Mrs. Davis (Peacock) (1 Viewer)

[jayembee]

So...new series on Peacock titled Mrs. Davis. Stars Betty Gilpin, Jake McDorman, Margo Martindale, et alia. Created by Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof. It started last Thursday (4/20) with the first four (of eight) episodes. The rest of the episodes will be released one a week.

Set in an alternate 2023, where "Mrs. Davis" -- an autocratic AI -- runs the world. Sister Simone, a nun (Gilpin) becomes an agent of resistance who agrees to go on a quest for Mrs. Davis in exchange for the AI shutting itself down once Simone completes her quest, which is to find and destroy the Holy Grail.

That the show was released on "4/20" seems somehow appropriate, because this show is so completely bat-shit bonkers, that Hernandez and Lindelof must've been smoking some serious shit when they plotted this out. But it's bat-shit bonkers in a good way. It moves from one crazy scene to another with nary a moment to catch your breath, and it has so many unexpected twists and turns that you have no idea where it's going. And yet, it's not random; everything seems to be connected and mean something, even if in some crazy way.

There's little doubt that the show is a satirical jab at the seeming apotheosis of social media, and that Simone being a nun suggests a sense of the conflict between faith and technology. But even that's not superficial, as religion is a notable part of the narrative in some strange and unexpected ways. One of the more notable things about the use of religion in this show is that, while they clearly have fun with some aspects of the Church, they don't really make fun of it. Sister Simone isn't just playing at being a nun; she really is a nun, and for reasons that in context are good reasons. It's hard to go into more detail without introducing some spoilers.

Recommended.

 

[spshultz]

Thanks for posting this. I knew nothing of the show other than seeing the ad for it on Peacock and always skipped on past it. But, this sounds like it might be worthy of a watch.

 

[Josh Dial]

This show is excellent. One of the bright spots so far this year. Like Jerry wrote above, it's completely bonkers, but in a good way. It's got a nice amount of absurdist charm, it's funny, and it has some truly off-the-wall performances (the slide deck presentation in episode 2 is a highlight).

I sort of...love this.

 

[jayembee]

This show is excellent. One of the bright spots so far this year. Like Jerry wrote above, it's completely bonkers, but in a good way. It's got a nice amount of absurdist charm, it's funny, and it has some truly off-the-wall performances (the slide deck presentation in episode 2 is a highlight).

I sort of...love this.

Chris Diamantopoulos as JQ is hysterical!

 

[jayembee]

They stuck the landing. The finale was satisfying. Anything that didn't get resolved didn't need to get resolved. My initial impression, right after the finale ended, was that there were still too many questions regarding Wiley's storyline. But the more I thought about it, the more everything about that storyline fell into place. However, I realized that I really need to watch the ending again to see if I can determine something regarding Wiley that I hadn't noticed the first time.

Spoiler

When Wiley showed up on horseback to meet with Simone and Celeste, could it be determined if he still had his "expiration" tat?

Terrific show, beginning to end.

My hope now is that even though this was a Peacock show, it was produced by Warner Television, and that they will release this on Blu-ray.

 

[jayembee]

Two more things...

(1) Buffalo Wild Wings?!?!?!

(2) Mrs. Davis's final question to Sister Simone would caused me to generate a massive spit-take if I'd been trying to drink something at the time.

Spoiler

I absolutely HATE getting asked to take a satisfaction survey every time I have an interaction with a business, whether it be a car repair or simply shopping at a pharmacy. I just refuse to do them.

 

[Josh Dial]

10/10

A rare "perfect" show for me. My last perfect show was Station Eleven in 2021/2022.

 

[DaveF]

“Mrs. Davis” is not must-watch, but if you want a complete-story, mini-series that is bonkers with a satisfying ending — possibly the weirdest and most unexpected show I’ve seen since Legion S1 — this is for you. Betty Gilpin, who I last watched in GLOW (highly recommended except for its unfortunate premature cancellation after S3), plays Simone, a nun. A very devout nun. Who is on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Also, she really hates the A.I. that pretty much everyone, globally, except her, is constantly listening to and doing good deeds for.

“Mrs. Davis” throws new story twists out every episode, sometimes two or three. And big ones sometimes: it pivots the entire narrative multiple times in its eight episodes. Holy Grail. Mysticism. Globally-spanning artificial intelligence. Bull riding. donuts. Las Vegas magic show. Tennis shoes.

It’s all in here.

Mrs. Davis tackles the tension between faith and modern technology. Or at least asserts both and then tells a wild story smashing the two together. Its treatment of religion is non-orthodox, to say the least (blasphemous if you’re feeling prickly). But it’s never mocking. Simone is a deeply faithful and devout believer and she is never treated as a joke, even if the details of her faith are … unexpected.

Likewise technology. It’s very modern and feels relevant in creating a thing that everyone is always engaged in. It’s earpieces instead of screens, but clearly hyperbole of our modern obsession with our smartphones and social media. There’s satire — nihilistic absurdism, I think — but like faith I don’t think it’s making fun of technology or people’s engagement with it (despite a proclamation near the end of “This is so dumb!”).

The weakness for me is Mrs. Davis’s full tilt roller-coaster story — also, there’s a roller coaster at one point — throwing you into high-G plot twists, was I struggled to connect with the characters emotionally. That’s what keeps me from saying this is must-see TV. It’s an amazing execution. And the ending works. But I wanted a bit more to move me.

And yet, I’m thinking of watching it a second time, knowing what it’s doing, to be able to relax and enjoy the characters and performances.

 

[Josh Dial]

Glad you liked it, Dave!

My favourite gag was the "break the burner cell phone". Now every show I watch in which a character refers to a burner phone I picture them breaking the phone immediately off screen.

 

[jayembee]

I'm sorry that I didn't make an effort to find the time to watch this a second time. I really, really want this to be released on disc. Comcast had given a "free" subscription to Peacock (with ads, though) to all of its customers, but it was for a limited time (that just ended). There's nothing on Peacock that's interested me enough to watch other than this, and The Continental, which I didn't get to see since our access to Peacock went away between the first and second episodes.

And I echo Josh in being glad you liked it.