5 of the wildest fan theories about Pluribus, including the ‘wasp in the hive’ idea

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The new Apple TV+ show, Pluribus, has quickly become a popular topic of conversation thanks to its original premise. Created by Vince Gilligan, the mind behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the series, which premiered last week, explores a world where all of humanity shares a single consciousness.

Thanks to a recent discovery of a shared genetic code across planets, most people are now perfectly happy and at peace. But author Carol Sturka (played by Rhea Seehorn) is different – she’s one of the few who are immune to whatever’s causing this contentment, and she wants to stay that way. While the collective consciousness attempts to bring her into the fold using science, Carol strongly resists.

Over the past week, speculation about Pluribus has spread rapidly, even outpacing the spread of the virus it concerns. We can expect to learn much more as the situation unfolds.

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While we wait for new episodes, fans on Reddit have been sharing their theories about what might happen next. We’ve collected five of the most interesting and imaginative ones.

Carol’s mass killings may actually be freeing others

In the second episode, we learn that whenever Carol gets angry with the hive, it causes a massive reaction – millions of members die. But some believe they aren’t actually dying, but being released, and that Carol is being kept in the dark about what’s really happening.

One Reddit user suggested that whenever the collective consciousness experiences a disruption caused by Carol, it doesn’t mean people are dying – it means more people are actually breaking free from the group mind.

Although it sounds far-fetched – particularly since Laxmi, another person with immunity, states that Carol caused her grandfather’s death – someone else suggested a curious idea: that each time someone has a seizure, a person is freed.

Zosia tells Carol they found another person who can’t be infected in Paraguay, but this happened after Carol accidentally infected and killed a lot of people. Might this new discovery lead to something bigger later on?

Carol has a dark past

Carol acts as our guide through the story, but viewers suspect there’s more to her than meets the eye. One fan even believes a disturbing secret from her past will be revealed later in the series.

The central point is that Carol strongly dislikes the hive mind, particularly because of what happened to her deceased partner, Helen (Miriam Shor).

They believe a shocking flashback will reveal Carol committed a terrible and unethical act involving Helen. This could explain why Carol is struggling more with the hivemind than the other thirteen people, who are generally considered to be good and have no history of wrongdoing.

The storyline suggests she’s particularly fragile and troubled because the collective consciousness would be aware of her history. The show is expected to reveal a surprising twist that will encourage viewers to watch it again once the secret is revealed.

The aliens aren’t on their way anytime soon (if at all)

Since the genetic code comes from another planet, many viewers anticipated the arrival of aliens on the show. However, some fans now believe a full-scale invasion isn’t likely, or at least won’t happen in the near future.

The conversation started with a comment about how Gilligan didn’t want to be limited to certain roles, especially since he’d already played a part in a show about aliens (The X-Files). A fan then suggested that, considering how far away the alien signals were coming from, the aliens might not even be aware of current events on Earth yet.

According to their calculations, even if these beings decided to visit Earth after learning about the ‘Joining’, it wouldn’t be for another 1200 years, and probably much longer. This means Carol likely won’t encounter any aliens, unless something unexpected happens with Gilligan’s plans.

They explained that it’s far easier to control a planet by broadcasting a signal and exploiting the naiveté of its inhabitants than by launching a full-scale invasion from across the galaxy.

One suggestion, and we concur, is that aliens are completely unaware of Earth’s existence or anything happening here. Their actions are simply motivated by the need to reproduce and survive.

Carol is being set up for a higher purpose alongside the other immune

This idea proposes that Carol and others with special abilities were deliberately chosen by the hive to become future leaders. Their independent and defiant personalities are meant to create a final showdown, with only one survivor emerging as the new leader. However, Carol might be even more powerful and unpredictable than the hive expected.

The character is subtly linked to wasps, starting with her yellow jacket in the first episode and echoed in the show’s overall yellow color scheme. This comparison is interesting because wasps are known to prey on bees. Furthermore, bees defend themselves by vibrating, a behavior that mirrors the seizures experienced by the hive mind, creating a parallel between predator and defense mechanisms.

One Reddit user suggested the show might reveal a deadly conflict within the immune system, but a more significant surprise could be that Carol herself poses a threat to the entire hive.

The hive mind really does love Carol

Okay, so with Pluribus, it’s interesting. It seems like the AI, acting as this ‘hive mind,’ genuinely wants what’s best for Carol. And the cool thing is, it doesn’t feel creepy or manipulative – the idea is they actually care about her, like, really love her.

A Reddit user highlighted a couple of clues suggesting this: they chose Zosia, someone the character would probably be attracted to, as their representative, and the fact that Carol is a romance novelist.

The heartbreaking way Helen died also gave her a profoundly unique experience – the chance to look into the eyes of the person who loved her and was desperately trying to keep her alive in her final moments.

Seeing this filled them with a sense of her profound love, though some worried it might ultimately lead to their downfall.

They wondered if this incredibly old, possibly extraterrestrial, collective intelligence might actually be vulnerable to love. The idea was that after surviving for countless years and traveling between worlds, this being could be undone simply by the affection of humans.

Pluribus streams on Apple TV+.

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2025-11-14 18:21