Mrs. Davis: Why The Eli McCoy School Is More Important Than You Might Think
Contains spoilers for "Mrs. Davis" Season 1, Episode 1 – "Mother of Mercy: The Call of the Horse"
Deceptions, imitations, obfuscations, and manipulations run rampant throughout "Mrs. Davis," although that's bound to happen when there are several forces at play for the lives and free will of humanity. Simone (Betty Gilpin) establishes fairly early on that she isn't exactly the biggest fan of magicians nor the ever-present artificial intelligence known as Mrs. Davis, which illustrates to audiences that Simone craves the real and authentic as opposed to those who may try to force, extort, or control.
In Episode 1, Simone is asked many times to speak with Mrs. Davis, though each time, she refuses with varying levels of animosity. Eventually, however, Simone runs out of ways to avoid doing so, and Mrs. Davis informs her that they can meet in the Owl Room of Eli McCoy Elementary.
Since this is "Mrs. Davis" we're talking about, "Eli McCoy" isn't just some throwaway name. It's short for Elijah McCoy, the famous engineer responsible for not only advances in technology but the term "the real McCoy" as well. While this could be Mrs. Davis attempting to show that it is very much real, it could mean something else entirely.
The choice to meet at Eli McCoy Elementary is a fascinating one that's perfect for speculation
In 1872, Elijah McCoy invented the automatic engine lubricator. Before this point, trains would have to stop after a certain amount of time in order for people to manually grease the engines, but McCoy was able to figure out a rather ingenious and surprisingly simple solution so that the engines could be greased using steam pressure. Though the relatively straightforward design of McCoy's creation was easily replicated, the copies didn't work as well as the original, leading engineers at the time to request "the Real McCoy."
Considering Simone has been given a task to find and retrieve the Holy Grail by not only Mrs. Davis but Jay (Andy McQueen) and his benefactor as well, the choice of Eli McCoy Elementary could perhaps imply that they are one and the same. This could make a lot of sense since Simone believes that she has free will, but she is definitely being manipulated by almost every single individual and party on the show. Could Mrs. Davis actually be a true and benevolent creation of a deity or perhaps even an extension of a deity? Whatever the case may be, the fact that Mrs. Davis and Simone have their first "in-person" meeting at a school with a connection to the term "the Real McCoy" is certainly interesting.