By Lauren Demarest

The Apple TV series Pluribus takes one of the oldest Sci-Fi tropes – the hive mind, and bings it into a new era. 

Picture this – a new lab-created strain of vaguely alien or viral gets out, and all the world is rapidly infected with hive mind. Except you. And 11 other people. And that’s it. Everyone around you is intrinsically connected. They share the same thoughts, skills, memories. What’s cool about this? Anyone can fly a plane. Anyone can do complex surgery. What’s scary? Individuality becomes the one thing to be eradicated under the prime directive. And this directive… well… its directed at you. Well, actually at Carol – our protagonist. An author of piratical romantacy novels.

Obviously, as we would all be… Carol in terrified. He partner Helen has died in the moments when the world transitioned to the hive mind. So now Carol has no one to share this wild, abrupt shift with. Plus, now she has to burry her. Enter Zosia. Sure, she’s infected by the hive mind. But she looks like aa female version of the main character in Carol’s books. She has Helen’s memories. And she’s kind. “We just want to help you”. 

But Carol isn’t falling for it. She goes to work learning all she can about the hive minders – digging for any kind of weakness she can use to her advantage to undo what has been done to the world. And as a viewer, we’re with her. This situation is insane. It’s terrifying. So she decides to enlist the help of the 11 others who surely want their old lives back too, right? Who wouldn’t? Well… you’d be surprised.

Now we meet the other people affected by this – the 11. And we see how they have chosen to handle the same situation. And now we begin to question ourselves. Would we truly choose the path of Carol? Are we as aligned as we thought? Or do we see ourselves reflected in some of these other takes on the situation at hand. Because guess what? They don’t want the world to go back to the way it was. They are happier this way. Why? Well they all have their own reasons to embrace the new reality – and some even hope to be ‘cursed’ and turned into a hive minder once the tech or biology has been fully grasped. 

There’s Koumba – the playboy from Mauritania. He embodies the attitude of the self-indulgent bon vivant. A real libertine, surrounding himself with the hive-minded models that would have never spoken to him in real life. He’s coopted AirForce One as his transportation of choice. He’s eating only the most epicurean delights. Living in a luxury casino. He will 100% fight Carol to keep his new life. And as many point out – this new life has bigger benefits than just champaign, chefs, and hot tubs full of models. The hive minders don’t eat meat. So without corporate farming practices, the Earth can return to a more carbon-nuetral state of health. Hmmm… that does sound rather idyllic, no?

The other’s are likewise concerned with their own lives and own goals. Not as extremely as Koumba, but we see people from around the globe that want to stay with their hive-minded parrents, spouses, children. They are familiar. They are safe. Where Carol sees the scenario as the ultimate death of humanity, we wonder how she would feel if her partner Helen had lived through the transition. If she had a familiar face around to ease the blow of humanity’s demise. Despite the pushback from the 11, Carol continues her investigation for the hive minders’ weaknesses and disseminates homemade videos of her findings, evidence, and theories to the other “survivors”.

But now we meet Manousos. A 12th survivor who has been isolating – hiding out in his office in Paraguay. He, like Carol, has no one, and is terrified. He too is receiving Carol’s videos. And, unlike the others, is roused by her call to action to stop the hive mind and take back humanity. He decides to take the impossible journey, mostly on foot, to New Mexico to team up with Carol to save the world. Good, right? Well… not exactly. 

Because Carol his starting to soften. She has become closer to her ‘chaperone” Zosia. As their relationship deepens, trust is built. And we see Carol start to slip into a routine that begins to resemble contentment. And just as it begins to look like Carol might find some semblance of happiness, Manousos finally arrives to Carol’s house. Surprise! He’s traveled long. And far. And damn near almost died doing it. He’s pissed. Ready to take down the hive mind. Are you ready, Carol? 

Can’t wait to see how this plays out in Season 2. This series is a must. This is a serious self-reflection journey worth taking. Put yourself in Carol’s shoes and get ready to ask yourself life’s big questions. The themes of individuality, the inherent flaws that comprise the human experience, and the Utopian draw of mindless conformity feel especially relevant today when the words “freedom” and “liberty” are bandied about with reckless abandon. When we’re losing autonomy over our own bodies in terms of abortion rights and access to health affordable care. When freedom of speech is being threatened with new and disturbing waves of censorship every day. We’re being pushed into “joining” an increasingly mindless majority. And it’s coming at us from all sides. From the highest levels of government. It forces  us – especially Americans, to take a hard look at the steps we are talking to fight the good fight to defend our own personal freedoms and our supposed inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… whatever that may look like.