Vince Gilligan’s sci-fi series for Apple TV Pluribus has now aired its first full season, ending in a cliffhanger that will stay rent-free in our minds until season two. io9 had the pleasure of speaking with Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)who gave us one of the most memorable characters of 2025 in Carol Sturka: a satirical, funny, dirty, passionate best-selling author who is one of many authors, a lot the few people in the world who didn’t go into a hive mind following the arrival of a virus from another world.
We asked Seehorn questions related to the finale, “La Chica o El Mundo,” so if you haven’t watched it yet, here’s another one:
Cheryl Eddy, io9: The timing of Manousos’ arrival in Albuquerque is perfect, maybe not for Carol, but definitely to increase tension in the show. What do you think makes him more angry: the disruption of his new life with Zosia—or the fact that she’s a nagging reminder of why he can’t buy into the myth Zosia represents?
Rhea Seehorn: Good question and good points, because I think it’s both. And then I’ll add, Carol isn’t the best at dwelling on her discomfort. He is quick and hasty and often becomes angry or defensive. And this time, I think he feels found out because he’s lying. You are completely lying. He knows deep down that something is deceiving him about his love for the relationship he started.
However, it appears in very mitigating circumstances. I think she is completely broken from being alone and going through it. And not just 40-plus days, but also the idea that that would be his whole life. He would die alone, never to speak to anyone again. There was no end. I think that really hurt him, and I think he’s playing house—but there’s a part of him that’s still him and knows that there’s something wrong with what he’s doing, and he really hates being called that.
io9: Throughout the season we’ve seen Carol act impulsively and emotionally, but she can also be methodical. You plan. He is holding a white board. What side of him do you think motivated him to bring home the atomic bomb? Or was it a little of both?
Seehorn: I personally think that was a rash act. It felt right to me. I started asking Vince, like, what’s his plan for it? What exactly is he going to do with it? And I could tell he wanted to give me space to find it and/or he was still deciding what he was thinking. And I just let it go because it just made me feel good that Carol—in a moment of trauma, this betrayal, this scared me that “now they won’t answer me again and I have less than a month”—[would] grab something big, the most damaging thing he can do without a plan. It just felt right to say, like, “Well, I want an atomic bomb, and don’t ask me why.”
io9: Towards the end of the season we learn more about the origins of Carol’s writing career. Why do you think Vince Gilligan entered the romance genre in particular, pairing an irreverent character with an honest genre?
Seehorn: I don’t know. You have to ask him. It was good for me that—almost a good world for him that he wished us to have. You are such an insult. Even this world that he describes and sees makes fun of the purple sands but he took those decisions because he created this beautiful world where everyone keeps his own even though he is afraid to make the main character a woman. But it’s definitely a dream. I could see Carol like living in dreams sometimes.
io9: Did you do any research or read any romance books when you came up with the character?
Seehorn: I read a few chapters of different styles, just to get a feel for the different tones, and frankly I was surprised by, I’m embarrassed to say the range of different styles of the romance genre. It’s not like they’re written like these hot novels. I went to Ripped Bodice, which is a romance novel store here in Culver City, and I was blown away by how many undergarments there were and how detailed they were. I also went to a few book readings, and listening to fans talk about the author was very eye-opening.
io9: Seriously speaking, The Golden Girls Carol’s comfort show. Have you ever thought why he is drawn to it, especially in times of trouble?
Seehorn: Sometimes [Vince] they’ll ask me my thoughts on a certain type of thing they’re choosing [for the character]. In that one, they didn’t, but I didn’t have any immediate questions. I totally understand why The Golden Girls it can be someone’s comfort zone. I also understood on a technical level why it’s so funny, even in the theme song, “Thanks for being a friend,” and it’s his only friend at the time.
But I also thought it was a bunch of independent women with their own agency, of all different kinds, living together and finding a way to be in the same community—but with very different and independent thinking about everything and still being able to live in harmony. And that’s part of what Carol is fighting for.
io9: She’s definitely Dorothy, maybe a little bit of Sophia. Now, I know you can’t reveal anything about it Pluribus season two, so I’ll just say I’m really excited to see what happens.
Seehorn: [Laughs] I don’t know anything, so it’s easier not to reveal it!
Pluribus‘ Nine episodes of the first season are now streaming on Apple TV.
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