1-5. Art Is Like Religion

Capheus and Sun hold a 

conversation across two continents.

Running Time: Approx. 52 minutes. Written by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: James McTeigue.


THE PLOT:

After escaping from the hospital, Nomi and Amanita seek refuge from friends, even as Nomi wonders whether Dr. Metzger might have been right. Amanita rejects that, instead insisting that something else is going on, and that they need to find out what.

In Germany, Wolfgang is summoned by his uncle, Sergei (Sylvester Groth) - the father of the man whose big score Wolfgang stole. Sergei is suspicious of Wolfgang, largely because the safe containing the diamonds was not blown, but cracked - despite being an uncrackable safe. When Felix makes light of the conversation, Wolfgang upbraids him, telling him that Sergei is no fool and is certainly having them watched.

Meanwhile, Sun and Capheus wrestle with difficult decisons; Lito finds his acting career complicated as he keeps sharing flashes of the others' lives; and the day of Kala's wedding finally arrives.


CHARACTERS:

To no one's surprise, Capheus' errand for Silas becomes more complicated than advertised. He is ambushed by members of the Superpower Gang, out for revenge. This time, he is not able to call on Sun for help and ends up in the dirt with Silas' package stolen. But even on his own, Capheus is not about to let go of the chance to get good medication for his mother. He chases the gang back to their base, smashes the back window of the car containing the bag, and runs for dear life. He may not have martial arts skills of his own, but his determination is unwavering, and Silas is suitably impressed.

The strongest parallels drawn are between Capheus and Sun. Both are faced with a choice between preservation of self and of family. For Capheus, the decision is easy. He has a loving mother, who has provided companionship, support, and a role model his entire life. For Sun, it's much more difficult. "My question is, am I the person who wants to see my brother punished, who wants to watch the business my father built be destroyed? Or am I the person who wants to save them, who will go to prison for them, even though they have been cruel to me for my entire life?"

Meanwhile, the bond between Wolfgang and Kala continues to be emphasized. Not that it stops Kala from moving forward with her wedding - After all, from her perspective, Wolfgang appears to be just "the singing man in (her) dream." She is not about to upend all her family's hopes and preparations based on a dream. At least, not until she is confronted with him, literally standing naked in front of her, demanding to know why she is marrying a man she does not love.


THOUGHTS:

The scene between Capheus and Sun is the episode's best moment. The two characters, initially the series' most neglected, have become among the series' strongest. The parallels between the open young man and the closed off businesswoman are skillfully established, and the situation of each speaks to that of the other. A nice touch is that we see the scene from two perspectives: From one angle, we are in Nairobi, the two actors bathed in warm sunlight. From another angle, we are in Seoul, the light much colder to match the city around them. The intercutting is so skillful, you don't even consciously register it at first. That blending of settings within a single, relatively simple conversation is the exact type of thing that sets this series apart.

The Capheus and Sun material is quite gripping overall, as we watch both characters being drawn down dark paths for entirely understandable reasons. Unfortunately, the rest of this episode is far less gripping. I noted in my review of What's Going On? that the end of that episode felt like the end of the series' First Act. That makes this episode the beginning of Act Two, and it largely feels like the show is pausing for breath before moving forward.

For the most part, the episode is just re-establishing the regulars. We see Will getting chewed out by his supervisor for ignoring chain of command in his attempts to see Jonas (note: This is entirely reasonable from his supervisor's point of view, and in fact it's a fairly mild verbal reprimand). Nomi and Amanita are hiding, and currently have no plan beyond Amanita's determination to find out exactly what is happening.

Lito is still trying to carry on with his movie star career, in scenes that are mostly played for laughs... Though I'll admit that some of these bits are funny, particularly as he tries to deal with the sensation of Sun's period and bursts into tears while doing a scene, then later shouts at traffic such ineffective invectives as: "I see you, villain, with your villain mustache!" Meanwhile, Tuppence Middleton's Riley, who received a great deal of attention in the premiere, has now spent four episodes pushed so firmly into the background that she's in danger of vanishing altogether.

The final major strand is Kala's wedding, and that subplot gets more screen time than in previous installments. However, I must confess that as of this point, her wedding is the thread that I'm least invested in. After five episodes of "I don't love him, but I'm marrying him anyway, unless I don't," I'm more than ready for her to just get on with it one way or another.

Ultimately, Art Is Like Religion is my least favorite episode since the first one, lacking much in the way of excitement or even strong character drama. As I've indicated, I think it's a deliberate pause for breath before getting on with the next Major Plot and Character Turns... But it's still noticeably less gripping than the preceding entries.


Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: What's Going On?
Next Episode: Demons



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