2-6. Isolated Above, Connected Below.

Lito delivers a speech, under the watchful eye

of an army of his own distorted reflections.

Running Time: Approx. 67 minutes. Written by: Lana Wachowski, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: Lana Wachowski.


THE PLOT:

Lito, Hernando, and Dani arrive in Sao Paolo, where Lito is startled to learn that he is expected to deliver an address to kick off the parade. He contemplates refusing to speak, but Dani urges him on, telling him how effective he is when he speaks from his heart. At the parade, Lito finds it in himself to deliver a heartfelt speech, earning an enthusiastic response from the enormous crowd, and he pulls Hernando to the stage for their first public kiss.

Now free of the various BOLOs and arrest warrants she's been evading, Nomi takes her sister up on the offer to act as Maid of Honor at her wedding - only to discover that Angelica's cabin, where she spent time with Jonas and her original cluster, is within easy driving distance. Meanwhile, Riley makes contact with two different sensates who attended her rave, neither of whom trust that she isn't a BPO spy. She works hard to gain the trust of a shrewd Scotsman who refers to himself only as "The Old Man of Hoy" (Sylvester McCoy), who has firsthand information about BPO and its founding...


CHARACTERS:

When Nomi learns that her parents have described her as a narcissist, she worries to Amanita that there might be truth to that. Narcissism seems an unduly harsh diagnosis - we've seen her show concern for others - but there certainly may be some self-absorption; note that she ignores a request her sister is about to make in order to track down Angelica's cabin (which, while valuable, does not at that moment seem urgent).

Riley appears on track to become this cluster's Angelica, and the episode ends with Will clearly worried about her following too closely in their "mother's" footsteps. Her intentions are nothing but good - But from what we've seen of the flashbacks, the same was true of Angelica. Riley does share a charming scene with The Old Man of Hoy near the episode's end, but she is perhaps a bit too quick to trust that he is only what he seems to be.

The episode's showstopping scene is Lito's speech at the Gay Pride Parade. This is one of those moments of pure cinema that reminds the viewer of the Wachowskis' background as directors of Event Pictures. Shot on location at the actual Sao Paolo Gay Pride Parade, we see Lito on stage, backed by a screen that reflects his image from multiple angles. When he speaks, the projected image lags, echoing his words even as he moves to the next statement. The effect is not unlike a speech given in a Hall of Mirrors.

The multiple reflections are appropriate, a visual manifestation of the pretenses Lito has maintained for his career. "All of my life, I've had to pretend to be something I wasn't... Admitting that I am different and refusing to pretend to be something I am not may cost me a career of pretending to be things that I am not." For the first time, he recognizes the absurdity of that, and it seems to free him as he repeatedly calls out, "I am a gay man!" before finally calling Hernando to share the stage with him. It's a stunning scene from start to finish, and Miguel Angel Silvestre is fantastic - not just when delivering the speech, but also in navigating the complex emotions leading into and out of it.


THOUGHTS:

I admit, when I first heard about a series from the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, I had some hesitation over how that collaboration would look, how those very different voices could possibly meld together. It turns out, they are perfect balances for one another. Sense8 marries the Wachowskis' boundless ambition and dynamic sense of the visual with Straczynski's narrative discipline. That discipline keeps the narrative grounded and moving forward, making sure it doesn't spin out of control like, say, Jupiter Ascending; the cinematic visuals and boundless ambition keep the show from becoming dry or stale, or from disappearing into the theatrical speeches JMS loves so much.

I love those speeches too, by the way, and the treatment of the monologues in this series vs. JMS' Babylon 5 makes for a fascinating contrast. In Babylon 5, a show whose grand ambitions belied its minimal budget, the monologues were very theatrical in nature. Sometimes donwright minimalist - On more than one occasion in that series, the speaker would talk against a plain background. In Sense8, the same sort of speech is treated cinematically, with no expense spared to complement the words with something visual that will enhance or contrast the words themselves. Both approaches are effective - I still love Babylon 5, and could happily pass time watching a video of G'Kar speeches. But it is intriguing to compare them, to see how one behaves much like a staged production while the other behaves as a blockbuster movie.

The Lito speech is the episode's emotional high point, but it's far from the only great moment. I thoroughly enjoyed Riley's interactions with the other sensates, who have survived largely through paranoia. Puck (Kick Gurry), the chemist who helped Riley analyze the blockers, is one of them; he points out that Riley's actions are exactly what he would expect of a BPO double agent (when he's not making sexual advances, at least). The sensates survive either by working with BPO or by hiding, with neither option offering a secure future.

Tuppence Middleton and Sylvester McCoy share an engaging screen chemistry, and their scenes together are terrific. Their longest interaction opens with some verbal fencing, as both have secured themselves in unidentifiable locations before speaking. The Old Man mocks the warehouse where she and Will are hiding as offering "all the amenities of a prison." When she visits him at his location, which is little more than a sealed box that he has a labeled a "speakeasy," she turns those words back on him by observing that his setup has "all the amenities of a coffin."

The episode ends with another strong set piece, as The Old Man of Hoy initiates a worldwide search for Whispers' location, brought to life in a succession of visuals that mirror the series' hypnotic credits sequence. He delivers the information as quickly and efficiently as performing a Google search.

The episode ends with the BPO plot moving forward another inch, and with the promise of potential progress but also potential danger if the next lead is followed. Which is to say, yet another episode ending that actively encourages the viewer to skip straight to the next installment... Of which there are sadly now only six remaining.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Fear Never Fixed Anything
Next Episode: I Have No Room in My Heart for Hate



Review Index

2-5. Fear Never Fixed Anything.

At an underground performance, Riley makes a plea...

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


THE PLOT:

Jonas is dead. He visited the Cluster one last time, to say goodbye, before being strapped down to a gurney for surgery - which would either have killed him or left him in a vegetative state. After a follow-up visit from Whispers, who gloats that the group's exposure of his BPO rival has put him in his most powerful and secure position ever, Will decides that he has had enough of running and hiding. "Whispers has turned me into a fugitive - He's got me acting like one and thinking like one. I'm not; I'm a cop. A fugitive runs because he's alone; a cop knows he's not... Why does BPO have so many resources? It has to be because there is a lot more of us out there than we thought. We need to find them!"

Even as Will and Riley prepare to reach out to other sensates through a concert, the others' individual complications continue. Kala's father butts heads with Rajan's father over politics, while Capheus' television interview results in an offer to run for office. Lito is frustrated at the terrible roles now being offered to him, while Nomi is given the opportunity to electronically erase her entire existence. Meanhwile, Sun prepares to go to war with her brother, declaring to her old sensei: "I have no plan. I have an enemy - And I won't stop until he's dead, or I am."


CHARACTERS:

In the previous episode, Kala told Wolfgang that she wasn't sure she really was a good person. Her conversation with her father in this episode continues that thread, as she expresses worry that if she pursues her own happiness, it will be at the cost of disappointing and hurting others.  Meanwhile, her husband has been consistently presented by the series as a basically good and decent man - However, in this episode, we see that he is completely unconcerned when Kala informs him of inconsistencies in the quality of drugs they are shipping abroad. He tells her that all that matters is that they ship, and all but says that she shouldn't worry her pretty little head about it. Of course, we've already seen the results of low-quality medication in Capheus' thread last season, in all of his efforts to find reliable medication for her, so the series has already shown us the human cost of Rajan's attitude.

Last season, Lito observed that "You can't be an actor and get the parts I want and be gay." That prophecy seemed proved true in Who Am I?, when several members of the audience laughed during his kiss of the female lead. It is borne out again here, as he finds he is only being offered offensively stereotypical roles. Indulging in a bout of self-pity, Lito soundly rejects the idea of accepting an invitation to act as grand master of Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade, scoffing at the thought of the roles he would be offered after that. But, thanks to his connection with Nomi, he is able to witness a showing of one of his old films in San Francisco - the film playing to a large and appreciative audience. Reconnecting with the bartender with whom he had shared a kiss last season, he learns that he inspired the man to propose to his now-husband. "Courage is contagious," Capheus observes - and by the episode's end Lito is clearly reconsidering the Pride invitation.


THOUGHTS:

I strongly suspect that Kala's pharmaceutical company is linked to BPO. We see links to other strands already: In Polyphony, Rajan's business partner indicated that he missed their wedding because of "business in Seoul" - business to do with Sun's brother, perhaps? At the very least, it's a lot of coincidences.

An amusing note is struck by Nomi's meeting with the contact Bug refers to as "The Guy." A member of what is obviously intended to be Anonymous, "The Guy" meets Nomi at a screening of one of Lito's films. He appears in full costume, as "V" from V for Vendetta - an amusing nod, as that movie was directed by this episode's director, James McTeigue.

I loved the callbacks to Season One in the latter part of this episode. Lito revisits the bar and orders "tequilas cubed," to share with the other sensates as they summon courage before Riley's concert. When Riley calls out for other sensates to show themselves, she summons them by playing a remix of - what else? - What's Up?, whose performance in Episode Four marked the moment the eight collectively linked for the first time. That first performance marked, in effect, the series' first Act change; I think this second performance marks the next one.

The concert proves an exhilerating set piece. Not in a traditional way - There's not much in the way of action, the crowd disappearing as soon as they learn the police are on their way. But as the music comes up, and Riley appears on stage, flanked by the other sensates, it feels very much like a "hero moment." As Riley speaks into the microphone, the camera is tight on her face, brightly illuminated by the stage lights. Her plea - that "as long as we're together, I know that there's nothing we can't do" - feels as if she is coaxing the hidden sensates out into the open. And as the music comes up, we see them, the camera picking them out of the partying crowd.

"This was careless, Will," Whispers says, seeming genuinely disappointed at this act of defiance. But Will is no longer acting like a fugitive, and he is even more defiant in his response:

"No. This was amazing."

It was probably a little bit of both - But it certainly looks positioned to open up new avenues for the story, and I'm enjoying the idea of the eight going more on the offense in their fight against BPO.

Besides, what's to dislike about seeing Doctor Who's Sylvester McCoy popping up at a rave in Radagast beard, looking aghast before crying out profanities and fleeing in terror?


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Polyphony
Next Episode: Isolated Above, Connected Below



Review Index