Dave Finale Preview
Episode 10 — scheduled to air Wednesday, April 29 — will be the final installment of Dave season 1, a semi-autobiographical sitcom about American rapper Lil Dicky and his rise to viral internet stardom.
Before we get into episode 10 predictions, let’s take a minute to recap what’s happened so far this season, because, it’s been a wild ride.
Episode 1: The Gander
Dave meets GaTa and learns a lot about the social dynamics of the rap industry. He lands a feature verse from YG after spitting a ridiculous freestyle in front of YG and his whole crew at the studio. This episode establishes two things: 1) Dave is an objectively talented rapper and 2) He’s an awkward suburban white dude who doesn’t really fit into hip-hop culture.
Episode 2: Dave’s First
A dead kid’s parents pay dave to perform a live rap concert at their son’s funeral. This is Dave’s debut live performance as Lil Dicky… The pressure of rapping for the first time at a funeral gets to Dave and it ends up being a complete shit show. Macklemore comes in at the last second and saves the day by replacing Dave as the headlining act.
Episode 3: Hypospadias
Two words: milking… table
Episode 4: Somebody…
SUCK ME!
I think this was the funniest episode so far, by far. Dave goes viral on purpose (a hilarious concept in and of itself) by dressing up as Jim Carrey in The Mask and going around to different public places and yelling “SOMEBODY SUCK ME!” Simple, brilliant, perhaps childish, but still funny. This episode is also a commentary on Lil Dicky’s real-life struggle to overcome viral fame and be recognized as a legitimate artist and not just a youtube caricature.
Episode 5: Hype Man
Here is a real iMessage exchange between me and my friend Ders from the days after this episode dropped:
Episode 6: Talent Shows
All you need to remember is that this episode literally ends with Dave drowning a hallucination of his childhood self in a tray of nachos. It’s pretty dark but still powerful as a metaphor. This was his Jon Snow “kill the boy” moment. He’s cutting ties with his past and starting over as a new man.
Episode 7: What Wood You Wear
Some much-needed levity after episodes 5 and 6, this one is all about Emma and Elz’s budding romance. The two of them make sex with each other, which is nice. Then Emma’s car gets broken into, Elz offers to help, Emma doesn’t let him, they fight, they make up, Emma says she’s, “glad they fucked.” It’s very sweet. Oh, and they buy wooden shirts… which is a thing apparently.
Episode 8: PIBE
Dave and his manager Mike (Andrew Santino) take meetings with record labels. Dave is incredibly cocky, calling himself the “white Kanye” among other things. One of the labels sets him up with a meeting at super-producer Benny Blanco’s house. At Blanco’s house, Dave meets Justin Beiber, who invites him to a party at his crib. Dave goes to Justin’s party and hits it off with Kourtney Kardashian of all people. Ally and Elz crash the party, Elz gets in a fight with Marshmello, Ally and Dave share a romantic moment.
Episode 9: Ally’s Toast
Ally and Dave head out to Ally’s parent’s place for Ally’s sister’s wedding. Ally kills a bunny with her car. Dave tries carrots for the first time. The whole squad goes on a family hike the next day, Dave has catastrophic diarrhea in the woods. Ally and Dave get into a fight. Ally gives an awesome speech at the rehearsal dinner. Dave drives away angry and alone.
Episode 10 Preview:
And finally, now that I’ve thoroughly buried the lead, here is a breakdown of the finale preview released by FX Studios on YouTube this past week.
The episode — titled Jail — will most likely involve some sort of grounding moment for Dave. After his meetings with labels, producers, celebrities, and other artists, Dave’s opinion of himself has reached a highpoint. And after Ally essentially broke up with him for being too cocky, Dave is probably not going to return home to a continuation of episode 8. He’s probably going to be faced with some hard truths about his career.
This arc of the season — in terms of his rap career — has been:
- Dave “comes out” as Lil Dicky in the studio with YG
- Dave starts booking shows, even though they suck and he still gets overshadowed by bigger artists
- Dave reconciles his rap life and his personal life
- Dave goes viral on the internet
- Dave opens for Meek Mill
- Dave breaks away from his past
- Dave’s fame skyrockets and he starts rubbing elbows with famous people
- Dave comes back home after a fight with Ally
The preview opens with Dave and Elz in the studio. Dave tells Elz to put a beat on hold for him, “forever.”
Then we see Dave asking Emma if she would ever compromise her art for anybody, she says she would if they were paying her.
Back in the studio, Elz tells Dave that he’s going to be gone for six weeks. I’m not sure what this is meant to be foreshadowing, but, I think it’s safe to assume that Elz’s storyline will somehow factor into the finale.
From there, we get a shot of Dave and Mike having a business meeting at a bar. We don’t know exactly what they’re talking about, other than that Mike says, “I’m telling you I think it’s a very bad idea. And you’re going to piss off some very important people.”
Dave responds, “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
End of preview…
The episode is titled “Jail,” and during his conversation with Mike about pissing people off and taking risks, Dave is wearing a DARE shirt with a stylized police badge on it. Maybe he’s considering going to jail to further his rap career? Kind of like J-Roc does in Trailer Park Boys? I’m not sure. This would be a great finale, though. Dave getting arrested to boost his street cred. I guess we’ll see. Check back in here after the episode drops for a full recap and review.
Thanks for reading
CP
