If Apple TV needed proof that it’s dominating the “high-concept sci-fi” genre, look at Reddit! On there Pluribus and Severance are being pitted against each. And it’s straught up delicious to see fans work through their collective identity crisis on two modern hit shows where identity itself is the mess.Over on Reddit, one user dropped a breakdown of how both shows orbit the same idea from opposite ends. As the OP framed it, the show is shaping up to be Apple TV’s “next big original,” and the parallels with Severance are piling up. Then, another commenter chimed in with: “Pluribus isn’t a mystery box like Severance (…) In Severance the actions of the characters are most of the time very meaningless (...) while in Pluribus so far everything Carol does leads to interesting consequences and information.” Because if Severance made viewers hungry for clues, Pluribus is content to lay its rules on the table and shove viewers into the deep end.Let's compare Pluribus and SeveranceWhat’s fascinating is how both shows treat identity like it’s foldable and can even be reversed, depending on who’s holding it.In Severance, identity itself fractures. One body, two minds. It’s a show built on walls between innie and outie. Technically, it is about the person you think you are and the one you manufacture to survive in the corporate world. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAs one user put it, everyone is “a stranger even to [themself].”Meanwhile, Gilligan's show goes the opposite way. Here identity floods, there's way too much of it in one consciousness. The “hive,” as fans are calling it, is a philosophical plot device. The idea of privacy no longer exists, so secrets are impossible. Redditors are pointing out that it’s a continuity problem. There’s no “innie vs. outie” --- only the sameness of perspectives.And where Severance blames Lumon Industries (to symbolize corporate environments), Pluribus hinges the identity theft on an alien RNA virus that rewires free will. One commenter argued that this alone gives it a different moral weight. In both shows, though, the protagonists are depressed alcoholics grieving a lost love. Apple TV clearly has a type, right?ALSO READ: This Apple TV+ thriller was "never called Wycaro 339"How does the show work without a “mystery”?The hottest take of the thread is that the 2025 show might have a stronger narrative because it sidesteps the classic mystery. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAs one user argued, Severance thrives on unknowns. That’s also why the wait for Season 2 nearly caused a micro-meltdown online. But Pluribus hands you its science and rules early, then lets Carol influence the world around her. Her decisions trigger real outcomes. Redditors love the agency and so do we. The show seems to trust its audience without repeated riddles.RELATED: Is Vince Gilligan's show scientifically correct? Here’s what we knowStill, some fans say that three episodes is too early to declare anything definitively. But others argue that comparisons matter when both shows are obsessed with what it means to be human when humanity splits or merges.Severance and Pluribus are both streaming on Apple TV+.