I loved this analysis, thanks Henry Oliver for this. I think what works really well in the show is the unexpected twist where the "joined" are actually nice, kind and helpful -- while Carol has a tough character, a strong personality and can even be dislikable at times. It makes you question whether we really root for an individual per se, or if we only do it only when we like that person. If we really stand up for our values.
Very interesting piece on the individual-based focus of classical liberalism rather than collectivism, especially given recent current events: Trump's blame of Somalis as a group, rather than blaming malign individuals, or the overreach of identity politics in an age of polarization and the knock-on effects for liberal democracy.
Love this, Henry. Great analysis of the amazing Pluribus. And I completely agree about your Dostoevsky comments. I read Crime and Punishment and am now reading the Brothers Karamazov in a book group. We just finished Anna Karenina which was brilliant. I love Tolstoy and find Dostoevsky a little too manic for my taste. I'll see it through to the end. We are reading it in monthly installments over the year which makes it more digestable. I'll be rereading the wonderful, Death of Ivan Ilyich this week to get a little more Tolstoy in my veins.
Henry, I’ve been very much enjoying listening to your guest interviews but I find that my reading background is (unfortunately) not as wide as yours or your guests, but I have recently watched this excellent series on television, so I’m very much looking forward to reading this article. Yours, Lillian Fogg
Very interesting, Henry, I enjoyed reading that. I found the Pluribus finale scene in Peru where the young girl joins 'the joined' extremely hard to watch - all the beauty, all the mysterious ceremony but at the top of my mind was that this was something akin to a murder suicide - almost unbearable. Go Carol, all the way - will it take an atom bomb? Such a thoughtful and high concept series. I love it.
Very interesting post! Manousos is an interesting comparison point to Carol on a quite a number of levels. His individualism is more principled and thought-out, (the way he pays for everything) whereas Carol's is more a matter of temperament and inclination. This makes him a more determined and effective 'hero' (did your heart not thrill at his enduring the trials of the Darian gap or the way he's teaching himself about radio signals from library books at the end?). It also makes him more potentially ruthless and inflexible – though I think this is a bit overstated. His thing about killing all the joined was only conditional upon them not being able to save them, and he did relax his 'no accepting help from the joined under any conditions' pretty quickly once he saw what opportunities it afforded Carol.
I think a big theme of the second season is going to be their struggle to get on and be good partners: it's going to be be so much more difficult and fractious than the smooth togetherness of the joining, but I think it's going to be a testament to how even connectedness and cooperation are ultimately the best when the people engaging in them remain true individuals.
I loved this analysis, thanks Henry Oliver for this. I think what works really well in the show is the unexpected twist where the "joined" are actually nice, kind and helpful -- while Carol has a tough character, a strong personality and can even be dislikable at times. It makes you question whether we really root for an individual per se, or if we only do it only when we like that person. If we really stand up for our values.
yes I like that very much, the show really challenges the association of nice + good
Very interesting piece on the individual-based focus of classical liberalism rather than collectivism, especially given recent current events: Trump's blame of Somalis as a group, rather than blaming malign individuals, or the overreach of identity politics in an age of polarization and the knock-on effects for liberal democracy.
Love this, Henry. Great analysis of the amazing Pluribus. And I completely agree about your Dostoevsky comments. I read Crime and Punishment and am now reading the Brothers Karamazov in a book group. We just finished Anna Karenina which was brilliant. I love Tolstoy and find Dostoevsky a little too manic for my taste. I'll see it through to the end. We are reading it in monthly installments over the year which makes it more digestable. I'll be rereading the wonderful, Death of Ivan Ilyich this week to get a little more Tolstoy in my veins.
Henry, I’ve been very much enjoying listening to your guest interviews but I find that my reading background is (unfortunately) not as wide as yours or your guests, but I have recently watched this excellent series on television, so I’m very much looking forward to reading this article. Yours, Lillian Fogg
- and I shall share my thoughts when I do!
Very interesting, Henry, I enjoyed reading that. I found the Pluribus finale scene in Peru where the young girl joins 'the joined' extremely hard to watch - all the beauty, all the mysterious ceremony but at the top of my mind was that this was something akin to a murder suicide - almost unbearable. Go Carol, all the way - will it take an atom bomb? Such a thoughtful and high concept series. I love it.
Very interesting post! Manousos is an interesting comparison point to Carol on a quite a number of levels. His individualism is more principled and thought-out, (the way he pays for everything) whereas Carol's is more a matter of temperament and inclination. This makes him a more determined and effective 'hero' (did your heart not thrill at his enduring the trials of the Darian gap or the way he's teaching himself about radio signals from library books at the end?). It also makes him more potentially ruthless and inflexible – though I think this is a bit overstated. His thing about killing all the joined was only conditional upon them not being able to save them, and he did relax his 'no accepting help from the joined under any conditions' pretty quickly once he saw what opportunities it afforded Carol.
I think a big theme of the second season is going to be their struggle to get on and be good partners: it's going to be be so much more difficult and fractious than the smooth togetherness of the joining, but I think it's going to be a testament to how even connectedness and cooperation are ultimately the best when the people engaging in them remain true individuals.