'Pluribus' Easter Egg is a major callback to iconic scene from Vince Gilligan's hit crime drama
Vince Gilligan's latest series, 'Pluribus', has been off to a strong start. The Apple TV+ drama opened to positive acclaim, and two episodes in, it has already been greenlit for another instalment. The premise is pure genius, with mankind assimilated into a hive mind from an extraterrestrial RNA virus.
Much like his previous work, 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul', Gilligan's attention to detail makes 'Pluribus' a fascinating watch. To add to the fun, the creator also added a throwback Easter Egg to both his shows in his latest. While he's confirmed that the series is not set in either of the previous shows' worlds, there have been a few nods to the cult series.
To begin with, the two shows are set in Albuquerque. Patrick Fabian's preferred McCallan whiskey from 'Better Call Saul' is also seen in 'Pluribus' with Carol (Rhea Seehorn) drinking the same brand in the season opener. In the second episode, 'Pirate Lady', Carol is seen taking a plane to Bilbao for a conference, and the tracking shot of the inside of the plane shows the airliner as 'Wayfarer'. Eagle-eyed fans will remember that the airliner had two planes crashing into each other in 'Breaking Bad' Season 2, Episode 13.
Per Collider, the Easter Egg is also implied to be a callback to the massive deaths during the Joining in 'Pluribus'. Gilligan, referring to the plane crash, could be a way of heightening the magnitude of the death in the latest show.
The Easter Eggs making headlines come on the back of Gilligan's take on 'Pluribus'. “I'm lucky as hell to be known for Breaking Bad," he told TIME. "That'll be the first thing on my tombstone,” he reflects. “But I don't want to be a one-trick pony. If I have any life left in me, I want to do a few other things before I'm done."
He also spoke of the ending of the show, and keeping an open mind to alter the outcome. "I want to stay open to the possibilities of going a different way,” Gilligan told the outlet. "It's like if you get in your car and you say, "I'm in Virginia, I want to head out to California. So I know, basically, the direction I need to head.'"
"But there are all these little side trips and backroads you can take along the way—and that makes the trip more exciting," he further added. "Luck is part of that ride. You may get a flat tire, or you may run into a long-lost friend at a rest stop. But if the destination is appealing and the driver adept, the journey is bound to be worth taking."
'Pluribus' is streaming on Apple TV+
