1-1. Limbic Resonance.

Angelica (Daryl Hannah) on the last night of her life.

Running Time: Approx. 67 minutes. Written by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: The Wachowskis.


THE PLOT:

Late at night in an abandoned church in Chicago, a woman named Angelica (Daryl Hannah) prepares to shoot herself. Her lover, Jonas (Naveen Andrews) appears, telling her that "it has to be now" and that she can give "them" a chance. Her pursuer (Terrence Mann) appears. He is dismissive of Angelica's suicide threat, noting that she has made such threats before. But this time, she means it. She puts the gun in her mouth (actually not a reliable suicide posture, as Larry McMurtry famously pointed out in Dead Man's Walk) and pulls the trigger.

Eight people in various parts of the world have visions of her suicide: Chicago police officer Will Gorski (Brian J. Smith), San Francisco lesbian Nomi (Jamie Clayton), London DJ Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton), Mexican actor Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Silvestre), German safecracker Wolfgang Bogdanow (Max Riemelt), Indian woman Kala Dandekar (Tina Desai), Korean businesswoman Sun Bak (Doona Bae), and Kenyan bus driver Capheus Onyango (Aml Ameen). As the eight go about their entirely separate daily lives, they keep seeing flashes of Angelica, and even of each other.

Timing that may prove tricky for a few of them, as Riley's boyfriend pulls her into the orbit of drug dealer Nyx (Joseph Mawle), while Wolfgang and his friend Felix (Maximilian Mauff) prepare to snatch a big score out from under the nose of Wolfgang's insufferable criminal cousin, Steiner (Christian Oliver).

Meanwhile, Will discovers the site of Angelica's shooting, and realizes that his visions are not just dreams after all...


CHARACTERS:

They are all pretty much in sketch form in this episode, which is not surprising since even with extra runtime, the job of establishing eight different characters in eight different settings and situations is daunting. Each character is given some "hook" to earn our empathy. Wolfgang may be a criminal, but he doesn't come across as being as odious as Steiner and we learn enough about his family life to see him as fully human. Will breaks procedure and risks the ire of fellow officers by saving a wounded youth in a gang area. Nomi recalls being deeply touched when her girlfriend, Amanita (Freema Agyeman) stood up for her at a previous Pride event. And so on - We spend more time with some than with others, but we touch long enough on each of them to be able to feel some measure of sympathy. For a first episode tasked with doing so much, that is enough.


THOUGHTS:

I've currently watched the first four episodes of Sense8. I had no intention of doing reviews - It was just a show I'd been interested in that I finally decided to watch. The end of Episode Four made me decide to go further, and actually write reviews of the show as I watch - more on that when I review that episode, but anyone who's seen the show probably knows which scene pushed this series from simply "view it" to "review it."

The series is the brainchild of The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski. So on the one hand, it's brought to us by the creators of The Matrix and Babylon 5... Though on the other hand, it's also brought to us by the creators of Jupiter Ascending and... well, I can't think of a comparable JMS title, so I'll settle for the competent-but-uninspiring Jeremiah. The series ran for two seasons on Netflix, before finally being canceled due to the extreme expense of the production (around $9 million per episode)... Though fan outcry eventually resulted in a wrap-up movie, so at least I know I'm not going into something that will remain unresolved.

With the best will in the world, this first episode is a difficult one. With not only eight characters, but eight separate settings, I doubt there was a way around that. Episode One was always going to be limited to setting up the characters, building a tiny bit of mystery, and not much else. The opening scenes, with Angelica, are intriguing but also oddly distancing, and for the first half of the episode I will admit to wondering if I would be continuing with this series as I watched in 10 - 15 minute snippets.

The second half of the episode settles into a more comfortable dramatic rhythm, as the script settles on the most immediately accessible characters. Will presents viewers with the comfortably familiar protagonist figure of a police officer, and the script puts him in a sympathetic dramatic position when he insists on running a boy with a gunshot injury to the hospital - violating procedure because it is the only way the boy will get medical attention fast enough to save his life. Wolfgang and Riley spend the last part of the episode in situations that carry an immediate threat of danger, raising tension just as it is badly needed. An end connection between Will and Riley, followed by a bout of sudden violence that leads into the cliffhanger, conclude the episode on a strong note.

The episode presents barriers to viewing, and I would advise any new viewer to stick with it for at least three installments. Limbic Resonance is, on its own, best viewed as a foundation (really, part of a foundation) for what is to come. It is interesting, but not particularly immediately gripping... Though I suspect it plays better on rewatch, once you actually know who these eight characters are.


Rating: 6/10. The foundation is there... But I suspect a lot of viewers of Episode One did not stick around for Episode Two.


Next Episode: I Am Also a We



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