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The Ending of Peacock's Mrs. Davis Explained
The wild and twisty tale of Mrs. Davis gets explained in the season finale.
Sister Simone Abbott (Betty Gilpin) took us on one heck of a wild ride in her quest to find The Holy Grail so she could ultimately rid the world of the omnipotent A.I. known as Mrs. Davis. Peacock's epic, twisty tale poses a very similar alternate reality where an algorithm has infiltrated the world to solve humanity's problems. Dubbed Mrs. Davis, humanity has happily embraced its digital benevolence and en masse plugged into it via App and earpiece where it communicates with them regularly.
RELATED: Mrs. Davis Showrunner Breaks Down Series Finale
But a few have rejected the algorithm, including Sister Simone who blames the App for killing her magician father (David Arquette) and knows it's a plague on humanity. But Mrs. Davis wants Simone under her wing so it poses a deal: Simone is to go on a quest to locate The Holy Grail and destroy it. If she does, then Mrs. Davis will fulfill Simone's one wish: to turn itself off.
Across seven hours of travels from Reno, Nevada to Scotland to Rome ,Italy and deserted islands, Simone has traveled the globe collecting clues, meeting secret societies, begrudgingly reuniting with her estranged mother, Celeste (Elizabeth Marvel) and enlisting the help of her ex-best friend/lover, Wiley (Jake McDorman). She even gets help and counsel from her husband, Jesus Christ (Andy McQueen).
The arrival of the season finale,“THE FINAL INTERCUT: So I’m Your Horse,” brings with it many answers about Simone's quest, her faith and how her previously unresolved relationships may set her free. Let's dig into what exactly is resolved, or not, in the Mrs. Davis Season 1 finale.
**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers below for the Mrs. Davis finale**
At the end of Episode 7, Mrs. Davis had her human proxies sing Simone an address where she might find some answers. On Electric Avenue, Simone meets Joy (Ashley Romans), a former coder who 10 years ago created an App that would solve the world's problems and create a more equitable world for all of humanity. It would be able to meet the needs of every person and change lives. Unfortunately, Joy kinda overshot the pitch requirements asked of her by the Buffalo Wild Wings chain who just wanted a customer service App. Joy then made her code available on OpenSource where the algorithm evolved into the world changer of the future.
Buffalo Wild Wings Gone Wild
Joy is now analog and enjoys a quiet life with her family. She's amazed and amused to hear about Simone's quest and together they determine that Mrs. Davis has taken Joy's latent code and made it literal in attempting to make humanity 100 percent satisfied. Those golden wings so sought after? Chicken wings. The Holy Grail? A remnant of the 'Golden Rule' verbiage from the Buffalo Wild Wings employee manual stressing "100 percent customer satisfaction." Joy tells Simone the bad news: algorithms misinterpret things all the time, which is why Simone's quest has been so bizarre. But she does surmise that Mrs. Davis will hold to her word about self-destructing if Simone holds up her end of the agreement. And so Simone grabs her hard won, mystery bowl and returns to her Mother Superior (Margo Martindale). At their old convent, Simone explains her travels, her quest and the danger of the Grail bowl that she is ready to drink from.
Meanwhile, Wiley is on his own personal quest to finally shed the mantle of cowardice that has haunted him for seven years. He turns up for his Expiration Date and despite his fear, is determined to see his demise through in a pretty warped need to be deemed "worthy." Who knew that the death mechanism for wing winners is a single-seat, 200mph roller coaster ride to oblivion. Terrified but ready, Wiley takes the ride of his life...and gets to meet Jay, or Mr. Sister Simone.
Jay, Simone and Wiley turn up in the restaurant as they're all having quite the life changing day. The limbo way station allows Wiley to get to know Jay a little bit and realize that his post break-up anger and obsession with his self-worth has been a waste of time. In his own selfless moment, Wiley is able to let Simone go and be happy for who she is now. He leaves. And that leaves Simone to say goodbye to Jay, as her intention to destroy the Grail means he will also disappear with it as he's freed from the sacred object. Simone asks to finally feed Jay, with food and faith as she tells him that she is entirely certain they will see one another again.
The Ending Explained
Simone wakes, drinks from the Grail bowl and it disappears in flames. She mails the dust to Arthur Schrodinger (Ben Chaplin) so he can finally be at rest. And then she takes Celeste to Monty's warehouse where she reveals that his final trick with The Lazarus Shroud was a last ditch effort to reunite his fractured family. And he died in the piano that was supposed to be his big reveal. Monty sought the help of Mrs. Davis, so she was his accomplice but not his killer. Taken aback by the truth, Celeste and Simone go back to their doughnut stand to finally face their own messy relationship.
But Simone has one more thing to do - she asks Celeste to be her Mrs. Davis proxy so they can settle their deal once and for all. In a deep conversation about mothers and daughters, and the role of a mother in their child's life, it becomes clear that Simone has always been looking for Celeste's approval and when it was never freely given, she tried to find it in Wiley, and then Jay. Going through the gauntlet of the Grail has given Simone new insight, and the ability to forgive her mother. As well as the strength to ask Mrs. Davis to turn herself off...which she does.
Humanity then reacts to one final goodbye message from Mrs. Davis, and they're not happy because now everyone has to figure out their sh-- on their own. Ironic then that the three humans who never really embraced Mrs. Davis — security expert Celeste, hater Simone and Resistance leader Wiley — are reunited to tackle a fresh future, essentially rebooted and free from their past pain to try again with one another. Wiley arrives with a last gift from the algorithm, Simone's beloved horse. She invites him to get in the saddle with her, as Celeste calls Simone by her chosen name and says she'll see her soon; finally seeing her daughter as her own person.
Is it truly an algorithm-free world they ride into? Or does that windmill turning on its own mean something else is in the wind? We shall see....
Episodes 1-8 of Mrs. Davis are now streaming on Peacock.
