When Pluribus drops Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) into Albuquerque for one night, you know they've been cooking! She’s alone in a city that seems to exist so that it can be the backdrop for her contemplation. To longtime Vince Gilligan fans, the setting may feel familiar, and we'll tell you why. Pluribus writer–producer Jenn Carroll explains: “There’s no moving cars or anything else. There’s just beautiful lights flickering all around her in this very romantic scene.” And that's why Pluribus returned to a location from Better Call Saul.In Season 1 episode 7 (“The Gap,”) we see Carroll’s writing debut for the Apple TV+ show by Gilligan. In it, the rooftop dinner is the fulcrum.Why does Pluribus revisit a Better Call Saul rooftop?Better Call Saul fans remember the rooftop restaurant at Hotel Chaco as the perch where Lydia Rodarte-Quayle once conducted business. But Carroll says that Pluribus wasn’t going for Easter eggs or déjà vu for fans. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThey said the choice was practical and emotional. Albuquerque has changed over the past decade, as Carroll told The Hollywood Reporter. It's now filled with boutique hotels, and Hotel Chaco is one that stood out for its willingness to accommodate filming. That helped Pluribus as its schedule was split between New Mexico and Spain’s Canary Islands.More importantly, the rooftop allows Carol to be surrounded by a city without being connected to anyone, aka the exact issue she is having on the show right now. The city becomes static as she is now removed from humanity. So it's not really a callback, you see? Carol’s lonely dinner scene on Pluribus In this episode, we see how differently two immune characters deal with isolation. Manousos “Manny” Oviedo gets physically exhausted in South America while coming to see our lead. But Carol’s struggle is internal.After weeks of hypervigilance, Carol allows herself a moment of stillness on that rooftop. She eats well and dresses up, too. But while it may look like she is enjoying the freedom, her stillness is sure to be deceptive.RELATED: Rhea Seehorn wants the show to have 10 SeasonsCarroll (the writer!) spoke of this episode and said it's not that our lead has had a moral reversal. So no, Carol hasn’t abandoned her desire to save the world, but just for once, she is trying to survive. The visuals of the rooftop are also according to that logic. Everything is under control, until it isn’t.That later detonates in the infamous fireworks sequence. There, we see Carol’s indifference toward her own safety so clearly. She feels broken and doesn't care that a firework is aimed directly at her. It's very telling, but the writer said the moment wasn't an outright suicide attempt, but a resignation.ALSO READ: One tipped firework exposed the cost of Carol's isolationIt's just a product of prolonged, total solitude. So, in retrospect dinner scene becomes the calm before that storm. In that beauty and stillness, we get to sit inside Carol’s head.Pluribus is streaming on Apple TV+.NEXT UP: Gilligan confirms the show is like GTA | The mystery of HDP | Parents' guide: Why you should let your kid watch this Apple TV thriller?