I haven’t see any discussion for this show on Lemmy so I thought I’d be the first!
Pluribus is the new show from Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul. The marketing on this show was so vague that it was intended to be watched completely blind, with nobody knowing what it was even about.
"Them" Theory
I think, at face value, “they” are truly benign in their own way. However, because “they” don’t consider assimilation to be causing harm, merely a biological imperative, ultimately humanity and Earth are merely going to be vessels for “them” to further procreate.
In the first episode, the astrophysicists were discussing the massive energy requirements and how it would have taken an antenna array the “size of Africa” to send that signal.
My theory is that is the endgame for earth/humanity (and was what happened on the planet where the signal originated). “They”, while benign and otherwise passive, will use “their” hive mind and a significant portion (or all) of Earth’s resources to build another transmitter to further spread.
How much of humanity is lost in that endeavor and how much resources remain afterward are yet to be determined though. Maybe “they” leave a remnant population, maybe “they” don’t.
Good line of thinking. I also started wondering what “they” do when they are not busy pampering the last remaining individuals.
spoiler
I think you’re on the money. The signal humanity got is also most likely from an alien species that suffered the same fate, it’s a virus trying to spread to the whole universe.