In a conversation with Dexerto, Vince Gilligan responded to the Google Earth discovery that spoiled the ending of Pluribus Episode 7, and he’s all for fans digging around for clues – but there is a line he believes shouldn’t be crossed.
For the uninitiated, Episode 7 of the Apple TV series shows Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga) embarking on a dangerous trek through the Darién Gap, while Carol (Rhea Seehorn) battles with her isolation.
The hive mind essentially had her on a time out ever since she administered truth serum to Zosia (Karolina Wydra) in a bid to get answers about the virus. After weeks of loneliness, Carol finally breaks and paints the words “come back” on her drive, leading to Zosia’s return.
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But days prior, fans had already spotted the words “come back” after looking up the historical data of the Pluribus set on Google Earth. Gilligan heard about this, and he supports “people trying to figure out what’s gonna happen next.”
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Pluribus writers discuss crossing the spoiler line
Apple TV
“I’m all for it,” Gilligan told us. “I do that myself.” However, there is a limit to this: “People trying to ruin it for other people, that’s where I draw the line.”
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Pluribus writer and director Gordon Smith agreed, “It’s nice that people are engaged and interested. I feel like [it’s fine] when people can keep that to themselves and say, ‘Look, I found something,’ and not try and make it so that other people get screwed up.”
Gilligan then provided an example of where digging for spoilers went too far: Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.
Back in 2014, the full script for the movie leaked online after Tarantino circulated it privately among a small group of actors. The filmmaker was furious, publicly announcing that he was scrapping the film altogether because of the leak.
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The Weinstein Company
He later softened his stance, staging a live script reading with actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell, before ultimately deciding to go ahead and make the film after all. The Hateful Eight was released in 2015, but the leak certainly derailed the project for some time.
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“When Quentin Tarantino had a movie a couple of movies ago, somebody found the script before it was even shot and put the whole thing on the internet,” Gilligan said. “That’s like a crime against art.”
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Pluribus writer and producer Alison Tatlock added, “We love speculation because it means that the show is meaty enough that people are wondering and arguing and debating, and that’s fantastic.
“That’s very different than finding evidence of something and spoiling it for the world.”
That being said, Smith said he “can’t believe” that the Google Earth snapshot happened to be taken at the “one period of time” when they had the words “come here” painted on set.
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Gilligan then joked, ”Isn’t it great? Google’s watching us all 24 hours a day. I sleep better at night knowing that they’re watching over us.” Spoken like a true Other.
Pluribus Episodes 1-7 are streaming on Apple TV now. For more on the show, read about the hive mind’s sinister practice of anthropophagy, why Carol Sturka’s name is important, and why you shouldn’t expect an M. Night Shyamalan style twist in Pluribus.
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