The Obliging Apocalypse of "Pluribus"

"Even before her fellow-humans' contamination, Carol didn't seem to have much use for them. She spent her days churning out best-selling romances that she deemed "mindless crap" and harbored a corresponding contempt for her fans, hiding both her queerness and her more serious literary ambitions in a bid for broader appeal. A certified misanthrope, she makes no attempt to check in on friends or family after the initial catastrophe; Helen aside, it's not clear whether she has any."

"In the early episodes, the mass is a potent metaphor for artificial intelligence. It is destructive but solicitous, well informed but dumb as hell. When Carol sarcastically tells Zosia that the only thing that would improve her situation is a grenade in her hand, they have one delivered to her home forthwith. Ever eager to please, they tell Carol that her writing and Shakespeare's are "equally wonderful." And they're just as happy to comply with baser desires."

"Koumba uses them like a concierge service, commandeering Air Force One to jet-set around the world, waited on all the while by a retinue of babes in leopard print. Zosia says that they don't mind his sleaze: "For us, affection is always welcome." Gilligan has said that the show was conceived about a decade ago, before A.I. became a widely adopted consumer technology. Still, the end credits state, pointedly, "This show was made by humans.""

Carol is a best-selling romance writer who privately disparages her work as "mindless crap," hides her queerness, and harbors literary ambitions while maintaining contempt for fans. After a catastrophic event, Carol does not check on friends or family and is largely solitary, with Helen as a rare exception. Survivors around her often retain loved ones and adapt to the new normal. Carol is assigned Zosia, a polite liaison from a hive mind that operates like a concierge: well informed, eager to please, capable of dangerous compliance, and presented as a metaphor for artificial intelligence. The series balances millions of unseen casualties with a lighter, stranger tone than previous Gilligan projects and emphasizes human creation with the end-credit line "This show was made by humans."

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