Brad 98 said:

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I was very skeptical about this show at first, but wow was I wrong. I feel like we could talk so many theories and what-ifs every day until the 2nd season comes out. With it being the number 1 show on Apple TV, honestly how many seasons do you think we get, and if they cancel it will they let Vince wrap up the show?

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They won't cancel it.

Based on everything Gilligan has said so far, my guess is three to four seasons total. I don't get the impression that this is one that's going to run much longer than that. And as good as the show is, to be honest, I could see the premise getting a little stale after a third season or so, but if they billed the fourth season as the final one that feels perfect to me.

Even if ratings fall substantially (which is what it would take for apple to even consider messing with the show), VG is one of the biggest names in TV, had already made apple a crap ton of money, and the last thing they would want to do is alienate him, he's probably got several more shows in that they would want a piece of. The absolute worst case would be asking him to wrap up after season 3 or 4 well in advance so he could plan it out appropriately. And my guess is that he is smart enough that if the ratings fell badly he would do it himself preemptively to avoid that discussion.
But no chance they give him the stigma of an outright cancellation.

I don't think Manousos will be a villain, but I think he will be willing to go steps Carol won't, even after the revelation by Zoisa

We see how Carol softened him a little bit that instead of it all going to ****, he was experimenting with how to return consciousness to the individaul. Carol might be the one wanting to go scorched Earth and Manousos might need to be the one to walk her off the ledge with a plan to return the world to normal. It depends on how literal atom bomb is..

The reveal of the eggs earlier in the episode was so good at to what the hive would later reveal.

Also that opening was probably as close to perfection of an episode opener as what we would see in some of the Last of Us episodes. (Despite the shows flaws the openers are some of the best in TV imo). The moment she goes catatonic the singing stops, and they all walk away silent.

TCTTS said:

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It’s coming…. https://t.co/22XNhQFi0K pic.twitter.com/6jIPAYElNP

— RheaCrave 💋 (@inniemarkhelly) December 24, 2025

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Definitely doing a rewatch to pay more attention to the plot of Carol's books. Now it makes more sense why the Joined are so interested in them.

TCTTS said:

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schmendeler said:

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"Atom bomb."

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So do we think an actual atom bomb is in the crate (yes, I get the callback), to be used as a potential threat/collateral - or - has Carol somehow figured out a cure/fix, a key aspect of her plan is in the crate, and "atom bomb" is a figure of speech (she's going to wipe the virus off the face of the earth while saving humanity)?

Then again, Manousos seems to be well on his way to figuring it out as well, and would obviously be integral to the operation, to the point where Carol probably couldn't figure out much else without him.

Just wondering how others read that moment.

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I believe it's an actual atom bomb. I don't think she's thought it through at this point beyond the self-defense threat it represents. She can destroy Albuquerque with it if the Joined come back. I bet Manousos can find a better use for it, though.

I don't find the space virus/hive mind concept nearly as implausible as the high-level degree of functionality of the language translator app they're using.

the full video of her reaction 😭😭 im not crying UR crying https://t.co/tNBnEMqZYL pic.twitter.com/chNqNmMMgC

— jan ⚢ (@janinecookiez) December 25, 2025

The Sun said:

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I immediately said to my wife that I bet she has eggs frozen somewhere and that is how they'll get to her. Similarly they'll collect Diabete's sperm from banging all the hivemind ladies.

Her line about lawyer speak was a tell also. She only forbade them from "touching her body".

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I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

snowaggie said:

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I don't find the space virus/hive mind concept nearly as implausible as the high-level degree of functionality of the language translator app they're using.

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Google translate can do this just fine, but you can also do it in ChatGPT voice mode. In fact, both apps would pick up on the meaning of the house being "bugged" and would not translate it to bicho like they did in the show (although I would have to go back and see exactly how she phrased it). In general, ChatGPT would do a great job of translating even pretty complex idiomatic expressions (or at least in does for Spanish and English).

Just for practical purposes on the show, they are going to need him to learn to speak English quickly. Using the app was realistic, but it would be annoying for the viewer to have to watch that in every interaction over the course of an entire season.

Vince did a great job of making the viewer suffer through the nuisances…

1) the long repetitive voicemails
2) the phone translator

TCTTS said:

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'Pluribus' Creator Vince Gilligan Explains That Ominous Finale Punchline and What Lies Ahead in Season 2 https://t.co/Z6YnNiZC3r

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 24, 2025

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Great article/interview. Makes me sad it's going to be so long before S2 comes out...

I did not like the direction they were taking Carol at the start of this episode, but luckily, they pulled her back in at the end.

Not sure an Atom bomb is needed if she decides to end it though.

And yes the part when the baby goat was freed is very symbolic. You are free, now good luck fending for yourself.

I also like the ant, man evil line.

Just finished the season and what a letdown when I read that season 2 is a few years away. Speed it up!

Saxsoon said:

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Can she not say it would make me deeply unhappy and cause a temper tantrum if you **** with my eggs?

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That would give them more protein to eat

I agree, but in fairness, those shows didn't film large chunks filmed in places like the canary islands either, where the CA and SA scenes were filmed for Pluribus. Or have the CGI post production needs big shows today have.
I would also say, relative to network shows in particular, the most underrated rated thing is that shows aren't episodic like they used to be. Barring situations where actors left, on many of those shows you could drop an episode from season 3 into season 5 and no one would know the difference. They could write it a week before filming in a lot of cases and still be fine. But now before you begin a season you need the entire season mapped out, production schedule mapped out, filming locations mapped out etc. You might have actors changing appearance so those need to be ordered correctly as well.
it's a much more complicated endeavor than it used to be.

At least we're still ahead of the Brits, for whom an entire season might be 6 episodes, including a "Christmas episode" which sometimes doesn't even advance the plot in any significant way.

Doesn't sound like it will be relevant for this show but one thing I haven't seen mentioned is that viruses mutate and can get less virulent over time. Could be something in play later.

I feel like I missed something. How did Manousos suddenly end up in Carol's trunk and how did she know he was there? Did she hide him? If so, why? She went from shooting a shotgun over his head to agreeing to hide him?

She put him there

Why? I missed this too

So she held him at gun point and forced him to get in the trunk?

When she opened the trunk, for some reason, I got the impression that it was coordinated between the two of them. But I guess it makes sense that she forced him in.

I think it was a combo of (1) she did want to force him to stop the freak-out cycle but (2) she's still an ally that wants to stop them - she just has a different approach in mind