And Now for Something Completely Different: Commentary on "Mrs. Davis"
This is atypical of the writing I do here but, if I may be permitted a religious analogy, I feel compelled to be an evangelist and spread the "good news" that is Peacock's original, eight-episode limited series from the minds of Tara Hernandez and David Lindelof, "Mrs. Davis", and I shall endeavor to make the case for watching it without spoilers. Here goes.
The plot centers on Sister Simone (played by Betty Gilpin), a nun living in a convent outside Reno, Nevada, whose literal middle name is "Danger". Simone, for valid reasons, detests Mrs. Davis, the AI that seemingly everyone is obsessed with, and will do whatever it takes to bring It down. She is joined in this mission by her ex-boyfriend and "cowboy", Preston "Wiley" Wiley (played by Jake McDorman), who has a sense of urgency and his own reasons for wanting Mrs. Davis to shut down. Together, they travel the world in an effort to bring about Her destruction, supported by Wiley's "Resistance"—a group of bros, led by ex-professional poker player, JQR (played hilariously by Chris Diamantopoulos), and stuck in an inadvertent Fight Club cosplay, only more nonsensical (if that's possible).
If I had to describe the genre of this show, and I suppose that's part of the point of reviewing it, I would call it science fiction, but there are elements of mystery to it, too. The tone ranges from comedically absurd to heartwarming, with plenty of existential angst and dry humor in between. Outside of the acting, the story, and the writing, which I'll elaborate on shortly, part of what makes "Mrs. Davis" such a masterpiece are the elements that enhance the storytelling—the casting, the location scouting, the direction, the set and prop design, the lighting, the costuming, the scoring and soundtrack, and the editing. It's absolute perfection. Everyone understood their assignment.
The writing offers many recurring themes to anchor the story, from technology and our dependence on it, to the "costumes" we wear and the groups to which we belong. The recurring theme that has interested me the most, perhaps because of where I am in my professional life right now, are the doors and what they represent. When you're on the outside, you can't see what's inside the door, and there are many instances in "Mrs. Davis" where a character is warned that if they walk through a physical or metaphorical door, there will be consequences.
Is it a commentary on artificial intelligence, as others have noted? Sort of, but I think it's mostly a reminder of the folly in ascribing sinister motive or nefarious intent to an AI entity that, despite its ability to learn and assimilate new data, is ultimately bound—for good or for ill—by the scope of its programming. A computer is only as smart as its user (cf, GPT Will Replace Us All).
Other things that drive the story are the characters we meet along the way, and how they are balanced by opposites. There's the fake versus the the real—parents, cowboys, popes, etc—spaces that are dominated by masculine versus feminine influence, and AI users versus non-users. We meet a rocket scientist and his cat, a mysterious restaurant worker, a man in a frilly apron, a secretive priest, a group of pantsuited women “bankers”, a baker who wanted to be the pope, and a pope who wanted to meet Jesus Christ, to name a few.
But what is the story about?
Without giving anything away, "Mrs. Davis" is a story about many things. It's about our gifts and our inherent worth as humans. It's about the faith—spiritual and not—that we lose and gain as it is tested inevitably. But more than anything, I believe it’s a story about mothers and the choices (and mistakes) made by even the best of them.
We see various examples of motherhood, between Mrs. Davis and all the women who act as proxies between It and Simone, Simone's Mother Superior (played by the incomparable Margo Martindale), Simone's biological mother, Celeste (played by Elizabeth Marvel), and the "Sisters of the Coin" (mothers to "The Asset"...no spoilers here...you'll have to watch the show to learn more about that), to name a few. When they fail, as all mothers do, I'm reminded of the reassurance that every mother does the best they can with the information they have and, by the end of the series, I think you'll come to the same conclusion.
Other details that delighted me about this show include:
- Pop culture references from books, films, song lyrics, and failed introductions at the Academy Awards.
- An impeccable soundtrack in which every song seems almost designed for the moment.
- Background details like the title of a book and the name of a law firm.
- The elements of mystery. You don't know everything about the story, the characters, or the world created by Hernandez and Lindelof, but there are clues from the beginning and, if you're like me, you'll enjoy unraveling those puzzles.