Alex Garland has already delivered great atmospheric stories with “Ex Machina” or “Extinction”. However, his sci-fi series “Devs”, which is about a secret research project, is way too unknown. It’s time for that to change.
Before I tell you why you should watch “Devs”, the hint where you can stream the sci-fi series: The eight-part miniseries is available through Disney+’s subscription service. Since one should strongly refrain from spoilers with this insider tip, do not be surprised: It also gets a little cryptic in the following text!
THIS IS WHAT “DEVS” IS ABOUT:
Sergei (Karl Glusman) and Lily (Sonoya Mizuno) are a couple working at the powerful high-tech corporation Amaya in Silicon Valley. After Sergei is promoted and recruited for the ultra-secret Devs research project, he is part of humanity’s greatest technological discovery. The day after, the world is suddenly a different place: Sergei has been found dead, leaving plenty of unanswered questions.
The distraught Lily, who wants to know what happened, then investigates on her own and shortly thereafter comes across CEO and arguably the most powerful person in the world Forest (Nick Offerman). With no one talking about the top-secret project, she feels compelled to dig further to shed light on what’s going on.
Compared to acclaimed series like “Westworld” or “Stranger Things,” which have received a lot of hype, “Devs” continues to be swept under the rug. Yet Garland’s series has the best prerequisites to arouse curiosity. On the one hand because of the great cast with “House Of The Dragon” actress Sonoya Mizuno up to Stephen Henderson (“Dune”), on the other hand because of the mysterious story. Since the series is rather unknown in Germany, it should become known to more people.
Lily in Search of the Truth!
Because “Devs” doesn’t commit to a typical sci-fi theme like time travel or virtual simulations à la “Matrix” per se, but delivers an original story never seen before. Devs” can definitely keep up with newer mystery productions, both from an aesthetic point of view and beyond. There’s plenty to ponder and philosophize about here, too.
MAN AND TECHNOLOGY
Those who already liked “Ex Machina” and “Extinction” will definitely get their money’s worth here. In fact, in comparison with those films, there are some parallels that can be drawn. First and foremost, there are the overarching themes that interest Garland. While the former deals with artificial intelligence and “Extinction” deals with the loss of control by something bigger, “Devs” moves in a similar metier. In some form, these works are always about the smallest units of life. Thus, biological genes clash with the zeros and ones in computer technology. The big questions of life follow, as does a sophisticated thought experiment.
At the center of the series set in the not-too-distant future is the most powerful super quantum computer of all time. Surrounded by an almost divine aura or grandeur, this is the pinnacle of technology that leaves you with an ambivalent feeling from the very first episode. By merging philosophical with scientific themes, the signature of the creator is again clearly noticeable. Keywords such as thoughtfulness, elegance, aesthetics and intelligence could probably be used to sum up Garland’s cinematic oeuvre quite well in general – and that’s also the case here.
The Mighty CEO Forest
CEO and devs mastermind Forest, who gives the appearance of being more powerful than Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk combined, is built up in a particularly layered way. The fact that his motivation, fragility and general worldview continually rise to the surface gives the character (as well as all the others) a successful depth.
Between the fascination and the madness, it shows once again that knowledge brings not only power, but also a burden. By means of soundtrack, the visual design and focus on facial expressions, Garland sticks to the old credo of “show, don’t tell”. Minute-long dialogues to explain everything down to the smallest detail don’t exist here.
“DEVS”: SUSPENSE TO THE LAST MINUTE
The fact that you already get a rough idea about the overall theme from the second episode onwards gives the series significant plus points. While already mentioned series like to dance around the big surprise moment and bombard the audience episode after episode with more and more overload, this turns out differently, more intelligently in “Devs”. The focus here is not even on the mystery to be unraveled, but rather on the characters. One should pay special attention to the eyes, which are constantly subtly captured and fantastically express feelings like transience.
The fact that it is already revealed in the fourth episode – exactly halfway through – what it is all about, can only be credited to “Devs”. As a result, there is no fog of confusion and overload. Rarely have film images that become increasingly clear towards the end, both metaphorically and symbolically speaking, worked so well. Because Garland cleverly wraps up the mystery and elegantly resolves it at the end, it sets up a well-rounded arc that is successful from beginning to end. However, that doesn’t mean that philosophizing is over after the season finale – quite the opposite.
“Devs” is a fantastically self-contained miniseries that for once doesn’t have endless sequels with new seasons and ever more complicated mysteries. Why should there be – after all, as we all know, you should stop when it’s at its best. For its aesthetic qualities and thought-provoking story alone, this series is definitely worth catching up on. And those who watch particularly attentively will be greatly rewarded at the end.
