So interesting how silence plays a big role. Long dialogue free sequences where characters reveal their thoughts and motivation in how they behave, what they do, etc. can’t think of many other shows this willing to have no dialogue for five or ten minute stretches. Kinda reminds me a bit of No Country for Old Men. Even many scenes where when characters speak, they’re not really communicating information. They’re reading a sign out loud, singing to themselves, listening to a Learn English CD, but offering no meaningful information to us viewers. Breaks many a screenwriting 101 rule. That in itself has meaning. And in some of the eerie AI-like question and answer scenes, again how valuable is the information Carol is given, really? Speech without communication. Is that mostly what we really do? Talk without connecting? Freaking myself out.
Say I go into work tomorrow, see Beth from accounts. “Hi how are you?”
While she’s answering, I’m already thinking of either what else to ask her to check off the social interaction list, or the day ahead, etc. while Beth os answering she isn’t really answering, we have stock questions and answers for every moment and situation. Are we really truly paying any attention to each other in these moments?
But “pluribus”/AI, when it asks you how you are, it really truly is dependent on your response. It cannot continue unless you reply, and it has to parse your response syllable by syllable or it can’t function. And yet it isn’t really “listening” to you. It is as blank and empty as space. Christ. Where am I going idk. What is the self i guess? Maybe. Idk.
Great show.
You’ve made me decide to do a rewatch too
I’m halfway through now. Continually knocked out by the cinematography too, such vivid colours and moods.
Could not understand some of the negativity here and elsewhere. Just perfect tele
Was gonna post about this in response to you the other day!
Just a total flex from the show-makers how much they can do without dialogue. Like, I know exactly who this character is, their internal world, their motivations and conflicts without a single line of dialogue. And I’ve been entertained the entire time too!
Better Call Saul had similar sequences but it feels lime a conscious decision to see how far they could push it in Pluribus.
Another thing Gilligan shows do really well is surprising you with an outcome while keeping it in line with what we know about how a character behaves instead of just having someone act like a completely different person to achieve a shock surprise. Something a lot of television should take note from.