The Prestige TV Podcast

‘Pluribus’ Season 1 Finale: “La Chica o El Mundo.” Plus, End of the Year Mailbag

December 24, 2025

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  • The hosts agree that the *Pluribus* Season 1 finale, “La Chica o El Mundo,” felt less like a definitive ending and more like a setup for the next phase of the story, similar to other 2025 finales they have covered. 
  • Joanna Robinson expressed disappointment in Carol's character arc within the finale, feeling she became momentarily oblivious to the Hive Mind's potential threats, particularly regarding her frozen eggs, despite her overall successful transformation throughout the season. 
  • The cold open depicting Kusumayo's conversion was highlighted as the episode's best part, brilliantly showcasing the devastating cultural loss—specifically the extinguishing of music and village life—that accompanies joining the Hive Mind. 
  • The hosts shared their highly anticipated television shows for 2026, including Marvel's *Wonder Man* and *Vision Quest*, HBO's *Lanterns*, and *Interview with the Vampire* Season 3, while expressing strong opinions about needing to cover a potential *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* reboot as a trio. 
  • The hosts debated their top five television shows of 2025, with *Andor* and *The Pit* ranking highly for both, and they engaged in a detailed 'dream cast' exercise for the rumored snowbound Season 4 of *The White Lotus*. 
  • The mailbag segment concluded with discussions on the enduring impact of *Lost* on television (both positive for big swings and negative for mystery box addiction), favorite TV intro sequences (like *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* and *Justified*), and personal flavor choices for donuts and water ice. 

Segments

Intro and Year Wrap-up
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(00:00:18)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts confirm this episode is a pre-recorded combination of the Pluribus finale review and an end-of-year mailbag.
  • Summary: This episode of The Prestige TV Podcast is pre-recorded for the holiday week, covering the Pluribus finale and answering listener mailbag questions. The hosts, Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney, confirm they will return in January for coverage of ‘The Pit.’ They also note that a separate review for the Heated Rivalry finale will drop later on the feed.
Finale Feel and Gilligan Comparison
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(00:03:39)
  • Key Takeaway: The Pluribus finale felt like a setup for a future phase, drawing a parallel to Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad habit of introducing plot devices, like the M60 machine gun, without an immediate resolution.
  • Summary: The hosts questioned if the finale felt conclusive, noting it seemed to signal the start of the next story phase. Rob Mahoney referenced Vince Gilligan’s writing process of creating scenarios (like the machine gun in the trunk) and figuring out the resolution later. The atomic bomb reveal in the Pluribus finale raises similar questions about whether the writers have a plan for its deployment.
Carol’s Character Arc Disappointment
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(00:10:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Rob Mahoney found Carol’s arc in the finale disappointing because she appeared too easily seduced by Zosha’s fantasy, showing a temporary lack of intelligence and skepticism.
  • Summary: The domestication of Carol, evidenced by her snapping at Zosha, was noted as a successful part of her transformation. However, her delayed uptake on the frozen egg reveal and her belief in Zosha’s personal affection were seen as disappointing lapses in judgment for a character who had been hyper-skeptical.
Hive Mind Humanization and Rick’s Experiment
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(00:16:53)
  • Key Takeaway: The effectiveness of the finale hinges on whether the show successfully humanized Zosha enough for the audience to feel the invasion of her privacy or Rick’s experimentation is invasive.
  • Summary: The hosts debated if they were emotionally invested enough in Zosha to care about threats against her, contrasting this with the perceived ‘act of violent care’ in Minusos’s attempt to draw out Original Rick from Hive Mind Rick. Minusos’s paranoia about surveillance was deemed justified by the hosts.
Kusumayo Cold Open Analysis
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(00:21:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The cold open, showing Kusumayo’s conversion, brilliantly illustrated the cultural erasure inherent in the Hive Mind by immediately silencing the vibrant village music and performance.
  • Summary: The sequence was compared to Andor’s depiction of cultural flattening by the Empire, showing a vibrant village culture instantly disappear upon conversion. The silence following the conversion suggests the Hive Mind has no interest in or need for art, music, or verbal communication. The placement of this sequence as a cold open primed the audience to side with Minusos against the bleak cultural outcome of the Hive Mind.
Time Dissonance and Carol’s Retreat
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(00:32:46)
  • Key Takeaway: The show’s use of time markers (60 or 71 days passed) creates terror by contrasting the rapid passage of time with the foregrounded soap opera drama, making the end of the world feel normalized.
  • Summary: An email highlighted that the forward clock jumps are gut-punches, emphasizing how quickly 60 days of post-apocalyptic life have become normal for the characters. This rapid normalization contrasts with the initial expectation that Carol should be given a break after only a week or ten days. The discovery of Helen’s hidden motion sensor in the liquor cabinet further betrayed Carol’s past life.
Minusos’s Hustle and Philosophy
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(00:39:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Minusos is characterized as incredibly resourceful, using translator apps and studying Faraday cages, while his philosophy questions the moral hierarchy between human and ant life.
  • Summary: Minusos’s dedication to his mission, including hiking from Paraguay and studying advanced physics, shows immense hustle. His philosophical query to Carol—whether regarding an ant’s life equally to a human’s is evil—challenges human elitism. Carol ultimately chooses her personal existence (the ‘girl’) over the fate of the world (the ‘world’) after her personal sanctity is threatened.
Season Wrap-up and Future Shows
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(00:47:24)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts feel lucky to have Pluribus and Severance as existential sci-fi bookends to the year, highlighting Apple’s commitment to high-concept genre television.
  • Summary: The hosts praised Pluribus for inspiring philosophical exploration regarding art, existence, and resistance, comparing its depth to Severance. They noted that the Carol/Zosha relationship functions as the emotional core, similar to Jimmy and Kim in Better Call Saul. Listener anticipation for 2026 includes Wonder Man, Vision Quest, Lanterns, and Interview with the Vampire Season 3.
Anticipated 2026 Shows
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(00:59:18)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts are intrigued by upcoming Marvel shows Wonder Man and Vision Quest, and highly anticipate Interview with the Vampire Season 3.
  • Summary: Upcoming 2026 shows generating excitement include Marvel’s Wonder Man and Vision Quest, and HBO’s Lanterns. Interview with the Vampire Season 3 is also a high priority for the hosts. There is strong resistance to covering a potential Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot without the full trio of hosts.
FX and Beef Season 2 Hype
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(01:00:33)
  • Key Takeaway: A trusted source suggested the Ryan Murphy-produced Love Story (JFK Jr./Carolyn Bassett story) might lean toward the style of The People v. O.J. Simpson rather than typical Murphy fare.
  • Summary: The FX offering Love Story, concerning the JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bassett story, received a positive review from a trusted source, suggesting it resembles The People v. O.J. Simpson. Beef Season 2 is highly anticipated due to its stacked cast, including Oscar Isaac, Carrie Mulligan, and Song Kang-Ho.
White Lotus Season 4 Dream Cast
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(01:02:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Andrew Scott is a desired addition to the White Lotus cast, and Catherine O’Hara is championed for a Christopher Guest-style spot, potentially wearing ridiculous fur hats.
  • Summary: Casting suggestions for the rumored ‘Cold Lotus’ season included John Cusack and Bob Balaban. Andrew Scott is desired to get more to do, similar to perceived underutilization in Knives Out. The hosts also advocated for Catherine O’Hara and mentioned rumors suggesting Rachel Weisz and Maya Rudolph might be cast.
Pluribus and Severance Crossover
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(01:05:24)
  • Key Takeaway: In a hypothetical crossover, the planned obsolescence of Severance technology suggests the hive mind’s electromagnetic influence would eventually override the severance chip.
  • Summary: A listener asked what would happen if Pluribus occurred in the world of Severance. The hosts reasoned that the electromagnetic nature of the hive mind might eventually overcome the physical chip in Severance. The conclusion was that technology’s planned obsolescence would likely phase out the separation over time.
Top Television Shows of 2025
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(01:06:44)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts’ top five shows of 2025 (excluding Andor Season 2, which remains uncompleted by one host) placed The Pit at number one for Rob and Adolescence at number two for Joanna.
  • Summary: Joanna’s top five included Andor (with an asterisk), The Pit, Task, Adolescence, and Heated Rivalry, noting the latter’s recency bias. Rob ranked The Pit first (as he hadn’t finished Andor), followed by Adolescence, Severance, Task, and Employer Bus.
Taskmaster Series 19 Highlights
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(01:10:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Jason Minzoukis’s appearance in Taskmaster Series 19 was a major breakout moment for US viewers, and contestant Fatihel Ghori was an all-timer, particularly noted for her Batman-themed childhood bedroom.
  • Summary: Joanna spoiled the Champion of Champions winner for herself but was excited to see Sam Campbell return. Fatihel Ghori was highlighted as a standout contestant whose dynamic with Greg Davies was exceptional. The ‘P Olympics’ task, featuring Jason Minzoukis’s innovation, was a memorable moment.
2025 Character Crossovers
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(01:15:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Joanna wished to send Maeve and the kids from Sex Education to the White Lotus for a non-murderous vacation and Nurse Dana from The Pit to clean up the Task Universe.
  • Summary: Rob proposed several crossovers involving Jackson Lamb from Slow Horses in various settings, including The White Lotus and Alien Earth. Joanna suggested sending Nurse Dana to the Task Universe to impose order, noting she would immediately spot Grosso. Rob’s favorite Jackson Lamb scenario was sending him to deal with the second season of Nobody Wants This.
Favorite TV Intro Sequences
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(01:18:12)
  • Key Takeaway: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer intro is considered essential viewing that sets the mood, contrasting with modern shows that often use short musical stings instead of full theme songs.
  • Summary: The hosts agreed that skipping intros is a disservice, especially when starting a new show, citing Buffy, Mad Men, and Friday Night Lights as mood-setting examples. Justified’s ‘Gangster Grass’ remains a phone alarm song for one host. Terriers was praised for having a theme song that makes one want to dance.
Book-to-TV Adaptation Wishlist
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(01:22:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Joanna is waiting for adaptations of Tamara Pierce’s Alanna books and Terry Pratchett’s works, and strongly pitched Lee Bardugo’s Ninth House series about occult magic at Yale.
  • Summary: Joanna desires adaptations of Tamara Pierce’s Alanna books and Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novels. She highly recommended Lee Bardugo’s Ninth House series, which features a trauma survivor monitoring secret societies practicing occult magic at Yale. She also chaotically suggested adapting Petty Reed’s Winston Brothers romance series, notable for its pun-heavy titles like ‘Truth or Beard’.
Oral History and Post-Lost Viewing
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(01:28:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts would most want an oral history on the production of Severance due to persistent rumors of a flawed production, while Lost’s legacy is seen as atomizing into modern TV through both its mystery box addiction and encouragement of big swings.
  • Summary: Rob suggested an oral history on the recent White Lotus season or Severance due to rumored production issues. Joanna cited Twin Peaks: The Return but acknowledged David Lynch would object. Post-Lost recommendations include the German-language sci-fi show Dark and the original Twin Peaks.