Pluribus is a recently-released show on Apple TV by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. Critics and podcast hosts are raving about it. I’ve been watching it and I just… don’t get it. It’s a sci-fi story with comedy elements to it and it can be entertaining, it’s just… slow. It’s kind of like Severance in its pacing and the way that it gradually reveals its secrets, but it doesn’t hit in the same way for me. Severance was weird and sometimes tested my patience, but it left enough of an impression that I wanted to watch the next episode. Pluribus doesn’t do that. I feel like I have a duty to watch the next episode, in hopes that there will be a big reveal or it will speed up.
If I were to rank Pluribus against other Apple TV sci-fi shows, I’d put it at the end of my list after Silo, Foundation, and Severance. It’s not in the same league when compared with non-Apple TV content like Alien Earth or even a horror show like Welcome to Derry. I’d even put Slow Horses, which isn’t sci-fi but is slow-paced, far ahead of Pluribus.
I’ve already invested in four episodes so I’ll keep it up, but it feels like a chore. Hopefully it catches my interest. Maybe it won’t. Shrinking never did.
Relatively Ambitious 