Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Pluribus season 1 finale.Vince Gilligan talks about the original ending for Pluribus season 1 and how the ultimate conclusion was reached. Leading up to the end of the freshman outing, Carol (Rhea Seehorn) seems to have made peace with the circumstances of “The Others,” while having a romantic relationship with them through Zosia (Karolina Wydra). However, Pluribus season 1’s ending is derailed by a shocking reveal.
Carol realizes that The Others are still planning to forcefully convert her into part of their hive mind, as she froze her eggs before The Joining, and they can create stem cells from those needed to make a virus tailored to her (they would have needed her consent to extract stem cells from her body). Carol then returns home to form a plan to save the world with Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga).
In addition to having Zosia drop her off in her cul-de-sac, Carol apparently followed up on what she discovered in episode 3: that The Others would give her an atom bomb if she asked, which is delivered in a container via helicopter to Carol’s house in the finale. “You also have Chekhov’s atom bomb,” per Variety, asking Gilligan and the show’s producers: “When was it apparent that the nuke was going to be a major crux of this season?“
“Surprisingly late,” Gilligan responded in this interview. Director-writer-EP Gordon Smith added: “A day or two into shooting the episode was when that became clear.” Writer-EP Alison Tatlock also said: “It was not the ending we broke together in the writers’ room. We adjusted it later, which is a bit unusual.” But they were happy to find a way to “pay it off” after they “had planted the seed in episode 3.”
Carol interrogating one of The Others and realizing that they cannot deny her anything in episode 3 did not have to be setting up anything, as it functions on its own as another illustration of the fundamental problems with this paradigm. Hence, Gilligan and the others originally did not follow up on the discussion, but were pushed to do so by Apple and Sony executives.
Gilligan shares: “We had an ending that was perfectly good. It would have been satisfying but not as satisfying. And we got a note. You know the old thing about how executives always have stupid notes. Actually, Apple and Sony said, ‘Is there an even better ending to be had?’ And we listened, and I’m really glad they gave us that note. It made for a better ending.“
Pluribus season 1 originally would have ended with Carol more quietly reaffirming her desire to bring back the old world, seemingly without The World knowing her true intentions. “It was more subtle,” says Smith. “Carol secretly forges a pact with Manousos, slips him a note […] There wasn’t as much of a flag planted, like: ‘Nope, I’m not doing this. This relationship with the Others can’t continue’.”
Gilligan adds: “Other than the atom bomb not being part of it, it was not open warfare. It was, ‘I’m going to continue to be a double agent.’ It was covert. Even before we got the note, we thought, ‘Is this the most satisfying way to go? Do we buy this’?“
All episodes of the hit new series Pluribus are now available on Apple TV, while Pluribus season 2 is in development. The Others aren’t capable of physically fighting Carol, but they are proven to be manipulative, and they, of course, know that she has the atom bomb. With Carol driven to desperation to protect herself from being infected, season 2 is set to be even crazier than its predecessor.
- Release Date
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November 6, 2025
- Network
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Apple TV
- Directors
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Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
