Plur1bus: Apple TV+'s indictment of Mormonism
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2025 3:29 pm
(mild spoilers)
I admit I didn't see this one coming, I didn't even think I'd like the show and in fact, I only watched the first episode of Pluribus because I haven't seen anything in at least three weeks and it seems like enough effort was put into the marketing that there must be something there. It took nearly the entire first episode to get over the premise, which I didn't like, but I came away optimistic. I was happy to learn, the next morning, that a second episode was available, and I liked it much better than the first. In fact, I was surprised to learn that the whole show is apparently a stern warning against the spread of Mormonism! It's very weird because Mormonism isn't exactly catching on like a virus and the mind viruses of today don't work anything like what goes on in the show. It's pure fantasy without relevance to the times we're living in. But it absolutely is about Mormonism.
Vince Gilligan, accidently, first redeemed a deranged high school teacher, then a dirty lawyer, and now he takes a shot at a female lead who checks all the boxes of a hateful feminist. Imagine a cynical female author who despises her fans, despises her own writing, is lesbian, probably even Marxist although that hasn't been implied yet, has no social and family ties, a substance abuser, and lives in a McMansion of a cul de sac with plenty of space between neighbors. What could be the mental undoing of such a person?
A happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic, hopeful, simplistic, and attractive Mormon moving in next door! Zosia, it should be sister Zosia and all that's missing is a nametag and companion, approaches Carol, the lead, unassumingly within Carol's backyard to offer her water. Carol is every bit as thirsty as Ben Hur, but unlike the suffering and and godless Ben Hur, the godless Carol is too stubborn to take a drop from the Savior or show a hint of gratitude. She'd rather just collapse and die. But Zosia, the good Mormon neighbor that she is, won't take "no" for an answer. She respects Carol's free agency and she repays anger with kindness.
At least to the degree she can. Let's just say that the worst of Carol's anger triggers a very bad response in Zosia. It's as Mormon as it gets. Recall all the shame your primary teach threw at your feet explaining that Jesus suffered all the more with each of your sins. I know my parents didn't need to threaten or punish me, only demonstrate how terribly my unwelcome decisions hurt them personally. And the entity or church -- a church is a community of saints -- that Zosia represents is not, despite first appearances, a single entity, but "social trinitarian". Dan Peterson would recognize this immediately.
There could be objections to painting the community as the Mormon church, for instance, the community practices Ahimsa, and we'd be tempted to think it's woke, or something like that, but this is a superficial concern. For one, Mormonism has no theology, and so it's quite inconsistent. It would require 90 episodes instead of 9 to tell the story through all of Mormonism's absurdities if it went for full accuracy. Mormonism does have doctrines that are close enough regarding the treatment of animals and respect for living things, it's not all about worshiping one's stomach, as Dan seems to think. The community in the show is Mormonism at its theoretical best.
Is it a good show? I think so. I'm hooked. Carol Sturka isn't quite as good as Walter White but I'd say better than Saul. Saul was a great supporting character but I never felt stood on his own. I'd say if you're one of those Mormons who knew what your church taught and ever wanted to know what the City of Enoch would be like, then this show is for you.
I admit I didn't see this one coming, I didn't even think I'd like the show and in fact, I only watched the first episode of Pluribus because I haven't seen anything in at least three weeks and it seems like enough effort was put into the marketing that there must be something there. It took nearly the entire first episode to get over the premise, which I didn't like, but I came away optimistic. I was happy to learn, the next morning, that a second episode was available, and I liked it much better than the first. In fact, I was surprised to learn that the whole show is apparently a stern warning against the spread of Mormonism! It's very weird because Mormonism isn't exactly catching on like a virus and the mind viruses of today don't work anything like what goes on in the show. It's pure fantasy without relevance to the times we're living in. But it absolutely is about Mormonism.
Vince Gilligan, accidently, first redeemed a deranged high school teacher, then a dirty lawyer, and now he takes a shot at a female lead who checks all the boxes of a hateful feminist. Imagine a cynical female author who despises her fans, despises her own writing, is lesbian, probably even Marxist although that hasn't been implied yet, has no social and family ties, a substance abuser, and lives in a McMansion of a cul de sac with plenty of space between neighbors. What could be the mental undoing of such a person?
A happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic, hopeful, simplistic, and attractive Mormon moving in next door! Zosia, it should be sister Zosia and all that's missing is a nametag and companion, approaches Carol, the lead, unassumingly within Carol's backyard to offer her water. Carol is every bit as thirsty as Ben Hur, but unlike the suffering and and godless Ben Hur, the godless Carol is too stubborn to take a drop from the Savior or show a hint of gratitude. She'd rather just collapse and die. But Zosia, the good Mormon neighbor that she is, won't take "no" for an answer. She respects Carol's free agency and she repays anger with kindness.
At least to the degree she can. Let's just say that the worst of Carol's anger triggers a very bad response in Zosia. It's as Mormon as it gets. Recall all the shame your primary teach threw at your feet explaining that Jesus suffered all the more with each of your sins. I know my parents didn't need to threaten or punish me, only demonstrate how terribly my unwelcome decisions hurt them personally. And the entity or church -- a church is a community of saints -- that Zosia represents is not, despite first appearances, a single entity, but "social trinitarian". Dan Peterson would recognize this immediately.
There could be objections to painting the community as the Mormon church, for instance, the community practices Ahimsa, and we'd be tempted to think it's woke, or something like that, but this is a superficial concern. For one, Mormonism has no theology, and so it's quite inconsistent. It would require 90 episodes instead of 9 to tell the story through all of Mormonism's absurdities if it went for full accuracy. Mormonism does have doctrines that are close enough regarding the treatment of animals and respect for living things, it's not all about worshiping one's stomach, as Dan seems to think. The community in the show is Mormonism at its theoretical best.
Is it a good show? I think so. I'm hooked. Carol Sturka isn't quite as good as Walter White but I'd say better than Saul. Saul was a great supporting character but I never felt stood on his own. I'd say if you're one of those Mormons who knew what your church taught and ever wanted to know what the City of Enoch would be like, then this show is for you.