Vince Gilligan Reveals He Has an Idea of How Pluribus Might Finish... At the Moment.
The acclaimed writer-producer did not foresee that Pluribus would turn into a breakout success. “God bless the fans,” Gilligan says. “It was unexpected the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
As the debut season of the hit series wrapping up—and the next chapter greenlit and underway—Gilligan and his team recently discussed the viewer reception and whether it will influence the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Fan Response
It would be easy to get swayed by the rampant praise and online debates about Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is striving to ignore the noise.
“It's like being constantly eating your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's the greatest thing, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's on purpose. Not once have I Googled myself, nor do I ever intend to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a rabbit hole I know I would get lost in and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from the hardware store and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
In spite of his concerted efforts, there’s no way to avoid the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“It is not our goal to adjust our writing,” says Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not changed by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our heads down and working,” he chimes in.
The Central Mystery: Has the creator Know the Ending of Pluribus?
Given that Gilligan and his team aren't taking cues by audience theories, does that mean they have already decided how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? The answer is yes… with some caveats.
“We've developed some compelling concepts about where the show might end up,” he states. “yet we stand ready to abandon a decent plan for a better idea. This approach has served us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we conceive of something superior and I suspect we'll be doing that.”
On the other hand, if they hit a wall, director and writer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and we're in there,” Smith jokes, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Alternatively, why not reference the legendary finales?
“My dream is Carol to awaken with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is currently available on Apple TV.
