How Studio Notes Turned the ‘Pluribus’ Finale into a Nuclear Cliffhanger
Rhea Seehorn in 'Pluribus'
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WARNING: This article contains spoilers about the season finale of Pluribus, Apple TV’s popular science fiction series. If you haven’t watched it yet, go do so before reading this article. I’ll wait. Finished? Okay, let’s begin.
The original closing scene of the Pluribus season finale was a much more subtle encounter between the show’s main protagonist, Carol (played by the always excellent Rhea Seehorn), and a mysterious ally.
“We had a much subtler ending,” screenwriter and executive producer Gordon Smith told The Ringer in a recent interview. Smith, who also directed the final episode, said the writers originally intended to end the season with something “like a secret handshake” between Carol and the character, Manousos, as they agreed to work together.
However, notes from Sony and Apple executives led to an end scene that turned out to be “the bomb” — literally. Studio executives felt the episode’s ending was a bit dull and pushed for something more “explosive.”
In the final version of the season finale released on Christmas Eve, Carol lands in a helicopter flown by Zosia (Karolina Wydra), the spokesperson for the hive mind known as “The Others.” Inside the cargo crate is an atomic bomb. The payoff made good on a promise The Others made in an earlier episode to give her any weapon she requested — up to and including an atomic bomb.
After Apple and Sony executives told showrunner Vince Gilligan that the ending wasn’t quite right for an ambitious show like Pluribus, Gilligan conceded that it was “a great note.” However, it was also an expensive one. Much of the cost went toward arranging a helicopter delivery into the cul-de-sac where Carol lives — a set that had already been built at great expense to allow the cast and crew to create the show without needing to deal with the “lookie-loos” and logistical headaches of a real neighborhood.
Much of the episode saw Carol apparently falling in love with Zosia, while travelling the world together, engaging in “couples” activities like skiing, and enjoying a book by a roaring fire. As Carol seemingly convinced herself she was in love with her personal representative from the hive mind, she decided not to assist Manousos with his plan to turn the world back to normal, no matter what it takes.
However, when she eventually realizes that the Others have been quietly plotting to assimilate her into their collective against her will, she returns to her Albuquerque home, atomic bomb in tow, and agrees to team up with Manousos, telling him, “You win, we save the world.” When Manousos gestures toward the steel shipping container and asks, “What is this?” Carol replies matter-of-factly, “Atom bomb.”
This isn’t the first time studio executives have “had notes” for an Apple TV series. Apple’s intervention in the award-winning series The Studio led to the cancellation of several planned celebrity cameos, and while the producers pushed back, they still eventually pulled most of the guests they’d initially wanted to include. Executive notes about The Problem with Jon Stewart led to the premature end of the talk show. In that case, Apple had strong concerns about some of the planned guests and pushed Stewart to avoid specific topics, such as China and artificial intelligence, to avoid raising the ire of Chinese leaders, since the country is responsible for a large portion of Apple’s revenue.
