In Season 1 of Pluribus, there’s a moment in Episode 5 (“Got Milk”) that long-time TV fans picked up on right away. Carol Sturka gets a recorded phone message, and the voice on the line belongs to Patrick Fabian.Yes, Howard Hamlin for anyone who lived through the Better Call Saul years. For many viewers, the voice felt familiar, but the reveal still came as a surprise.Even Rhea Seehorn didn’t know it was him. She only caught it when the director played the cut. She laughed and said, “That’s Patrick!” which tells you how quietly the team handled this little trick.Of course, this isn’t a real on-screen comeback. Fabian doesn’t appear. It’s just a voicemail -- a quick greeting. However, the choice feels intentional -- a small nod to the people who know the older show inside out.Better Call Saul cameo in PluribusPluribus (Image Source: Prime Video)Why the team kept it low-keyThey didn’t tell Seehorn because they wanted her natural reaction. That’s a classic behind-the-scenes move -- simple and effective -- it shows the creators understand the kind of details their audience pays attention to.And honestly, this cameo makes sense when you look at who’s making Pluribus. Several folks behind the camera also worked on Better Call Saul. So the voice cameo doesn’t feel like a marketing play. It feels like an inside wink from one production family to another.The tone of Pluribus helps, too. The show leans into disorientation, shifting identity, and that eerie psychological tension. Dropping a familiar voice out of nowhere adds to that texture. It bumps the mood just a bit.So does this mean the shows are connected?Not really. Both the creators and the fans have been clear: Pluribus isn’t part of the Breaking Bad universe. It’s its own world. The voicemail functions more like a small treat than a crossover.And because it’s only a voice, there’s no plot interference. No character baggage. It feels more like a memory brushed against the edge of the story. In a show centered on hive minds and identity loss, that choice fits almost too well.So the cameo ends up feeling symbolic more than anything else -- a respectful nod to past work while the new show builds its own footing.What fans are sayingOn Reddit, viewers said they missed the cameo during their first watch. But once they replayed the scene, everything clicked. Reddit user @PepeMetallero summed it up nicely:Comment byu/andromeda2030 from discussion inpluribustvPlenty of fans also keep reminding newcomers that the cameo isn’t essential to the plot. It won’t change your understanding of the season. It’s meant to be fun, not heavy.Some even treat it as a creative inside joke- the kind you spot only if you’ve lived with the creator’s earlier stories.What this tells us about Pluribus and where it’s headingHonestly, it shows confidence. The creators didn’t lean on big-name cameos to drive hype. They trust their new world, their tone, and their lead. The cameo is seasoning, nothing more.It also shows they still value the audience that followed them from older projects, not by repeating old stories, but by planting little rewards along the way.And with Season 2 already confirmed, expect future cameos, if they happen, to stay subtle. Easter eggs. Nothing pulls the story off track. The show seems interested in standing on its own, and this approach enables it to do exactly that.