The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Reveals He Has an Idea of How Pluribus Will End... Currently.
The acclaimed writer-producer never anticipated that Pluribus would emerge as a cultural phenomenon. “God bless the fans,” he states. “I was surprised by the show being as passionately debated as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
As the debut season of the popular sci-fi show coming to an end—and a second season officially in the works—Gilligan and his team recently discussed the audience reaction and whether it will shape the narrative path of Pluribus.
About the Overwhelming Viewer Reception
It would be easy to get sidetracked by the rampant praise and audience predictions about Pluribus. The creator is doing his best to ignore the noise.
“The experience is akin to force fed something incredibly sweet and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's the greatest thing, but I learn of it anecdotally, and that's on purpose. Not once have I searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a rabbit hole I know I would fall into and then I'd be living in squalor from the hardware store and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
Regardless of Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s it's impossible to ignore the immensely favorable response to the series. The only approach for the writers is to take it in stride and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“It is not our goal to tailor anything,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not impacted by online forums.”
“It's wiser to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan adds.
The Central Mystery: Has the showrunner Have a Plan for the Finale of Pluribus?
Considering Gilligan and his team aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… in a way.
“There are some potential directions about how the story could conclude,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to discard a decent plan for a superior concept. This approach has served us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we conceive of something superior and I expect we'll continue doing that.”
Alternatively, if all else fails, Gordon Smith has a humorous idea to use as a backup.
“My recurring proposal is that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and we're in there,” Smith jokes, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Then again, why not reference the legendary finales?
“I want Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus can be watched on Apple TV.
