Betty Gilpin’s Peacock Ride – The Hollywood Reporter

What can I tell you about? Mrs. Davis? I can tell you about Simone (Betty Gilpin), a nun, and Willie (Jake McDorman), a former rodeo cowboy. I’ll tell you that the series is pitted against a seemingly all-powerful algorithm that could be described as Siri meets ChatGPT on steroids. This battle somehow involves an angry whale, the Holy Grail, and Schrödinger’s cat.

I can’t tell you much more than that, partly because the powers that be at Peacock have sworn critics to secrecy, but also because I’m afraid that explaining the plot will seem disjointed. It’s a strange thing. And while I’m still not sure it’ll add the big swing at the end, if nothing else, it’s a true original in a TV landscape littered with endlessly rebooted IP — and all the more fun for it.

Well, I’ll say a little more. Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure-Thriller-Comedy-Drama, created by Tara Hernandez (Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory) and Damon Lindelof takes place in the 2023 version, which is both disturbingly familiar and not at all. On the one hand, his titular AI has taken over every aspect of human society, so much so that even prime ministers are taking orders from her-him-ubiquitous headsets. On the other hand, the world doesn’t seem much different from our current reality, with smartphones cocooning many of us in little bubbles of digital assistants and the likes of social media.

Whether this latest development represents utopia or dystopia depends on what you ask. Most people seem to believe that Mrs. Davies has done away with hunger, war, even loneliness. Most of our protagonists are convinced it’s the latter. Simone blames the algorithm for her father’s (David Arquette) death, for reasons that are gradually revealed over the course of the season’s eight hour-long episodes. Meanwhile, Willy channels his anger into an underground resistance movement that serves primarily as an excuse for the afflicted ranks to get rid of the macho illusions imprinted on them. Brave heart Or Fight club. When Simone is selected for the mission by Mrs. Davis, she agrees on the condition that after Mrs. Davis shuts herself down – and with Willy’s help, she prepares to make it come hell or high water.

If that all sounds a bit much, that’s by design. “Algorithms love clichés, and there’s no better cliché than looking for the Holy Grail,” says Willy’s right-hand man, Jackie (Chris Diamantopoulos). He got himself out of the plane. Simon and Willy believe in the obstacles thrown in their way by Mrs. Davis based on the classic stories included in the show, and they are often not wrong. to enjoy Mrs. Davis All you have to do is admit that the rug is about to be pulled out from under you to reveal another rug. as well Pull it under you and another and another until you see a whole pile of discarded rugs.

Mrs. Davis is not the only one pulling the strings. Parents, stage magicians, God himself – all behind the scenes move people in Mrs. Davis When they present the illusion of free will. Injuries in childhood disrupt the characters’ programming and damage their bodies. Pop culture provides scripts for their interactions with one another. (For that matter, are you watching this show because you really want to, or because the strategic placement on Peacock’s home page makes you think you want to?) From this perspective, life can begin to seem like just one big story of who we are. eat It’s little wonder that when a crazed storyteller (Ben Chaplin) conveys the story’s worth to Simon and Willy in mid-winter, like a pair of viewers exchanging fan theories on Reddit, they can’t help but cry out over predictions and twists. .

But if it is too much Mrs. DavisThe tropes and ideas are familiar, what can be done with them feels incredibly unpredictable. Simone is a very concerned woman of God, but she’s also a badass, blessed with Gilpin’s swagger and effortless charisma. McDorman looks every inch the hero, but Willy is less the Captain America type than someone who suffers from fear that he won’t be the Captain America type. The pair share a cracking chemistry that speaks to years of love, desire and frustration, and it’s no surprise when they become embroiled in a love triangle with Simon’s current crush, a falafel slinger named Jay (Andy McQueen). What comes as a shocking shock are the specifics of the problem.

Probably too much shock. Mrs. Davis The tendency to prioritize pleasure over narrative or thematic coherence can be a double-edged sword. Viewers who live to solve mystery-box episodes will be disappointed by the show’s overcrowded approach to storytelling. So those who want clarity on the many big topics raised in the series, up to and including “Will it really happen?” as a Is it a bad thing if the world is ruled by an omniscient AI?” Several major storylines, including one about Simone’s strained relationship with her mother (Elizabeth Marvel), emerge late to get the attention they need. This is amazing though Mrs. Davis As consistently impressive as he is, it’s hard to know exactly what he’s supposed to do by the end of the season — or if the creators even know what they’re trying to say with him.

On the other hand, those who are willing to accept the ride for a unique experience. Our television and movie entertainment is still being made by people. However, most of it already has AI-generated content – not because the creators have anything new to offer, but because they’ve figured out somewhere that the best way to attract an audience is to settle for the same thing. Mrs. Davis Nothing can go wrong, even with a computer or a committee. No, this still feels like the work of humans determined to show what algorithms can’t: take all those fairy tales we’ve heard a hundred times before and find a way to improve them into something bolder, more ambitious, and something else. Completely new.