Imagine staying in a hotel in Norway made entirely out of ice. Every year, the ice melts. And every year, the artists and artisans rebuild it from scratch, making every visit a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. The aurora borealis is visible from a skylight in your window. You can see it through the glass. The charged particles of the sun colliding with the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a stunning display of light waves shimmering against the dark sky. It’s truly magical. And you’re also miserable.
Pluribus‘ third episode provided us with a lot of insight into the characterization of Carol. As it turns out, Apple TV’s synopsis of Pluribus can be taken in two ways. The most miserable person on Earth must save humanity from happiness. By default, she’s the most miserable person on Earth because literally everyone else has been absorbed into a hivemind of contentment. But even before the apocalypse happened, we’re slowly realizing that she might very well have been the most miserable person on Earth already.
Episode 3’s cold open illustrates this perfectly. Despite going on a truly unique hotel experience with her partner, Carol finds plenty of things to complain about. The bed is made of ice. The toilet could be made of ice. It’s literally freezing. How is her book doing on the bestseller list? Oh, it’s top 20? Okay, but is it closer to 20 or 11?
There’s magic happening all around Carol. An ice hotel that most normal folks would never dream of visiting. The northern lights with her partner, which are already amazing on their own. Yet, Carol either can’t, or won’t, be happy despite being surrounded by such wonder. Even in her daily life, she can’t find joy simply in being a bestselling author with tons of adoring fans, and clearly enough money to afford a beautiful house in Albuquerque with her partner.
Last week, I wondered if Pluribus was secretly a commentary on people who think they’re smarter than the average person, and if that is what informs Carol’s general misery. With the third episode, I think I may be on the right track, with things clearly going deeper than that.
Carol’s brand of misery feels unique. She wants to be more than just the historical romance literature author, but refuses to publish her “serious book”. She cares about her wealth and success, but thinks she’s above her mindless adoring fans who shower her with love and money. She has access to all of Earth’s resources, but insists on sitting in the last row next to the restrooms on the airplane instead of allowing herself to be a little more comfortable in first class or business class. She forces the hivemind to restock her entire grocery store, but chooses to buy and prepare a frozen meal at the end of it all.
Prior to episode 3, it would’ve been easy to explain away Carol’s behavior by saying that she was the only survivor left without a loved one. Of course she’d be angry at the hivemind and a lot less willing to try to accept her new reality than the other survivors. However, episode 3’s cold open confirms that this behavior existed even prior to the apocalypse.
It’s interesting to see the parallels between Carol’s worlds pre- and post-apocalypse. She was surrounded by braindead fans before the virus. And after the virus, she’s now surrounded by braindead pod people who don’t seem capable of making their own decisions and just want to appease her. For someone like Carol, who already thinks she’s smarter than the average person, this is her worst nightmare.
The more interesting thing to think about is why Carol has been wired this way. Personally, as interesting as the hivemind virus is, I highly doubt the sci-fi aspect and aliens are going to be a very big part of Pluribus. I fully expect big story developments that will explain the origins of the virus in more detail down the line, but just like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, I get the feeling that Pluribus is going to be more of a character drama than anything else.
There’s going to be a reason (or multiple reasons) why Carol is so miserable. Maybe it’s the injustice of having to hide her sexual orientation in order to keep her fan base and be successful. Maybe it’s something that goes further back into her past. Either way, Pluribus is a show that will explore multiple facets of Carol’s character and use those to inform the decisions she makes as the story progresses. Her misery just happens to be jumping off point for all these other things to take place.
Pluribus is now available for streaming on Apple TV.
