What is Devs? (Spoiler Free Review)

First thing first, Alex Garland. Does that name mean anything to you? If you’ve read or seen seen “The Beach” or “28 Days Later” or the newer “Dredd” movie, then you’ve had a taste of his writing work. Garland went on to write and direct  “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation” which were both critically acclaimed, but didn’t really set the box office on fire. If you’ve seen both of those films, excellent in their own right, you’ve also seen actress Sonoya Mizuno. It appears that Alex Garland likes working with her, as she is now the lead character Lily Chan in his new writing, directing and producing effort “Devs” an 8 episode series which appears on FX on Hulu with new episodes each week. 

Lily is an encryption coder at a Google-esque tech giant called Amaya, which sits nestled high in the Marin county hills. Looming 150 feet over the modern, open layout tech campus is a  statue of a six year old girl who looks poised to blow out a birthday candle. This statue is a monument to the namesake of the company, and deceased daughter of its CEO, Forrest, played by Nick Offerman. You might be thinking to yourself “Ron Swanson is a tech guru?” This was my reaction at first, but you very quickly see that Forrest is anything but Ron Swanson. In his first real scene, Forrest sits in a meeting shoveling what looks like a micro-green salad into his mouth. He sports a deeply receding hairline and wispy shoulder length hair, making you think he might have just got kicked out of an AA meeting rather than the boundary pushing genius he is.

Offerman has shown that he is capable of much more than the comedic roles he is best known for, and his acting muscles are fully flexed in this role. We see him rule the roost with the confidence of a man on a mission. We also see him utterly crushed, defenseless, terrified and uncertain of the thing he has created, and the cascading effects of it all. Lily is the ying to his yang, as Mizuno portrays an innocent flawed introvert who has questionable relationship skills and little in the way of drive or strength at the start. This all changes as she gets pulled into the plot, and Mizuno holds her own in a litany of really challenging scenes.

Lily lives with her boyfriend Sergei, who is also an Amaya employee, but in the AI division. In the first episode, his team is up for a demo with Forrest (and his salad) where they show him a system that can predict the movements of a Nematode worm up to 30 seconds into the future with 99% accuracy. Right then and there, Forrest and his partner Katie (Allison Pill) decide that they want Sergei to come and work with them in Devs. Sergei nearly cries, indicating the enormity of this offer. He accepts.

What happens from here, I will not say. It’s been told online in many articles already, but I really think you should go see for yourself. Take the journey, as it is one that will stimulate your senses, and challenge your mind. What I will say is that the way Garland wields his craft is masterful. He sets a tone that pulls you in, and keeps you wondering what is the end game here? Is it good or evil, benevolent or selfish, or maybe it just is, and what we see it as is our own interpretation. Sure, nice non committal answer there, writer boy. 

Seriously, you can see what Devs is up to in bits and pieces. It’s based around a quantum computer, which is the newest spookiest tech that real life Googles and IBMs are tinkering with now. To understand what Quantum computing is is to dive deeply into two or three classically tough topics, Computer science, Quantum mechanics and Algorithmic maths. Yikes! What could this possibly do to make for a compelling TV show? Well, firstly what it does is make a strikingly beautiful centerpiece for the Devs set. The computer looks like a giant golden steampunk espresso machine encased in glass inside a mysterious floating cube, made of gold and glass. The cube houses the computer and all of the Devs programmers in an ultra secure lab, where they are trying to make the most out of this new and powerful contraption. 

Garland creates beautiful tension with his surroundings, cinematography, editing, sound design, writing and acting. No filmmaking tool goes unused, and it is clear that this show will do with you exactly as it pleases. While binge-able, they have chosen to go the weekly episode route, which has had me salivating each week for the next Qubit of story. A story that informs the viewer when it needs to and confuses with equal effort. There are lots of still, quiet, introspective moments spread throughout Devs where characters are clocking all kinds of metaphysical conundrums that Amaya has wrought. These moments are contrasted with bits and pieces of action, but these are means to other ends, this is not an action packed show, but a mind fuck. The violence that is shown is done with an eerie calmness and gravity that both rivets you but makes you want to look away. 

The game of cat and mouse that is played between the underdog Lily and seemingly all powerful Forrest could be fine on its own, but there are side plots that are also rewarding, including the relationship between two of Devs top coders Stewart and Lyndon. Stewart, played by stage and screen veteran (and acting professor at my Film School, SUNY Buffalo), is the voice of reason, the conscience of the show. He spouts deep wisdom in the face of Forrest and Katie’s ambition. He understands the gravity of what they are doing probably better than anyone. Lyndon is a 19 year old Cis male, or a Trans Male played by Cis Female actor Cailee Spaeny. Either way, Lyndon is referred to as Him in the show, but they don’t acknowledge it any further, which is kind of the message there. Either way, Lyndon is ambitious, very smart and eager to get the ball rolling with the Devs project. He looks to Stewart as a mentor and a father figure. Lyndon also has one of the best monologues in the season, after making a pivotal discovery in the program.

A few other great performances round out the cast of Devs, namely Allison Pill’s Katie, Jin Ha’s Jamie, Jefferson Hall’s Pete and Zach Grenier’s diabolical Kenton. Each of these roles are portrayed honestly, believably and with just enough detail to make them intriguing, mysterious and deep. A lot of what is said in this show is through subtext, so the performance is critical, and everyone involved is up to the task. My only lingering question going into the last episode is what will they do to keep the series going further? As I write this, the season finale is on deck for this Thursday. You’ve got time to see the whole series before then, and I’d encourage everyone who loves a good tech thriller to dive deep into Devs.