Warning: The following comprises spoilers for Daisy Jones & the Six Episode 7. Proceed at your individual danger!
The seventh episode of Daisy Jones & the Six (streaming now on Prime Video) had an surprising shining star in newcomer Nabiyah Be’s character Simone Jackson.
As Daisy’s finest buddy and a rising disco legend, Simone had a whole episode devoted to her life aside from Riley Keough’s titular singer/songwriter. This probably stunned many viewers of the present who additionally learn Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, as Simone’s character didn’t have as giant of a job in the guide.
Will Graham, co-showrunner and Episode 7’s director, admitted to TVLine that Simone’s expanded presence was one thing that had been in the works since the starting of the book-to-TV adaptation.
“I think it goes back to the very first conversation that I had with [executive producer] Lauren [Neustadter] and [co-showrunner] Scott [Neustadter], which literally seems like 20 million years ago now, and saying, ‘We want to see the full life of this character,’” Graham remembers. “And in our first conversation with Taylor, too, we said kind of, ‘What are you the most excited to see in the adaptation that you didn’t get to do in the book?’ and she was just like, ‘Simone.’”
This episode not solely explored Simone discovering her sound in the world of disco, however it additionally showcased her sexual id as a queer Black girl in a time when it was tough to exist as such.
“We wanted to make sure that she was owning her own story [as] a Black woman who was also an innovator, and making sure that she wasn’t someone who was just attempting to make generic music,” Be says.
With all the pieces that she was given to play in the hour, Be was most excited to dig into Simone’s “romantic relationship, the growing into comfortability in the club scenes, into fully understanding that she can both be herself, be truthful, and have some of the praise and attention that she craves,” the actress shares.
During the episode, Simone traveled to New York City, hoping to get a contemporary begin. Upon her arrival, she sought out Bernie (performed by Ayesha Harris), a DJ that she met at a celebration in the previous. Within seconds of their reunion, Bernie performed Simone’s track at a disco membership and had her sing it stay, which the crowd totally loved. For probably the first time in the season, viewers noticed Simone get the hype she deserved.
Making the sequence much more particular was the incontrovertible fact that “all the disco scenes [were] actually shot in Athens, with a cast of extras of predominantly real queer African immigrants who didn’t have a club to go to,” Graham reveals. “So the story kind of became the way that we were telling it, too, and as a queer person, it was just such a privilege to get to be part of bringing that story to the screen, because we really haven’t seen it.”
In the episode, Simone turned extra snug performing, however she was nonetheless hesitant in being open about her relationship with Bernie. Despite the success she was attaining, Simone was nonetheless keen to drop all of it for Daisy, in a heartbeat. After receiving a cryptic message from Daisy, Simone fled to Greece, pondering that her buddy was in bother.
She and Bernie arrived in Greece solely to discover a blissful, giddy and newly engaged Daisy, who simply needed her finest buddy at her impending marriage ceremony. Although Daisy appeared genuinely completely happy, Simone noticed straight by way of the façade. She tried to persuade Daisy to return to the band, however Daisy was reluctant due to what occurred between her and Billy. Simone tried to snap her out of it by reminding her who she really was, regardless of her new husband Nicky’s makes an attempt to vary her.
Nicky tried to persuade Daisy that Simone was not protecting of her, however fairly that Simone was in love along with her. Whether or not Daisy believed that is unknown, however she used Nicky’s phrases in opposition to Simone, which actually upset her. A fed-up Simone gathered her issues and left, however not with out giving Daisy her remaining two cents.
“I do love you, Daisy, and I’ll tell you what love is, because you clearly have no f–king clue. It’s when someone tells you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it. I love you, Daisy, so I’ll tell you the truth: You are a real selfish bitch,” Simone mentioned.
While Episode 7 dove into facets of Simone’s character that weren’t mentioned in the guide, it solely scratched the floor.
“I think you could do a whole other show about Simone. I loved what they did with her character,” Reid raves.
What did you consider Simone’s expanded position? Hit the feedback beneath together with your ideas!
(With reporting by Vlada Gelman)
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