Pluribus Teases Its Boldest Mystery Yet: The Vanishing Animals
Vince Gilligan’s Apple TV series Pluribus delivers a knockout premise — and a maddening question: where did all the animals go? The show keeps dropping hints, but the vanishing wildlife remains its most tantalizing mystery.
Vince Gilligan built a killer premise with Pluribus on Apple TV+. But there is one nagging question the show keeps dancing around: where did all the animals go after 'the Joining'?
The show keeps teasing it, but never answers it
We know the broad strokes: most humans merged into a collective hive mind. Cool, creepy, very Gilligan. But what about everything with fur, feathers, or scales?
So far, the series has been deliberately coy. Rhea Seehorn's Carol has been crossing through empty spaces and still hasn’t run into a single stray dog, cat, pigeon, nothing. The show drops the topic now and then, but never confirms whether animals got pulled into the same mind-meld as people or something else happened.
What the show has actually told us
There was a key bit at the summit: Xiu Mei says the Joined were the ones who emptied the zoos. That suggests the animals were released back into the wild to reset the balance we messed up. If that’s true, you would still expect the occasional raccoon or city bird to wander into frame. But urban sightings? Zero so far.
Another thing the Joined say about themselves: killing animals is not part of their nature. Taken together, the show is implying the animals weren’t wiped out and the hive isn’t hunting them. Still, the lack of any onscreen critters is... suspicious.
The working theories (from viewers and the show’s breadcrumbs)
- They joined up too: Maybe animals plugged into the hive with the humans. The show hasn’t backed this with anything concrete though.
- They were set free: The zoos were emptied, and the animals headed back to their natural habitats, which would explain why cities are so quiet.
- They are not part of the hive at all: Fans on Reddit lean toward animals being separate. That could mean they’re immune in the same way some humans are.
- They’re out there, just off-camera: The simplest read. They exist; we just haven’t been shown them yet.
Bottom line: Pluribus is clearly saving this reveal for later. The mystery is interesting because it’s both world-building and character shading — what the hive chooses to do with other living things says a lot about what it is.
Pluribus has four episodes out now on Apple TV+. Looks like we’re waiting a bit longer before the show finally answers the animal question outright.