Pluribus season 1, episode 3, "Grenade," is a notable change of pace for Vince Gilligan's new sci-fi show compared to its double episode premiere. While it's still a fascinating glimpse into Pluribus' oddly peaceful apocalypse, there is an uneasy sense of calm that washes over the story that was perhaps always destined to descend.
After the show debuted with "We is Us" and "Pirate Lady" dropping on Apple TV at once, I made a prediction that Pluribus would struggle to keep up its flawless execution. As far as I'm concerned, I've quickly been proven correct. While "Grenade" is absolutely not a bad episode of television, it's been made to look a little worse than it is thanks to the show's strong start.
FULL SPOILERS for Pluribus Episode 3, "Grenade," below.
"Grenade" is a very slow-paced episode, even by Vince Gilligan's standards
The Breaking Bad franchise is still Vince Gilligan's biggest project to date, and many of the same hallmarks from the award-winning crime saga have carried over into Pluribus. Gilligan has a strong directorial style that he imprints on everything he oversees. One of the biggest signifiers of whether you're watching a Gilligan episode is that it's probably quite a slow-paced affair.
When I say "slow-paced," I do not mean "boring." The Pluribus creator/showrunner has a great talent for letting silence and sparse dialogue speak volumes, and that intangible skill is evident in the execution of "Grenade." That said, sometimes the balance of this sedate approach is a little off. Shots can linger for too long, or there's just a hair too much time between the few lines that are spoken.
Aside from a few key moments, like the Norway flashback in the episode's VERY cold open, back-and-forth dialogue is at more of a premium than usual. That said, it does make it more impactful when Carol actually gets to have a conversation. It's probably a necessary evil to have all of this combine and form the episode, but it does harm its quality a little.
Carol's most important Pluribus scene so far happens in "Grenade"
From a certain point of view, Rhea Seehorn's Carol Sturka is incredibly self-centered. Rather than embracing the world peace that has taken the world by storm, she's actively trying to find ways to bring an end to humanity's hive mind. The Joining scares and angers her, despite everyone's insistence that there's nothing but bliss to be taken from the experience. Carol's insistence on returning Earth's population to the way it was is Pluribus' core storyline, and it perfectly encapsulates what many would interpret as selfishness on Carol's behalf.
This character trait is on full display in "Grenade," during the six-minute sequence that shows Carol arriving at an empty grocery store after the Joining has emptied it out to centralize food distribution. Citing "independence" as her reason for objecting to this move, Carol demands that everything in the store be returned. The scene is beautifully shot, and Seehorn's fantastic facial acting allows her to communicate to the audience how much Carol regrets giving such an extensively self-serving order.
Whether or not this scene acts as a wake-up call for Carol isn't immediately clear. However, given Gilligan's preference to have his characters ignore their own flaws over and over again until it's too late, I think it's safe to say that Carol has no problem sweeping aside what she's done for now and is just satisfied with getting what she wanted. It's not as action-packed as the scene that sees Zosia (Karolina Wydra) save Carol from the episode's titular weapon, but it's still one of the biggest highlights.
"Grenade" ramps down Pluribus' worldbuilding — but I understand why
Many Breaking Bad fans tuning in to watch Pluribus were probably quite shocked and a little confused. Sci-fi isn't for everyone, so certain fans following Gilligan over from his iconic crime saga may have felt a little lost and in need of a more streamlined explanation of the world that's introduced and fleshed out in Pluribus' first two episodes. On the other hand, the show can't spend too long setting up its high-concept premise, or it'd have no time for storytelling.
Thankfully, Pluribus found a pretty balanced approach to welcoming in audiences who both did and didn't routinely engage with sci-fi shows, but there was still a lot of lore to explain. By "Grenade," everything is either in place for everyone to understand what's going on, or it's being drip-fed into the show when dictated by the plot.
The result of this is that the world of Pluribus quickly starts to feel quite familiar, and its wonderfully bizarre premise starts to lose some of that unusual edge. "Grenade" does teach viewers a few new things about the Joining and how human society now functions, but learning those pieces of lore doesn't feel as frantic as it once did.
Although this might disappoint hardcore sci-fi heads, it opens up more cracks for what Gilligan fans loved about Breaking Bad to shine through. The enthralling dynamic between the various characters can then take the lion's share of the focus, and for all of the small shortcomings in "Grenade," Carol's interactions with the other characters in Pluribus' third episode are as entertaining as ever.
Episode Grade: B-
Pluribus season 1 is currently airing weekly on Apple TV. The finale is scheduled for release on December 26, 2025.