Vince Gilligan’s new sci-fi series Pluribus has become even stranger with a new mysterious teaser that focuses more on Carol’s fight against enforced happiness.
Starring Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn, the series follows Carol, who must save the world after an epidemic that makes everyone happy. It will air weekly on Apple TV+, starting with two episodes on 7 November. In the new teaser, Carol is seen looking at a flashing welcome sign.
It is then revealed that she is outside a Westgate hotel, behind the wheel of a police car. Why she is in the car and what led her there remain unclear, leaving room for interpretation. Although Pluribus is far removed from a crime masterpiece like Breaking Bad, its premise is still intriguing.
Carol, a disillusioned romance novelist, is stranded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after the outbreak of a virus that makes everyone happy. Her immunity makes her the only person able to stop the epidemic. The new teaser has a much darker tone than before.
Not only is she targeted publicly by a flashing billboard, she now also has a police car. It is unclear how she got it, but this could be a sign of social order collapsing as the virus spreads. According to the preview, Carol is being pursued both because of her immunity to the happiness virus and her stubborn resistance to the “new normal”.
Her drive in the police car to the Westgate hotel hints at her struggle against a mysterious group that wants to control her. It is still unclear what these teasers mean for her effort to save the world or how far society has collapsed under the virus. What is clear is that the group’s intentions towards Carol are not benign, especially as their polite behaviour suggests they want the virus to spread as far as possible.
Pluribus premieres on Friday 7 November with its first two episodes on Apple TV+.
