The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Shares He Has a Plan for How Pluribus Might Finish... Currently.
Vince Gilligan could not have predicted that Pluribus would become a breakout success. “I am so grateful to the audience,” Gilligan says. “I did not foresee the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
Now that Season 1 of the hit program wrapping up—and Season 2 already in development—Gilligan and his team recently discussed the viewer reception and whether it will influence the future direction of Pluribus.
Regarding the Tremendous Viewer Reception
It would be easy to get sidetracked by the rampant praise and audience predictions regarding Pluribus. He is doing his best to steer clear of all that.
“It's like being constantly eating something incredibly sweet and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's amazing, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's intentional. I have never Googled myself, nor do I ever plan to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a bottomless pit I know I would get lost in and then I'd be never leaving the house from Home Depot and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Regardless of his concerted efforts, there’s it's impossible to ignore the immensely favorable response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“We make no attempt to change the plot,” says Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not influenced by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan adds.
The Central Mystery: Does the showrunner Know the Conclusion of Pluribus?
So if the creative staff aren't taking cues by audience theories, does it imply they already know how Pluribus will ultimately end? In short yes… sort of.
“There are some interesting ideas about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan reveals. “yet we stand ready to abandon a solid concept for a superior concept. That has held us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we get a better idea and I suspect we'll be doing that.”
On the other hand, if all else fails, director and writer Gordon Smith has a humorous idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and the characters are inside it,” Smith quips, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Alternatively, why not reference the legendary finales?
“I'd love for Carol to open her eyes next to Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
