Mrs. Davis: The Final Intercut: So I'm Your Horse
May 18, 2023 7:04 AM - Season 1, Episode 8 - Subscribe
After learning what she must sacrifice in order to destroy the Holy Grail, Simone's love for Jay is put to the test. At the Pyramid Facility, Wiley faces his own demise and attempts to earn his boots.
I’m just glad the horse was okay. He’s the very best.
posted by Mr. Excellent at 6:01 PM on May 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Mr. Excellent at 6:01 PM on May 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
The euthanasia coaster!
posted by Acari at 8:27 PM on May 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Acari at 8:27 PM on May 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
That was actually a pretty satisfying end to a really weird show.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:44 PM on May 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by Spike Glee at 8:44 PM on May 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
5 stars, 100% customer satisfaction.
posted by KelsonV at 9:46 PM on May 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by KelsonV at 9:46 PM on May 18, 2023 [11 favorites]
I’m still catching up on last week’s episode, but how did it take me an entire season to notice there are literally no women in the resistance?
posted by FallibleHuman at 9:57 PM on May 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by FallibleHuman at 9:57 PM on May 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
The euthanasia coaster!
That’s a real (hypothetical) thing! I read about it literally the day before watching this (instagram rabbit hole).
That was actually a pretty satisfying end to a really weird show.
I was so pleased this ended up more as a limited series and wrapped up nicely!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:06 AM on May 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
That’s a real (hypothetical) thing! I read about it literally the day before watching this (instagram rabbit hole).
That was actually a pretty satisfying end to a really weird show.
I was so pleased this ended up more as a limited series and wrapped up nicely!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:06 AM on May 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Yeah! I don't know when I first read about the euthanasia coaster idea, but I got really excited as it got described.
I'm also happy that this had a limited run. And that the horse survived ("I fucking knew it!").
And JR got to be a poker player again!
I was totally sold at the pitch meeting for Buffalo Wild Wings, and thought that the problems with Mrs D were solvable (mostly by including humans in the loop for sanity checking).
And was that sandwich honey beef and bologna? Or is beef bologna a thing by itself?
posted by Acari at 8:49 AM on May 19, 2023
I'm also happy that this had a limited run. And that the horse survived ("I fucking knew it!").
And JR got to be a poker player again!
I was totally sold at the pitch meeting for Buffalo Wild Wings, and thought that the problems with Mrs D were solvable (mostly by including humans in the loop for sanity checking).
And was that sandwich honey beef and bologna? Or is beef bologna a thing by itself?
posted by Acari at 8:49 AM on May 19, 2023
A well-wrapped ending! And I was very happy to have a series that actually ends, and not leaves threads hanging.
The ending wasn't quite as bonkers as some of the other episodes, and I missed some of that energy. And, in terms of the flow -- I've enjoyed having the week between episodes and having to think about where things were going. For that reason alone, I would be enjoyed having the conversation with Joy happen at the end of last episode, to give me some ponder-time about those implications. And I wish we'd had more Joy, or more time with Simone at the birthday party. It seemed like such a great parallel to Simone's happiness at the convent - thought it would be nice for her to experience that in the "normal" outside world, and be reminded of what CAN happen, given the right state-of-heart.
It's still my favorite bit of TV in the last year. Sad to see it end!
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:35 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
The ending wasn't quite as bonkers as some of the other episodes, and I missed some of that energy. And, in terms of the flow -- I've enjoyed having the week between episodes and having to think about where things were going. For that reason alone, I would be enjoyed having the conversation with Joy happen at the end of last episode, to give me some ponder-time about those implications. And I wish we'd had more Joy, or more time with Simone at the birthday party. It seemed like such a great parallel to Simone's happiness at the convent - thought it would be nice for her to experience that in the "normal" outside world, and be reminded of what CAN happen, given the right state-of-heart.
It's still my favorite bit of TV in the last year. Sad to see it end!
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:35 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm glad it was a single season self-contained story and not an attempt to spin up yet another Extended Universe Franchise. I'm also glad because my free access to Peacock+ is ending (I am getting it free as a Comcast subscriber, and that drops soon) and I don't anticipate wanting to start paying for access. I'll miss Poker Face if/when it comes back, but I'm happy that Mrs Davis delivered a quick, quickly, and satisfying story before the service goes away.
And even though this episode wasn't total bonkers, there was some fantastic performances - Jay eating his sandwich, Wiley slowly gaining understanding that he was about to be expired for real, Simone revealing her father's final resting place ... all amazing.
5 stars, 100% customer satisfaction.
posted by jazon at 11:55 AM on May 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
And even though this episode wasn't total bonkers, there was some fantastic performances - Jay eating his sandwich, Wiley slowly gaining understanding that he was about to be expired for real, Simone revealing her father's final resting place ... all amazing.
5 stars, 100% customer satisfaction.
posted by jazon at 11:55 AM on May 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
My pop culture understanding of the grail is it’s the cup that was passed around during the Last Supper, but that would be… difficult? given what the show tells us about its source.
Is this a deep cut reference to something that isn’t in my brain yet, or should i just chalk it up to one more quirky insert into this fantastic hothouse flower of a show?
posted by FallibleHuman at 12:29 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is this a deep cut reference to something that isn’t in my brain yet, or should i just chalk it up to one more quirky insert into this fantastic hothouse flower of a show?
posted by FallibleHuman at 12:29 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
And even though this episode wasn't total bonkers, there was some fantastic performances -
The entire series is full of great performances, across the board. It’s so nice to see the return of great “character actors” that seemed to disappear in the rise of a wall of model-perfect bodies and faces.
posted by Silvery Fish at 2:38 PM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
The entire series is full of great performances, across the board. It’s so nice to see the return of great “character actors” that seemed to disappear in the rise of a wall of model-perfect bodies and faces.
posted by Silvery Fish at 2:38 PM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yeah, this take on the Holy Grail is utterly unlike the traditional origin of the grail.
posted by Spike Glee at 7:11 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Spike Glee at 7:11 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ok, so I guessed the wrong parent at Sandy Springs.
But was pleased with the return of Esteemed Character Actress And Fugitive From The Law Margo Martindale.
posted by Marticus at 12:00 AM on May 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
But was pleased with the return of Esteemed Character Actress And Fugitive From The Law Margo Martindale.
posted by Marticus at 12:00 AM on May 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
I didn’t realise Buffalo Wild Wings were a real product with a real app! (Archive link, Vulture investigation)
posted by ellieBOA at 7:25 AM on May 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 7:25 AM on May 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
And was that sandwich honey beef and bologna? Or is beef bologna a thing by itself?
This was a great little bit! Joy’s Nana made a honey butter and bologna sandwich, but most bologna is made with a combo of beef and pork. Simone made a honey butter and BEEF bologna sandwich - because Jesus is a Jew, and cannot eat pork. Subtle and kind of hilarious.
posted by Silvery Fish at 5:23 PM on May 21, 2023 [15 favorites]
This was a great little bit! Joy’s Nana made a honey butter and bologna sandwich, but most bologna is made with a combo of beef and pork. Simone made a honey butter and BEEF bologna sandwich - because Jesus is a Jew, and cannot eat pork. Subtle and kind of hilarious.
posted by Silvery Fish at 5:23 PM on May 21, 2023 [15 favorites]
This was a real treat of a show, and I’m a little sad that, being on Peacock, it’s not going to get as wide an audience as it might have on HBO or Hulu. On the other hand that freed it to be a little wilder than it might have been otherwise. Somewhere else it might have been a little more straight-forward; might have been pushed towards being faith-vs-technology showdown that it initially seemed like it might be.
But we got this instead! A deep meditation on faith, religion and doubt; on capitalism and self-worth; on mothers and children. There are lots of characters that, in a lesser version of this show, would have been more directly thematically opposed. Simone has faith while Celeste is deeply skeptical, explicitly shown as a doubting Thomas who needs to see Monty’s dead body before she can believe in her husband’s death. And yet: Celeste maintains her own belief that he was alive for years, that he did manage to resurrect himself three days after his death.
Celeste and Simone aren’t opposites, but refractions. And their relationship is further refracted by Mathilde and Clara’s, while Simone’s faith and vows are contrasted by Mathilda’s, Fr. Ziegler’s and the ride attendant’s at the pyramid. And of course pyramids are also powerful symbols of death and rebirth in their own right, if not with quite the same cultural cache in America as Christ, the cross and the holy grail.
What does it mean to believe? What does that belief mean to the characters? Is your faith selfish or does it benefit others? After all the bonkers plot machinations, the show mostly came at these questions through two-hander after two-hander. Our characters say goodbye to each other in ways that cut to the quick of their relationships, each person getting the sympathy they deserve as people regardless of the choices they have made. Everyone has their own answer to these questions, but the show doesn’t totally side with anyone in particular.
It is probably my own upbringing here, but I do read this as a deeply Catholic story, not only in reference to the Roman Catholic Church but in the original meaning of “catholic” as universal. So often “Christian art”—your Left Behinds, your God’s Not Deads —operate from a place of certainty. They are meant to satisfy, not to convert; and definitely not, God forbid, to illuminate. I have a deeply complicated relationship with the faith that I was raised in, politically and theologically—and this show isn’t going to simplify it. I’m going to be noodling on these questions for a lot longer. But in the meantime, I might take a turn on the windmill.
posted by thecaddy at 6:00 AM on May 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
But we got this instead! A deep meditation on faith, religion and doubt; on capitalism and self-worth; on mothers and children. There are lots of characters that, in a lesser version of this show, would have been more directly thematically opposed. Simone has faith while Celeste is deeply skeptical, explicitly shown as a doubting Thomas who needs to see Monty’s dead body before she can believe in her husband’s death. And yet: Celeste maintains her own belief that he was alive for years, that he did manage to resurrect himself three days after his death.
Celeste and Simone aren’t opposites, but refractions. And their relationship is further refracted by Mathilde and Clara’s, while Simone’s faith and vows are contrasted by Mathilda’s, Fr. Ziegler’s and the ride attendant’s at the pyramid. And of course pyramids are also powerful symbols of death and rebirth in their own right, if not with quite the same cultural cache in America as Christ, the cross and the holy grail.
What does it mean to believe? What does that belief mean to the characters? Is your faith selfish or does it benefit others? After all the bonkers plot machinations, the show mostly came at these questions through two-hander after two-hander. Our characters say goodbye to each other in ways that cut to the quick of their relationships, each person getting the sympathy they deserve as people regardless of the choices they have made. Everyone has their own answer to these questions, but the show doesn’t totally side with anyone in particular.
It is probably my own upbringing here, but I do read this as a deeply Catholic story, not only in reference to the Roman Catholic Church but in the original meaning of “catholic” as universal. So often “Christian art”—your Left Behinds, your God’s Not Deads —operate from a place of certainty. They are meant to satisfy, not to convert; and definitely not, God forbid, to illuminate. I have a deeply complicated relationship with the faith that I was raised in, politically and theologically—and this show isn’t going to simplify it. I’m going to be noodling on these questions for a lot longer. But in the meantime, I might take a turn on the windmill.
posted by thecaddy at 6:00 AM on May 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
Rewatched with my wife - wondering about the final shot (where the windmill starts up again). I realise it's supposed to be ambiguous - either that Mrs Davis isn't shut down after all, or that the world she created continues under its own momentum - but is there any supporting evidence for either theory?
posted by Grangousier at 3:06 PM on May 29, 2023
posted by Grangousier at 3:06 PM on May 29, 2023
(Evidence is probably putting it a bit strongly - I mean a textual reason to support the supposition that it's one or the other.)
posted by Grangousier at 3:16 PM on May 29, 2023
posted by Grangousier at 3:16 PM on May 29, 2023
It didn't seem ambiguous at all. Somebody was used to getting some good exercise and satisfaction from making the windmill turn and decided it's worth doing whether Mrs. Davis gives you points or not.
The idea that some people, having tasted doing something worthwhile, might keep doing doing it for it's own intrinsic value seems congruent with the tone of the whole episode.
Seeing the windmill as the creature twitching a finger after the credits of a horror movie doesn't make any sense. If there were some surviving subroutines of Mrs. Davis, why (and how?) would they do that?
posted by straight at 12:16 PM on June 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
The idea that some people, having tasted doing something worthwhile, might keep doing doing it for it's own intrinsic value seems congruent with the tone of the whole episode.
Seeing the windmill as the creature twitching a finger after the credits of a horror movie doesn't make any sense. If there were some surviving subroutines of Mrs. Davis, why (and how?) would they do that?
posted by straight at 12:16 PM on June 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
Yay, the horse lived! It was prominent enough in some promotional pix that I expected the explosion crater was misdirection, but it's been long enough that I'd figured I was mistaken.
posted by Pronoiac at 6:33 AM on June 16, 2023
posted by Pronoiac at 6:33 AM on June 16, 2023
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Betty Gilpin Is Still Pondering the Mysteries of the Mrs. Davis Finale [Vulture / Archive]
posted by ellieBOA at 2:25 PM on May 18, 2023 [2 favorites]