Swapping Individuality for Unity?

So, Apple TV’s Pluribus dives deep into some heavy stuff! You’ve got a world where humanity is pretty much singing “Kumbaya” together under a new hive mind. But wait, is losing your unique sparkle really worth it for a world without fighting, deception, and all-things-greedy? Can we ditch our free will if it means everyone gets along and no one’s throwing fits?

A Familiar Tune in Sci-Fi

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this idea pop up in sci-fi—think of the Borg in Star Trek or those wild collective vibes in Arcane! But here’s the kicker: there’s one iconic show that never got to deep-dive into this theme: the oh-so-loved The Expanse. They churned out six action-packed seasons based on James S.A. Corey’s space series, but the last book that tackled a hive-mind hack to fix all human messiness never made it to our TV screens. Bummer, right?

Meet Winston Duarte

In the dramatic finale of Leviathan Falls, our buddy Winston Duarte takes it to a whole new level. While on-screen, he was just stretching his totalitarian legs, in the book, he turned into a galactic puppet master! He played with the protomolecule like it was his toy, trying to unite the solar system under his grand Laconian banner. A hint of this was floated in The Expanse finale, but the full episode of chaos was left for the pages.

Hivemind vs Individuality

Unlike the show, the books really laid out Duarte’s brainwave of uniting everyone in Ring space. His plan? Merge everyone’s minds so they could kick the butts of the creeps lurking in the shadows of the gates. Sounds peaceful, right? A single mind kicking butt where the others failed. Well, that was the idea anyway!

Holding onto Selfness in Space

Duarte had a wake-up call in Leviathan Falls when he realized he was thinking too small. He thought he could save humanity by just holding hands, but he soon found out that there’s more to unity than a cozy group hug.

The Gradual Transition

Now, here’s the interesting part—the changes in The Expanse didn’t happen overnight like they do in Pluribus. The folks in the Ring had their little existential crisis while trying to juggle the loss of their personal identities. It’s like watching your favorite grandma trying to handle a smartphone—confusing for everyone!

Keeping It Real

Zosia, that spicy character in Pluribus, throws shade at Carol for not ‘understanding’ the hive mentality. But here’s the kicker for the crew in The Expanse: they weren’t buying into losing their individuality for a dose of togetherness. That pitch fell flat like a pancake on a bad day!

Where’s the Rebellion?

Meanwhile, Carol finds her human pals in Pluribus not being super supportive. The hive mind as chummy and sweet as it seems, is more of a “Thanks, but no thanks” situation for our Expanse rebels. They wanted to keep their sense of self like it was the last cookie in the jar! It’s a real shame we didn’t get to see their epic rebellion unfold on screen.