Persons are decoding Vince Gilligan’s new sci-fi present Pluribus in a whole lot of alternative ways, questioning whether or not it’s actually about AI, consumerism, or something else entirely. Whereas the talk sucked me in, one thing else made me keep: Gilligan’s care in dealing with the primary character’s id as a lesbian. Carol’s sexuality isn’t a very powerful factor about her, nevertheless it does play a key function in the way it colours her view of the bizarre extraterrestrial assault that has most of humanity in its grip. Extra importantly, Pluribus raises the bar for how one can deal with one of many worst clichés about queer characters with the respect and care it deserves.
[Ed. note: Spoilers below for Pluribus episode 1-4.]
Pluribus establishes early on that Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is offended and pissed off along with her life, even earlier than virtually everybody else on Earth will get merged into one large hivemind. Regardless of the celebrity and fortune she’s amassed because of her bestselling romantasy ebook sequence, Carol is a grouch who despises her personal work and the followers who adore it.
It’s a privileged viewpoint that makes her appear unlikable at instances, however she earns sympathy and relatability by way of the best way she handles her grief over the lack of her companion Helen (Miriam Shor), who dies when an alien transmission results in the merging of just about all human minds. The transmission places everybody into a cheerful hivemind state — all besides Carol and a handful of different immune individuals worldwide.
Carol can be a closeted lesbian. That made Gilligan nervous as a writer, as a result of he didn’t have first-hand expertise with a queer perspective. In the identical interview, Gilligan expressed concern about Carol being his first feminine protagonist. However to date, it looks like working with that concern in thoughts has pushed Pluribus‘ writing crew to navigate the treacherous floor of queer characters’ deaths with care and shut consideration.
In a scene from the present’s opening episode, earlier than the hivemind takes maintain, Helen encourages Carol to be open along with her followers: Would it not be so unhealthy for them to know she’s drawn to girls? It’s a sore level for each of them, however earlier than they’ll actually get into it, the hivemind merging enters its ultimate stage, and absorbs Helen, gaining entrance to her recollections.
It isn’t a peaceable becoming a member of. Whereas most individuals come collectively comparatively unscathed, Helen dies throughout the merging, together with hundreds of thousands of others, for causes which might be to date unclear. However because the hivemind has entry to Helen’s recollections, Carol is successfully outed to your complete world. The hivemind is aware of all the pieces she’s shared with Helen: each kiss, each loved-up trip, each secret. She will’t even privately grieve Helen’s loss and the life they shared, as a result of she will now not disguise it. Helen’s love for Carol was distinctive, and now it’s shared by everybody who’s obsessively making an attempt to please and appease her. However what made Helen and Carol’s relationship so distinct was that Helen wasn’t afraid to name Carol out on her negativity, and problem her in ways in which the hivemind absolutely can’t.
As haunting as Helen’s demise is, it initially had me on the defensive. As a queer girl who actively seeks out TV and movie the place I can see myself represented, I’m vividly conscious that 2025 has been a combined bag for queer girls on TV. There have been some unimaginable wins: Yellowjackets is a brilliant star for its fascinating, splendidly grotesque story and its massive solid of queer characters. It isn’t the happiest present, nevertheless it doesn’t have the burden of solely together with one or two characters to “signify” everything of the queer viewers.
However 2025 has additionally featured some actual duds for LGBTQ+ illustration, notably for queer girls of colour. Regardless of being alive and enjoying a outstanding half throughout the books, Siuan Sanche dies within the Wheel of Time TV sequence, leaving her lover Moiraine to mourn. Andor made historical past with the primary outstanding same-sex relationship in Star Wars display screen media, with important sequence roles for Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) and Cinta Kaz (Varada Sethu), however Cinta dies after the 2 share their first kiss, and simply after Cinta commits to their relationship.
The stray bullet that kills Cinta echoes the equally unintentional, purposefully random deaths of Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lexa in The 100. Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy was fast to shrug off the couple’s significance, and put down the choice as a pure story alternative (“Shit happens,” he told TVLine), simply a part of Vel’s character development (which, uh, wasn’t even proven, as a result of present’s yearlong time-skips).
Some fans felt it was a basic case of the Bury Your Gays trope, also called Lifeless Lesbian Syndrome, as a consequence of queer girls being essentially the most outstanding goal. That story cliché has been a notable a part of queer tales because the 19th century. Initially, queer creators used the trope to get their tales into media whereas defending themselves from being seen as “endorsing” homosexuality. Successfully, queer characters have been punished as an ethical lesson.
Over time, the trope has grown past its unique trappings, with every use formed by the broader media context, as seen within the AIDS storyline in Lease. However its historic use hasn’t stopped heterosexual creators from utilizing the trope irresponsibly or ignorantly, typically for spectacle or shock worth. No matter intent, the trope hasn’t fairly misplaced the devastating impact of reminding queer audiences that our lot in life appears to be to die, or to outlive a useless companion, changing into depressing set items amid bigger tales.
In mainstream media, each demise of a queer character hits a bit tougher, given their relative rarity. Whereas GLAAD famous an increase in LGBTQ+ characters on tv over the previous calendar 12 months, the group additionally famous that 41% of them won’t be returning to TV “as a consequence of sequence cancellations or endings, restricted sequence format, or a personality dying or leaving the present.”
The Lifeless Lesbian Syndrome makes it darkly humorous that Pluribus’ sequence tagline is “Essentially the most depressing particular person on Earth should save the world from happiness.” My snarkiest response to that’s, “In fact essentially the most depressing particular person on Earth is a lesbian mourning a useless companion.” That grief and angst is what this explicit story cliché is all about.
So watching Helen die in Pluribus gave me pause. The demise of a liked one is widespread throughout a wide range of tales, as a result of demise is a reality of life. I don’t consider each queer character ought to have a cheerful ending or just not die, however the methods the writers, administrators, and actors deal with these deaths makes all of the distinction. Whereas each couple in Andor in the end falls aside ultimately, Cinta’s demise stands out explicitly as a consequence of its execution and the way it was poorly used so as to add “some baggage” (in Gilroy’s words) to her love curiosity Vel, quite than treating Cinta as an precise character along with her personal deserves.
That isn’t the case with Helen’s demise: She isn’t simply abruptly, randomly gone. Her character and id are explored by way of flashbacks, and thru Carol asking the hivemind questions to search out out what Helen was holding again. Her presence continues to hang-out each Carol and the narrative.
Whereas the hivemind is ready to channel the abilities of every particular person particular person it accommodates, these individuals lose their true individuality. To many of the immune people, that is an appropriate value to pay, as a result of, as Koumba Diabaté (Our Flag Means Death’s Samba Schutte) factors out, sexuality, gender, race, bodily potential, and so forth don’t matter to the hivemind. Their existence is blissful, pacifistic, and freed from prejudice.
That makes Carol’s obvious concern of popping out extra irritating on reflection. The barrier that saved her relationship with Helen contained from the world is now gone. It’s a reminder of simply how a lot time Carol wasted on hiding her relationship, id, and love of Helen. For a queer particular person, that’s a devastating, grief-ridden factor to see on display screen, given how many people really feel as if our lives solely started after we began to be true to who we’re.
However simply since you erase prejudice doesn’t imply the scars it leaves behind are all of the sudden healed. Director Zetna Fuentes and author Alison Tatlock discover this in Pluribus episode 4, “Please, Carol.” When Carol visits Zosia (Karolina Wydra) within the hospital to search out out whether or not the becoming a member of will be reversed, she additionally reveals why she had such an instantaneous hostile response to the hivemind. Carol’s mom despatched her to a conversion camp at age 16.
“The advisors there have been a few of the worst individuals I’ve ever identified,” Carol tells Zosia. “They usually smiled on a regular basis. Identical to you.” When Zosia tries to apologize for what Carol went by way of, Carol compares the expertise to the hivemind wanting to alter her.
Zosia, nevertheless, turns the mirror again on her: “You wish to change us too, don’t you?” Carol scoffs, however Zosia presses on to say that the hivemind understands ache and anger like Carol’s, as a result of they’ve been in a position to expertise all the pieces that humanity has been by way of as a result of becoming a member of course of. Carol, in contrast, doesn’t know what it’s prefer to be them — she solely is aware of what she sees on the floor. However she nonetheless is aware of she’d quite be herself, ache and all, than one thing she was compelled to be. Carol’s grief for Helen, and all the pieces else Carol has been by way of, in the end defines her simply as a lot as the enjoyment and love she’s skilled.
Gilligan and his writing crew don’t coddle Carol and deal with her otherwise as a queer girl, however in addition they do not neglect the methods Carol’s life and id bear on her perspective of the hivemind. Higher but, the present doesn’t throw Helen to the wayside. Even after her demise, it permits her to exist as a haunting, however nonetheless necessary presence. Gilligan and his crew don’t simply use Helen’s demise to ascertain simply how alone Carol actually is after the merging — they middle this couple’s story on Helen’s all-encompassing love for Carol, and the way she formed Carol’s life. That’s a degree of respect that so many different queer character deaths merely haven’t been given.
The primary 4 episodes of Pluribus are streaming on Apple TV now. New episodes arrive on Fridays.
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