Pluribus originally was supposed to have a very different ending, Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn reveal

One of Apple TV's most popular shows in 2025, Pluribus, saw its season finale released earlier today. The episode, titled "La Chica o El Mundo," kept fans hooked to their screens till the very end, and dropped some major bombshells.

The episode presents Carol with a dilemma, where she has to make a choice between Manousos Oviedo and save the world, and embracing her romance with Zosia and thereby joining all 7 billion Others who share the hive mentality. In the end, Carol ends up going with Manousos; however, she chooses to go on a globe-trotting adventure with Zosia before making that decision.

However, in a recent chat with Variety, showrunners Rhea Seehorn and Vince Gilligan revealed that the original ending that was planned for the series did not make it into the final cut; instead, the ending fans saw was an alternative ending.

Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn reveal that there was an alternate ending in mind for Pluribus Season 1

In conversation with Variety, showrunners Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn, and writers Gordon Smith and Alison Tatlock dove deep into the creation process for the highly successful show, Pluribus.

During the course of this conversation, Gilligan revealed that the original ending that they had planned for the show did not make it to the final cut, and the key contributors behind this decision were Apple and Sony. He explained that the ending they had was "perfectly good," but if they went ahead with it, the ending would be "satisfying but not as satisfying."

"We had an ending that was perfectly good. It would have been satisfying but not as satisfying. And we got a note. You know the old thing about how executives always have stupid notes. Actually, Apple and Sony said, “Is there an even better ending to be had?” And we listened, and I’m really glad they gave us that note. It made for a better ending."

Tatlock and Smith added, saying that the change in story was made one or two days into the filming process, because the ending they went with was not the one that was broken in the writers' room.

Upon request, Smith also revealed the original ending that they had planned for Pluribus. He revealed that in the original version, the plot progressed in a similar fashion, but it was much more subtle. Instead of an atom bomb drop, she would simply slip a note to Manousos, forging a pact and potentially playing double agent.

"It was similar to that ending. It was more subtle. Carol secretly forges a pact with Manousos, slips him a note and is perhaps going to play double agent. There wasn’t as much of a flag planted, like: “Nope, I’m not doing this. This relationship with the Others can’t continue.”"

Gilligan added, saying that instead of the atom bomb, the decision would be more subtly shown. However, he also confessed that even before receiving word from Apple and Sony, the writers themselves had some doubt about whether this was the most satisfying way to end the story.

"Other than the atom bomb not being part of it, it was not open warfare. It was, I’m going to continue to be a double agent. It was covert. Even before we got the note, we thought, Is this the most satisfying way to go? Do we buy this?"

Regardless, the ending that the Pluribus showrunners finally went ahead with has been extremely well received by the audience, as they are already waiting for Season 2 of the show.

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All episodes of Pluribus Season 1 are available to stream on Apple TV+.

READ MORE: Pluribus Episode 9 recap and finale ending explained: Carol makes a devastating choice

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