1-11. Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes.

Capheus' desperate bid to reclaim his future.

Running Time: Approx. 45 minutes. Written by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: Tom Tykwer.


THE PLOT:

After her blackout at her father's performance, Riley finds herself in a hospital ICU. Yrsa visits her to call her a fool and tell her that she is going to die in this hospital. Meanwhile, Will, Nomi, Amanita, and their hacker friend Bug use their skills to buy time for Riley while they figure out what they will do next.

In Kenya, the day has come - The day Capheus has been ordered to bring Silas' daughter to the Superpower Gang. Having built up his courage by watching Van Damme movies, Capheus delivers the girl not to the gang, but to his friend Jela to protect, with instructions for Jela if he fails to return. Capheus clings to a vain hope that he might yet reason with the gang's leader, but the situation quickly explodes into violence - with Capheus relying on Sun's martial arts skills and Will's police training to keep himself alive, before in the end relying on his own strength and driving skill.

Meawhile, Wolfgang hatches a plan to save Felix from his uncle's wrath, while Sun learns that her last hope of freedom is gone...


CHARACTERS:

The benefit of the slow burn approach this series has taken is that, when an action-heavy episode arrives, even the most over-the-top sequences feel like a reasonable progression of the character's journey. This was true of Wolfgang's rocket launcher pyrotechnics in the previous episode, and it's true of the violent martial arts sequence-turned-car chase that forms the centerpiece of this episode. The sequence itself would be quite at home in a big summer action film - But the time we have spent following Capheus' journey to this point (and following Will and Sun, who aid him) lends the proceedings a certain weight. All the actors are excellent, but special mention should be made for Aml Ameen. He anchors this plot thread, and invests so much honest determination in his character that even when his bus is playing chicken with a villain on a motorcycle, it doesn't feel silly - Or at least, we're too invested in his emotions and well-being to laugh even when it does feel silly.

In the other threads, we see Will mentally perched at Riley's bedside as she lies in the ICU. We sense, as Jonas does, that his only thought is reaching her physically as fast as possible - a determination that could be too easily manipulated by Whispers. Bug proves that his friendship with Nomi is genuine when he delivers the very hacking equipment he sold her earlier, stolen straight from police custody. Wolfgang is pure cold calculation as he prepares to use violence to save his friend, while the normally reserved Sun finally explodes with rage at her situation.


THOUGHTS:

Running a mere 45 minutes, Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes is the shortest episode of the season. The reason for that is simple; this episode is the most direct, lean, and fast-paced of the season to this point. After a few quick scenes setting up the state of the ongoing arc, the focus settles on Capheus and his plan to reclaim his life from both Silas and the Superpower Gang. From the moment he drives his bus to the warehouse that is the gang's headquarters, the remainder is basically a straight adrenaline shot.

The episode is directed by Tom Tykwer, who collaborated with the Wachowskis on the (in my opinion) unfairly maligned Cloud Atlas. Though not exactly an action film, that movie did feature a few breathless action set pieces, and that same energy is in evidence during the central part of this episode, the tension and excitement punctuated by moments of startling violence. I also very much appreciate that, while Sun and Will provide their skills to help Capheus survive a seemingly hopeless scenario, the final moments of the action see Capheus relying solely on his own strength and skill set.

Most of the other strands are there only long enough to advance those bits of plot, but I did enjoy Bug's reappearance. Michael X. Sommers' performance is a great deal of fun, the character being convincingly sleazy enough to be instantly identifiable as a criminal, and yet likable enough that you can actually believe Nomi's fondness for him. His dubbing Amanita and Nomi "angels" after Charlie's Angels is an amusing running gag at this point, though it may have the potential to become wearisome if it persists.

I love the way the episode ends. Capheus has taken his decisive action, and Wolfgang is about to move forward to his own showdown. But after all the action and violence, and the looming threat of Whispers and his manipulations, we don't end on any of that. Instead, we cut to Sun, talking with Kala from her cell. Her voice is cold, her eyes angry as she puts words to her newfound determination to escape her apparently inescapable fate:

"This is what life is. Fear, rage, desire, love. To stop feeling emotions, to stop wanting to feel them, is to feel death... I take everything I am feeling, everything that matters to me. I push all of it into my fist, and I fight for it."

When the episode cuts to black a second after that declaration, it's honestly a surprise that it ends there - But I can't think of a better place to leave off before the finale.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode; What Is Human?
Next Episode: I Can't Leave Her



Review Index

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



Review Index

1-3. Smart Money Is on the Skinny Bitch.

Sun displays her martial arts skills, not aware

 that she's about to fight two battles at once.

Running Time: Approx. 48 minutes. Written by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: The Wachowskis.


THE PLOT:

Will is a hero after successfully arresting Jonas, but his injuries landed him in the hospital. When he insists on leaving, it's over the protests of the attending nurse, who talks about "unusual brain activity." Will tries to see Jonas, but his newfound status is not enough for the FBI to agree to that, and he is left wondering if he truly did the right thing.

In Korea, Sun is frustrated with attempts to contact her father regarding business irregularities. She relieves her anger by entering a kickboxing match. When her opponent objects to fighting a young woman, the referee smirks at him, telling him that "the smart money" is not on him, but on Sun.

In Nairobi, Capheus prevails on his friend, Jela (Paul Ogola) to help him buy AIDS medicine for his dying mother (Chichi Seii). Thanks to Jela's bartering skills, he is able to obtain some from a drug dealer... But when his bus is robbed by thugs calling themselves "the Superpower Gang," the drugs are stolen - leading him to desperate action to try to recover them, unwittingly pulling Sun and Will into his fight!

All the while, Nomi's surgery looms ever closer, with escape seeming like an impossibility...


CHARACTERS:

Up to this point, Sun and Capheus have been the least developed of the regulars. The first episode gave them arguably the least to do of all the characters, and the second episode all but ignored them. This installment is tasked with rectifying that, turning them from the sketchiest of sketches into proper characters. It does the job well, and does it in different ways.

Capheus is more or less of an "Everyman" character. He's a bus driver trying to earn enough money to get by while caring for his mother.  He's an open character, so we learn this fairly openly. He talks with his friend about his childhood wish to be "a zebra," while he flashes back to watching zebras with his mother. His main actions of the episode are focused first on getting drugs his mother needs, then on recovering them. There's no mystery, because he's a man with nothing to hide (so far).

Sun is a closed character. She speaks little, and has no interest in revealing herself to others. Instead, we learn about her by watching her in action - Listening to, and dodging, a banker's messages. Curtly attempting to see her father, then taking out her anger at being refused by destroying the smug secretary's desk. The fight at the end, in a ring where she seems to feel more sense of belonging than in her office. We don't know what drives her yet, but we can see her personality - Not in words, but in actions.

The episode also touches base with the other threads. Lito is drawn into an uncomfortable meeting with Joaquin (Raúl Méndez), Dani's criminal ex-boyfriend, the conversation ending in a way that indicates all is far from settled. Riley, barely seen in the previous episode, is given a bit more backstory, as she talks with two friends about her childhood in Iceland and her relationship with her father (an actual positive relationship! ...He'll probably die soon). So even as the focus of the episode narrows to just a few characters, we see the other threads inching forward as well.


THOUGHTS:

Smart Money Is on the Skinny Bitch more or less replicates the formula of the previous episode, building up the characters while also managing to move forward in both subtle and overt ways.

This becomes the first installment to end not on a cliffhanger, but instead on a revelation: In urgent need, Capheus is able to draw on Sun's martial arts skills and Will's police training to face down the street gang. His bus is named after martial arts star Jean Claude Van Damme, and a woman on his bus watches the fight and admiringly comments that "he really is Van Damme!"

It's a strong action set piece, in no small part because the show has so steadily built to this point. We don't know exactly why the three are able to share in the fight, but we have seen enough flashes of each of them experiencing the others' lives that we understand what is occurring without having to be told. The resulting action is clean, well-shot, and effective, and ends the episode with us comprehending why someone might consider these people either dangerous or worthy subjects for experiments - The array of skills any of them can tap into would potentially make James Bond look like a Smurf.

Beyond that, this is another solid chapter, in a show that's becoming progressively more involving as it goes along.


Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: I Am Also a We
Next Episode: What's Going On?



Review Index

Sense8 Review Index

Season One
Original Release Date: June 5, 2015

1-1. Limbic Resonance

1-2. I Am Also a We

1-3. Smart Money Is on the Skinny Bitch

1-4. What's Going On?

1-5. Art Is Like Religion

1-6. Demons

1-7. W. W. N. Double-D?

1-8. We Will All Be Judged by the Courage of Our Hearts

1-9. Death Doesn't Let You Say Goodbye

1-10. What Is Human?

1-11. Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes

1-12. I Can't Leave Her


Next Season: Season Two