in a moment of absent-mindedness, was bitten by an infected because they did not follow procedure. Then their lab partner, who could have stopped the infection spread right there, but did the human thing and tried to get his friend the help they needed when having a medical incident.      

Those same human actions are replicated with Carol when she sees her wife collapse and moves heaven and earth to try and get her help. Had they been zombies, Carol would have been ripped limb from limb. But instead, after everyone turned, the first thing they did was help the wounded, put out the fires, and collect the dead. They are reverse zombies in a sense, but also, they feed into the same fears of lack of consent and removal of bodily autonomy. The only difference I can see so far is that the Hivemind puts a friendlier face on their conquest. From a Star Trek perspective, it would be like being conquered by the Dominion over the Borg. Sure, you are screwed either way, but at least the Dominion come with a trademark Jeffry Combes smile.      

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend PLUR1BUS: We Is Us? Yes, yes, we would. This is one of the best pilot episodes of television that I have seen in a long time. There was a lot of extremely uncomfortable licking and kissing, which I am sure was not symbolic of anything else. But it did what it needed to do and hooked me to see what comes next. Also, it reminded me I need to watch Contact again, and now I have reminded you too to watch Contact again, or even better, to watch Contact for the first time.   

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of PLUR1BUS
Directed by – Vince Gilligan
Written by – Vince Gilligan
Created by – Vince Gilligan
Production/Distribution Companies – High Bridge, Bristol Circle Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment & AppleTV+
Starring – Rhea Seehorn with Miriam Shor, Peter Bergman, Karan Soni, Allan McLeod, Jack Mikesell, Woody Fu, Blair Beeken & Eric Steinig and Bernadette Guckin, Monique Lott, Monae Lott, Sam Quinn & Dennis W. Milliken