Mrs. Davis is a deeply foolish present deeply dedicated to its silliness. And that is exactly what makes it a lot enjoyable. The brand new Peacock collection from Tara Hernandez (The Massive Bang Idea) and Damon Lindelof (Misplaced, The Leftovers), pits a nun with a mysterious previous in opposition to an omnipotent, seemingly omniscient synthetic intelligence. Her mission: to seek out the Holy Grail. You recognize, one other one among these tales. Alongside the way in which, there are a slew of messy beheadings, a tacky ’90s-era automobile chase and a bunch of villainous German henchman spiritually descended from The Massive Lebowski’s trio of Nihilists.
When you had been searching for one other advanced style train like Lindelof’s glorious Watchmen collection or The Leftovers, Mrs. Davis ain’t it. However from the primary scene of the present, you may inform that he most likely had much more enjoyable making this. Initially based mostly on a spec script by Hernandez, who additionally served as showrunner, Mrs. Davis is virtually a live-action cartoon, crammed with colourful set-pieces and a endless slew of zany characters, all set in a world the place people willingly topic themselves to the calls for of an AI by way of wi-fi earbuds.
None of Mrs. Davis would work with out Betty Gilpin (GLOW, The Hunt) as its coronary heart and soul. As Simone, the nun being focused by Mrs. Davis, she successfully juggles a hard-edged cynicism with an openness to pure devotion. It is arduous sufficient to be a plausible motion lead, it is even harder to make that very same character appear believably religious. By the point we see Simone racing by way of metropolis streets on a bike, whereas additionally sporting her nun behavior, we totally purchase Gilpin within the function. It is like seeing Kill Invoice’s The Bride with a samurai sword — it is certain to be an indelible pop cultural picture. (And naturally, it hearkens again to Abel Ferrara’s cult revenge basic, Ms. 45.)
As a bit of cultural commentary, Mrs. Davis is virtually allergic to subtext. It is a nun versus AI, what else do you want? It is easy to attract parallels between non secular devotion and the way in which we reside with expertise immediately. That is significantly true relating to the explosive rise of generative AI. Is there actually an enormous distinction between plugging in a string into ChatGPT or Midjourney and hoping for an attention-grabbing outcome, in comparison with placing your palms collectively and praying for divine assist? And if AI finally finally ends up fulfilling our wants extra successfully, would not folks deal with it with a specific amount of non secular reverence?
These questions danced round my head as I watched Mrs. Davis, however the collection itself is much extra occupied with goofy shenanigans and soapy plot twists than making an attempt any critical philosophical exploration. However I suppose even Damon Lindelof wants a trip generally. Your enjoyment of the present will depend upon effectively you sync up with its farcical wavelength. Why is there a bunch of well-funded, anti-AI militia bros, led by a shirtless buffoon? Don’t fret about it, they’re hilarious (Chris Diamantopoulos, one of many more memorable VC bros from HBO’s Silicon Valley, actually commits.)