“The Most Miserable Person on Earth.” George Costanza would like a word.
“I’m watching Pluribus,” said Contending co-founder Joey Moser in a voice message to me (one of many). “I’m a little annoyed with the tagline of this show.”
Finally, someone else nailed something that had been bothering me from the beginning of Apple TV’s hit series.
Pluribus Tagline
If you don’t know the tagline of Vince Gilligan’s Emmy-nominated drama series, it’s:
“The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.”
The tagline stems from some sort of alien entity that has taken over the collective consciousness of the earth, save for Carol (the great Rhea Seahorn) and a few other humans. The fun of the series is that everyone thinks the same and has the same cheerful attitude, while Carol remains grounded and aware that having the same collective thoughts is dangerous.
Define “Miserable,” Especially in TV Terms
But the “miserable”-ness the show is actually referring to is the Carol before the aliens takeover.
When we meet Carol, she’s just coming back from a book tour and a ton of traveling. Of course, she’s going to be exhausted and irritated, especially in contrast to her wife Helen (Miriam Shor), who beams with positivity.
Shortly after this intro, Helen unexpectedly dies due to the alien invasion (or whatever you want to call it), causing Carol to be angry and obviously heartbroken — something she remains for most of the season.
Like Joey, I, too, immediately rejected the idea that she’s the most miserable person on Earth. Maybe she is after the aliens take over, but not before. She seems to be just tired. Even in the flashbacks to when they stay in the ice hotel, Carol is irritable, perhaps, but not miserable. If we really wanted to name some of the most miserable characters on television, I can think of a few who are MUCH more unhappy than Carol. And frankly, I find it a little sexist that she gets labeled with this description when these characters exist.
First, George Costanza. Seinfeld’s sidekick is never happy. Literally the most miserable man on television. He gets his dream job for the Yankees and hates it. He lands a girl way out of his league (who’s wealthy!) and immediately wants out of it (even though he pursued her to begin with!). Even in his everyday life, he’s miserable. When his therapist doesn’t react positively to his TV script, he becomes enraged and obsessed with why she doesn’t like it, ultimately throwing Jerry under the bus for its quality. (He’s also incredibly weak.)
But George isn’t the only one. Don Draper is also pretty miserable, rarely cracking a smile or even a joke. He lives a lie, and he wears it on his skin beneath every suit. BoJack Horseman, also miserable. Larry David, a walking-talking personification of misery, who can’t enjoy any single experience because he worries about everyone else (see: George Costanza).
And yet, none of these characters has ever been designated “the most miserable person on earth.” Although Carol isn’t completely likable, so maybe the description makes us warm to her in terms of expectation. (“She’s not that bad.”)
Pluribus is a really inventive, original show, but it’s an oversimplification—and frankly unfair—to label Carol miserable. And I reject the collective hive mind that came up with it.
Pluribus is streaming on Apple TV.
