Mrs. Davis S1E2 Recap and Analysis: Guess It’s My Lucky Day

The following review contains spoilers for Mrs. Davis S1E2, “Zwei Sie Piel mit Seitung Sie Wirtschaftung” (written by Tara Hernandez & Jason Lew and directed by Owen Harris).

Welcome, dear reader, as we continue to review the Peacock series Mrs. Davis with Episode 2, “Zwei Sie Piel mit Seitung Sie Wirtschaftung.” Now, I didn’t whine about it much in the last article, but I am simply not a fan of the big episode drops. I much prefer to have a series, especially one I love, doled out to me in weekly episodes. Give me time to ponder the episode, savor it.

With the big reveal at the end of this episode, this would have been a much more natural place to stop for the initial drop. That would have been perfect. The two-episode premiere has become somewhat of a standard model, so I’m genuinely surprised that they chose to drop half of the series on day one. To me, that shows a lack of faith in the show which, so far, I do not share.

The Queen of Hearts

We start with a flashback to 2001, where we meet Lizzie’s parents. Both sets. Tina and Larry, who pose as her parents for the act, and Celeste and Monty, her actual parents up on stage. Wiley thinks they seem really great, but in reality, they are pretty messed up.

Celeste is cold and calculating. She sees manipulation everywhere, even in her daughter’s offhand compliment about the show. If Lizzie worries her parents would withhold affection, that might just stem from the formal way her mother addresses her as Elizabeth and her dad as Montgomery.

Of course, Monty does somewhat validate his wife’s paranoia. He does display emotion to Lizzie, crying as he confesses that he thinks her mother hates him. Of course, it’s a classic push, manipulating her into going into the workshop for him. And thus, we get the answer to one of the mysteries from Episode 1. That wasn’t a bullet scar entering and exiting her side, it was this crossbow bolt that she took as a kid.

Mrs. Davis S1E2 - The substitute cook stands back in the grill area looking out at Simone at the counter — *Who is this guy?*

Bride of Jesus

Back in present day, Simone is a little off her game. She can’t decide if she does or doesn’t want to call the number on the card, ultimately waiting until she can talk to someone (Jay) first. The entire scene with the man looking for his wife’s piano is awkward and painful to watch. Things click back into focus for her though when she spots Wiley’s guys in the exterminator van still following her. She switches outfits with the kindergarten teacher and deftly slips out past them.

That buys her time to check in with Jay at the diner, but he’s not there. Well, he is, but he’s behind the door with the Boss. She calls to him through the door, threatening that if he doesn’t come out, she’s going to have to go somewhere else, to someone else (Wiley). There’s no response, so she leaves a note for Jay—from his wife! Well, that was a bit of a surprise.

Mrs. Davis S1E2 - JQ stands in front of the presentation, frozen on an image of him as Uncle Sam saying "We want you nun" — *JQ rocks this presentation*

Deck. For. Nun.

Simone shows up unannounced at the Resistance’s secret headquarters and calls Wiley out. The banter between them speaks to some past betrayal by Lizzie which I’m sure we’ll learn more about later. Wiley reads her like an open book, knowing that she has talked to It and been given a Quest. He even correctly guesses that the Quest is for the Holy Grail. Impressive.

Then we get a massive exposition dump in the form of JQ’s presentation. We learn about wings and strings and expiration date tattoos. He informs Simone that she’s been “Chosen-Oned,” along with an expert in world religions, a priest who lost his faith, and an antiquities professor. On the surface, she’s been recruited for the ultimate cliché, the Quest for the Holy Grail. But in reality, she’s being tested to become a trusted agent who will help maintain the server farm where It physically exists.

The presentation concludes with a little demonstration on the rooftop. The “Germans” have been captured and they’ve been brought up there to get them to confess that they’re just Users playing a role for Mrs. Davis in order to get their wings. Just when Simone is convinced they are telling the truth, JQ accidentally drops one and his scared compatriot confesses to being an actor. His point made, Wiley lets Simone go with a phone that she can always contact him through.

Mrs. Davis S1E2 - The old man sits at the piano looking up at someone off screen — *Sometimes the best way to find the right piano is to find all the pianos*

All the Pianos

Mrs. Davis has a demonstration of her own for Simone. Tina and Larry are recruited to take Simone to a field of pianos where the man from the kindergarten has found his dead wife’s piano. Apparently, Mrs. Davis located all the 1948 Wurlitzer pianos and had them brought them to this field. Creating joy within others creates joy within her.

Mrs. Davis came through for this man when God did not. Simone confesses she completely forgot to pray for him in all the craziness that had ensued over the previous day. Just like she had isolated herself in a convent for 10 years, more interested in making jam than making people happy. Score one for the Algorithm.

On the drive back, Simone visits Jay again and brings him up to speed. He gives her a picture—hand drawn, not a photograph—of Clara, the last person known to possess the Holy Grail. This would seem to be the Templar nun from the opening segment of Episode 1, who should be long since dead some 700 years later. Jay worries that Mrs. Davis is already causing Simone to doubt her faith in him and in their relationship. He reminds her of her vows, which is similar to what Monty tried to do with Celeste, albeit much more successful.

Wiley and Simone facing each other in an elevator, tension between them — *Pulling her pigtails*

Be Careful, Heart

Her faith restored, Simone dials up the Cowboy and invokes the geek squad to call and trace the number on the back of the card. A British man wearing an apron answers and asks who this is. Not having much else to go on, Simone claims to be Clara and the man immediately lights up. Just as quickly though, she slips up and he hangs up. It was long enough to get a location though. They (Simone and Wiley) are going to London.

Wiley snaps his phone and thinks back to the previous night. After Simone rode off on the motorcycle, we find out that the whole rooftop scene was yet another push. The approaching ambulance was the exterminator van, the dropped German fell safely into a rig, and Wiley himself is lauded as a legend by JQ. Thinking even further back, a flashback within a flashback, Wiley remembers that fateful night in the hospital when he and Lizzie met. It’s his lucky day once again.

Simone, Tina and Larry stand in the field of pianos, Tina facing Simone with a smile and her hand up to her ear — *Tina and Larry deliver Simone to the field*

Quick Takes

A couple of quick takes on the rest of the episode and other tangentially related things:

Google translate claims that the AI-generated episode title for Mrs. Davis S1E2, “Zwei Sie Piel mit Seitung Sie Wirtschaftung,” means “two you play with side you economy.” No more or less nonsensical than any of the other episode titles, I suppose.
We have an answer to one of the mysteries from Episode 1. Simone’s childhood address was 2564, as seen when she and Monty enter after an unsuccessful Halloween outing. Thus the dollar amount on the Visa gift cards handed out to all the departing sisters.
We also see why the gift of the queen of hearts has significance for Simone, and maybe even why Mrs. Davis presented it to her as a magic trick.
Young Lizzie / adult Simone are eating at Manna Donuts. That was the name on the donut she and Wiley jumped through during the motorcycle chase last episode.
Monty’s full stage name is “Monty Dakota” (from the poster hanging in their kitchen).
The name Monty is obviously a nod to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Who is the new guy behind the counter? In the credits, he is listed as “Ali.”
I’m highly suspicious of how Wiley deduced that Simone had been given the Quest for the Holy Grail. I’m calling it now, I think the Resistance is actually working for Mrs. Davis, and that whole thing was a push within a push.
What is the deal with all the Resistance guys have three-letter acronym names? JQ is JQR, the guys in the exterminator van were JDC and JDF, and then the falling “German” was JDS. Is there any connection to Simone calling Jesus by the name Jay?
JQ says Simone’s dad died “nearly three years ago” and mentions the “Lazarus Shroud.” Apparently, that was a trick he died performing, doing what he loved as Larry puts it. Though they also mention she was in the crowd watching it happen. How was Mrs. Davis responsible though? Especially when Celeste was the brains behind all the tricks in the act. Did she kill him off perhaps and pin the blame on Mrs. Davis?
Looks like the woman from the helicopter (in Episode 1) had one of those expiration date tattoos and that is what she showed Mother Superior before whisking her away.
At one point in the presentation, JQ calls Mrs. Davis “the Big-D.” What is that supposed to mean?
JQ says the Grail is “f***ing pretend,” but putting together a team that includes an expert in world religions, a priest who lost his faith, and an antiquities professor sure sounds like Mrs. Davis is taking it seriously.
Jesus quotes a bit of scripture to Simone at the end of their second visit. “Wherever you go, I will be there also. I will go before your face; I will be on your right hand and on your left, bearing you up.” This is actually from Doctrine & Covenants 84:88, part of the scriptural doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So, we’re not just incorporating Christian mythology here, but also Mormon? Bold move.
Davis glitched while Tina was proxying for Her. She says, “Your mother. Redirect, 1042, Sandy Springs.” Is it the mention of Simone’s mother that causes this glitch? Is she programmed to “redirect” any discussion about her mother? That’s an interesting thought.
The captions say “1042” but she voices it out “one-oh-four-two.” Another mystery number to speculate about.
The most popular Google search hit for “Sandy Springs” is the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia. Could this be the location of Mrs. Davis’ server farm?
Does Simone have subconscious control over the mind palace diner? Did she cause the flood last episode and the change the words on the sign in this episode?
Could Mother Superior have her own form of mind palace diner with Jay? Did God literally send her to Mrs. Davis in Episode 1, like he had been giving Simone con artist magician targets?
Davis once again tells Simone that she is “quite literally the only person who can accomplish” this task. Exact same words she used while proxying through the kindergarten teacher. But why is Simone the Chosen One? What is unique about her?
How is it that there are no tire tracks in the field of pianos? Were they all air lifted in?
Several times Simone stops the bike in the middle of an empty intersection and decides which was to go. Is this a metaphor for exercising her free will? Does she still make choices?
There’s been speculation back and forth about whether the horse really was blown up in Episode 1. Given what JDS says (“Yo, I was worried after the horse exploded, but I promise you, we used Play-Doh, so…”), it certainly seems that everyone in the Resistance thinks it was blown up. I see no reason to believe otherwise.
That does leave us with a question though, who did kill the horse? Someone trying to sabotage Wiley’s effort to recruit Simone, or someone trying to bolster it?
Once again, Redditor u/tdciago had a few more tidbits for us on r/MrsDavisTVSeries: Episode 2: Things I Noticed on Rewatch (beware of potential spoilers for Episodes 3–4 though).
This week you should check out this great interview with co-writer Tara Hernandez on Consequence TV, specifically about Damon Lindelof’s reaction when she proposed the idea that Simone actually be married to Jesus in the show. It’s a fun little tidbit.

Mrs. Davis S1E2 - Simone and Jesus embrace and kiss — *Simone and Jesus kiss*

Best lines of the episodes:

“Well, I’m not withholding tacos.”
“I’m disappointed. You should know a force when you see one, Elizabeth.”
“Then I guess it’s your lucky day.”
“I’m pretty over this sh*t.”
“Hey, well, I must say, for a nun, you lead quite the exciting life.”
“Penguin has left the cave. I repeat, Penguin has left the cave.”
“Wasn’t easy, but I was able to decode with the naked eye just the address that’s printed right here on the front.”
“You keep tugging on my pigtails, I’m out.”
“Oh, no, I know what you’re thinking.” “I should have peed first.”
“Voilà. Happy.”
“My dad will pay for the wedding if yours covers the rehearsal dinner.”
“I did not catch cards to get my parents to love me. I did it ’cause I was f***ing good at it.”

A man in a brown suit with an apron tied around his waist stares at a cell phone he holds before him — *The Apron Man*

Conclusion

Another solid episode, filling in a lot of the blanks on Simone’s past that were hinted at in the first episode. Along with the backstory, we actually got some answers…and raised a few dozen more questions, of course. This time the episode was brought full circle with the bookends of Monty’s manipulation and Wiley’s manipulation. Can we really believe that Elizabeth still doesn’t know a force when she sees one? I’m disappointed.

That’s all for this week. Please let us know your thoughts and feelings about this week’s episode, and any theories you have on what’s to come, in the comments below.

All images courtesy of Peacock