{"id":235693,"date":"2022-01-07T19:51:49","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T19:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/25yearslatersite.com\/?p=235693"},"modified":"2023-01-24T20:02:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T01:02:55","slug":"blade-runner-black-lotus-s1e8-the-davis-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvobsessive.com\/2022\/01\/07\/blade-runner-black-lotus-s1e8-the-davis-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Blade Runner: Black Lotus S1E8 \u201cThe Davis Report\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following contains spoilers through <\/em>Blade Runner: Black Lotus<\/em><\/strong> S1E8, \u201cThe Davis Report,\u201d on Adult Swim, and also references the Blade Runner<\/strong> movies.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Welcome back, dear reader, as we continue to review the Adult Swim series Blade Runner: Black Lotus<\/em> with Episode 8, \u201cThe Davis Report.\u201d Gosh, it\u2019s been a whole two weeks since we last had an episode. Can anyone recall what was going on? I sure can\u2019t. You know, what we really need at this point in the series is a recap episode! Am I right?<\/p>\n

All sarcasm aside, it\u2019s beyond mind-boggling that we got a recap episode here as Episode 8 of a 13-episode limited series. The recap episode is an artifact of the past, when a broadcast television series might want to indulge in a little bit of audience-service nostalgia for the series\u2019 100th<\/sup> episode. You know, as a way to celebrate hitting the magic number of episodes needed to go into future syndication.<\/p>\n

This also arrives just as the series was finally picking up some momentum. We had that amazing fight scene in Episode 6<\/a>, followed by some interesting insights into the mechanics of replicant memory construction in Episode 7<\/a>. Then this. I hate to accuse them of padding the episode count, but it seems like the only reasonable explanation for this move. In fact, that would also explain having to languish through three episodes of Elle\u2019s desert memories earlier in the series, which were only slightly less repetitive than this.<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, this is gonna be a short one since there wasn\u2019t much new presented in this episode. Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n

\"Blade
“This is a waste of time.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Investigation<\/h2>\n

So, if you trim out the two-thirds of the episode that was clips we had seen before, what remains is a bottle episode<\/a> featuring, frankly, my least favorite character of the series, Officer Davis. With Chief Grant no longer an impediment to her wild replicant theories, she\u2019s taken it upon herself to send her case report to everyone up the chain of command. Rather than getting her reassigned to the case with a task force of blade runners working under her, she\u2019s apparently brought an Internal Affairs investigation down on her head. Oops.<\/p>\n

As Investigator Chen highlights, bodies are piling up, and Davis seems to keep showing up when Black Lotus does. Including at Chief Grant\u2019s home, when she was supposed to be off the investigation. Chen starts out playing the good cop, claiming to want to help her, if she\u2019ll let him. Then later, he strangely switches sides, promising to \u201cthrow the book at\u201d Davis if he judges that she\u2019s done something wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Blade
Inspector Chen playing the “good cop”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recommendation<\/h2>\n

Davis finally scores with Chen when she points out that Grant reassigned her because of her replicant theory, but then immediately brought in a blade runner himself. Chen can see that either Grant lied to her, or he was hiding something. All of this culminates with a trip out to the desert, following Hooper\u2019s flight record coordinates to the sight of the Doll Hunt. Upon finding the bodies and carnage, Chen seems to be genuinely on Davis\u2019 side. He tells her that she\u2019s \u201cuncovered something big here\u201d and he\u2019ll report it to his superiors.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, somewhere in that collective group is another one of Wallace\u2019s problem solvers. Davis is placed on a three-month medical leave to \u201ccome to terms\u201d with her \u201cdelusional tendencies that interfere with [her] duties as a police officer.\u201d Ouch. Finding her desk already cleaned out for her, she notices the newspaper on a coworker\u2019s desk. The Wallace Corporation has put the Tyrell intellectual property rights up for sale. All paths lead to Wallace, now including Officer Davis\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Blade
“It’s all connected.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quick Takes<\/h2>\n

A couple of quick takes on the rest of the episode and other tangentially related things:<\/p>\n