This Blink-and-You'll-Miss-It 'Pluribus' Easter Egg Calls Back to ‘Breaking Bad’s Most Disturbing Scene

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Pluribus Episodes 1 & 2.

Vince Gilligan‘s new show on Apple TV, Pluribus, is already dominating online trends and receiving critical acclaim after only two episodes, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does it have a fascinating premise, with humanity assimilated into a hive mind from an RNA recipe sent from outer space, but Gilligan’s attention to detail remains as sharp as ever. In nearly every scene, whether characters are engaged in thrilling dialogue or mundane activities, the screen is a feast for the eyes, just as it was in Gilligan’s previous series, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

While Gilligan has already confirmed that Pluribus is not set in the Breaking Bad world, parallels between the two universes have already emerged. Both are set in Albuquerque, and the whiskey brand, McCallan, that Howard (Patrick Fabian) regularly drinks in Better Call Saul is drunk by Carol (Rhea Seehorn) at the end of the premiere episode, “We is Us.” However, there is an even smaller detail that may have escaped most viewers’ attention, and it alludes to one of the most disturbing moments in Breaking Bad. Rather than just being an Easter egg for the sake of it, this parallel may be key to understanding the dark subtleties of Gilligan’s new series.

In ‘Pluribus,’ Carol Flies on the Same Airline That Appears in ‘Breaking Bad’s Darkest Scene

In Episode 2 of Pluribus, “Pirate Lady,” Carol requests a meeting between her and the other English-speaking people who inexplicably weren’t affected by the assimilation; assisted by the hivemind, she takes a plane to Bilbao for an in-person conference. As her chaperon, Zosia (Karolina Wydra), leaves the cockpit to check on Carol, we are treated to a long tracking shot down the aisles of the plane, showing not only the empty isolation Carol is surrounded by, but also what airliner she is currently on.

The seats display the name “Wayfarer,” and for Breaking Bad viewers, this may ring a bell or even cause some audience PTSD. That is because this is the same airliner that saw two planes crash in midair above Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) home in Season 2, Episode 13, “ABQ.” It was arguably the most deaths that viewers witnessed in one scene in the entirety of Breaking Bad and highlighted the scale of damage Walter was causing to people he didn’t even know, so to see Carol innocently flying on the same airline in Pluribus creates a frightening contrast that holds more subtext than just a callback.

‘Pluribus’s Disturbing ‘Breaking Bad’ Easter Egg Reflects One of Vince Gilligan’s Trademark Devices

The catastrophic plane crash isn’t just a random occurrence in Breaking Bad; it’s the greatest execution of Gilligan’s storytelling structure: the slow and out-of-context build to an explosive climax. Leading up to this event, several episodes in Season 2 boasted monochrome cold openings that revealed debris in Walter’s house, inviting viewers to ponder what could have happened. Already, Pluribus has revealed a similar idea in the opening of Episode 2, when Zosia is first introduced as a random member of the hivemind who drops what she is doing to fly to America and shower, along with a hair and makeup team ready to prep her for her first meeting with Carol. This drawn-out journey also calls a Breaking Bad moment to mind: when Tuco Salamanca’s (Raymond Cruz) cousins first crawl to a shrine, their intentions aren’t made clear until later, when they light a candle with Walter’s picture next to it.

These scenes may feel random at first, or a way for Gilligan to show off his directing skills, but they serve a key purpose in showing the underlying detail behind a character’s intentions and commitment. The buildup to Breaking Bad‘s Wayfarer disaster emphasizes the dark butterfly effect Walt’s actions have. Ultimately, the crash is caused by Jane’s (Krysten Ritter) father (John de Lancie) having a silent breakdown while working as an air traffic controller following his daughter’s death, which Walt allowed to happen. Pluribus has not only reflected this butterfly effect, but made it the entire foundation of the show’s premise, as the hivemind takes over humanity through one, then two, then four individuals before assimilating billions of people. For Carol, her anger has also had unintended consequences, as it causes the Others to experience seizures, ultimately killing over eleven million people across the globe.

‘Pluribus’s Airline Easter Egg Hints at the Destruction Caused by the Joining

Using the airline that is associated with death and destruction in Breaking Bad is also a subtle callback to how many people died during the Joining in Pluribus. During the meeting of the immune English speakers in Episode 2, Zosia reveals that over 800 million people died while the hivemind took over. That number, around 10% of Earth’s population, is frightening in and of itself, but the audience is left to assume how many of those people would have died in ways similar to the Wayfarer disaster, with planes crashing as there is no pilot to keep them airborne.

With this subtle Easter egg, Pluribus offers a hint for more eagle-eyed viewers to remember that, even though the Others claim to be peaceful in their mission, the damage they have already inflicted is beyond easy comprehension. Gilligan clearly intends for people to look at each scene as closely as possible, but whether there will be a scene on Breaking Bad‘s scale of disaster and horror in Pluribus is currently unclear. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, or that it hasn’t already occurred off-screen — and sometimes, there’s nothing more terrifying than a viewer’s imagination.