2-12. Amor Vincit Omnia

One last ride for the Cluster...

Running Time: Approx. 151 minutes. Written by: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksander Hemon. Directed by: Lana Wachowski.


THE PLOT:

Wolfgang is now a prisoner of BPO - But Will organized the other sensates into responding forcefully, infiltrating BPO and taking Whispers and Jonas hostage. Now hiding with their prisoners in Paris, the group is organizing an exchange. They know BPO will double-cross them as soon as the exchange is complete, and have a plan to complete the trade and escape.

That plan is threatened by several outside parties. River El-Saadawi (Amira Ghazalla), daughter of BPO co-founder Ruth El-Saadawi, reaches out to the group to tell them that Whispers is the sole pilot for BPO's drone program, and urges them to kill Whispers even at the cost of Wolfgang's life. Other sensate clusters, under the guidance of a woman known only as "The Mother" (Urusla Jones), take direct action to interfere with the exchange.

Meanwhile, BPO turns up the pressure by instigating a purge of known sensates worldwide. Jonas takes advantage of the confusion to escape, leaving Will's cluster to wonder whose side he might be on. And into the chaos strides Lila Facchini (Valeria Bilello), the sensate assassin who turned Wolfgang over to BPO. She appears to be working for them - But she has an agenda all her own, one that will soon put them on a collision course with the mysterious BPO Chairman (Stephen Boxer).


CHARACTERS:

It's the nature of the beast that a movie will have a narrower focus than an ongoing series. I figured relatively early in the series' run that the finale would inevitably center around the BPO arc, meaning that the regulars least involved in the BPO arc - Capheus, Sun, and Lito - end up getting less to do than the other five. Sun at least gets a few good action scenes and a love interest, but Capheus is reduced to little more than the team's designated driver, while Lito is basically comedy relief. Lito's significant others actually get stronger material than him; Hernando's extensive art knowledge helps the group to infiltrate Lila's fortress-like estate, while Dani gets an early confrontation with Whispers that is an absolute showstopper.

For the rest, it's largely business as usual. Will drives the plot, but aside from some interest/jealousy over some of Riley's past contacts, he doesn't get much in the way of character material. Nomi and Amanita provide a few emotional scenes - though for arguably the first time in the series, some of their dialogue (notably an early conversation about Amanita's fantasies about Paris) feels forced and stilted. Wolfgang and Kala probably get the best overall material, each repeatedly showing devotion to the other, and the resolution to the Wolfgang/Kala/Rajan triangle is unexpected but fitting for this series.

Oh, and Bug, whose role has continued to expand throughout the series, gets even more to do here. He proves to be a delight throughout the film, with just enough moments of insight sprinkled between the comedy to keep him from descending into being purely a "joke" character.


A BRIEF REFLECTION ON WHAT WAS LOST:

The BPO plotline itself feels reduced and simplified. Whispers had shown signs of being a potentially fascinating character - Sense8's equivalent of Babylon 5's Bester, a thoroughgoing villain who nevertheless saw himself as serving a greater good. Here, he's just a baddie, whose relatively brief bits of dialogue amount to sadistic threats. He isn't even the main bad guy, being quite literally reduced to a plot device: spending the first half of the episode as our heroes' prisoner before spending the second half as someone else's prisoner.

Then there is the matter of the mysterious BPO Chairman. The Chairman was mentioned multiple times in Season Two, so was always going to emerge as a major villain. I have difficulty believing, however, that had the series played out as originally intended, he would have been such a 2-dimensional figure, an impotent clone of Star Wars' Emperor Palpatine.

Ultimately, as I watched the movie, I felt that something was missing from both characters and the dialogue, and I think that something has a name: J. Michael Straczynski, who co-created the series and co-wrote all the episodes prior to this one. Straczynski has a particular creative voice, often expressed through monologues that are slightly heightened and theatrical but that are nonetheless spellbinding. The absence of that voice leaves a tangible void in this finale - Not in the big action set pieces, but in the quieter character moments. A layer is missing to the dialogue, and I am fairly certain that missing layer is best explained by his absence.


WHAT WAS GOOD, AND EVEN GREAT:

Most of my complaints amount to acknowledging the inevitable: some characters draw the short straw, ongoing plotlines are substantially simplified, and some of the exchanges lack the resonance of the series proper, with dialogue more focused on advancing plot than character. All of these largely fall into the category of "given," since this movie is tasked with closing out a series that was roughly intended to run for three more seasons; per original intent, the last regular episode wouldn't even have been considered the halfway mark!

Accepting those limitations, the movie does a solid job of closing out the BPO storyline in a manner that is largely consistent with what has been learned over the course of the series. I can speculate about where I think the plot might have gone had the series continued... But taking what was made purely on its own terms, the main ongoing plot of the series reaches a satisfying conclusion - with the door left just enough ajar to allow for future seasons or movies, should Netflix prove willing.

The major set pieces, from the botched exchange to the final pursuit of Lila, are uniformly outstanding, conveying intensity and excitement. I'm of two minds regarding a moment in which one of the regulars appears to be killed, only to survive with no apparent ill effects... But another part of me is just as happy for Sense8, a series that has largely embraced compassion and hope as its guiding principles, to embrace a celebratory atmosphere in its finale. Besides, "wringing emotion out of major character death in finale" has become a cliche in itself, so I was not too sad to see it subverted.

There's an epilogue that runs a little long, and a closing sex scene that - unlike most similar scenes in the series - seems to exist as much to make sure there is a sex scene as to serve any particular character or narrative purpose (though I did find the final shot to be an amusing swipe at those who expressed outrage at the series' very first sexual encounter). Overall, however, Amor Vincit Omnia does an admirable job of wrapping up a complex series. It will never rank among my favorite episodes, simply because of the built-in limitations of the situation. But given what it had to do, it is more successful than it had any right to be and represents a satisfying end to an outstanding series.

Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: You Want a War?



Review Index

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

2-2. Who Am I?

Whispers closes in on Will... or does he?

Running Time: Approx. 55 minutes. Written by: Lana Wachowski, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: Lana Wachowski.


THE PLOT:

Lito's movie has its premiere. Since Lito's secret is now officially public knowledge, he decides to bring Hernando, as well as Dani. Some of the public is demonstrably supportive - But Lito observes that the movie's poster does all it can to downplay his presence, while a reporter eagerly ambushes him for his sexuality and for "lying to (his) fans." Capheus also deals with a potentially hostile journalist, who resents the "Van Damn" for glorifying "white courage," though she proves more persuadable.

Will is in decline, as the constant drugs that diminish Whispers' link take their toll on his health despite the group's best efforts. He continues to pursue the opportunities of that link, trying to glean information about his tormenter's identity and location, with Nomi and Amanita following up on every clue he finds. Whispers is fully aware of Will's attempts to monitor him, however, and prepares to turn the tables...


CHARACTERS:

As the series goes along, the sensates are working more and more as a unit. Early in the episode, Lito and Capheus find themselves simultaneously talking to journalists who are determined to make them look either hypocrital or foolish. Their replies intertwine, and bring in the others, basically smashing their experiences together into a single, heartfelt reply, that also gives the episode its title: "Who am I? Do you mean where I'm from? What I one day might become? What I do? What I've done? What I dream? ...I guess who I am is exactly the same as who you are. Not better than, not less than. Because there is no one who has been or will ever be exactly the same as either you or me." Rapid-fire editing has all eight speaking at various points, their words overlapping each other and in some cases anticipating each other, as quick cuts of some particularly memorable moments play over the speech. It's a breathtaking moment - and not the episode's only one.

The eight also work together to try to help Will. Kala's pharmaceutical expertise helps Riley maintain his health (or at least, slow down his decline) even as she keeps him drugged. Nomi and Amanita follow up on every clue Will gleans about Whispers, while Bug tries to hack into BPO's servers (thus far, without success). Meanwhile, Riley shows herself to be wilier than anticipated. A memorable scene sees Whispers laying out for Will just how in over his head he is, and just how close BPO are to tracking him down... Only for the very next scene to reveal that some of Whispers' moves have been anticipated.


THOUGHTS:

Lito observed back in Season One that he couldn't be both openly gay and a star of the kind of ultra-macho action movies that have been his trade. The scene at his movie premiere shows how prophetic that statement was. When the scene comes up in which he dramatically declares, "We will all be judged by the courage of our hearts!", followed by his melodramatic kiss of his leading lady, the audience... giggles. Not all of the audience, or even most (which is a nice touch), but enough to show that many of his accustomed viewers will no longer take him seriously in the roles he's been playing.

It isn't all doom and gloom - He clearly does well dealing with the journalist's attempted ambush, and we see some enthusiastic fans showing their acceptance of him on his way in. His career isn't likely to be over... But it will need to evolve, with him taking different types of roles - Which honestly, might prove more rewarding in the long run. I suspect that's where his career arc is heading, though time will tell if it's able to advance to that point given the show's pPreremature cancellation.

Lito doesn't appear to convince the journalist who confronted him, but Capheus fares a lot better. Not only does his sincerity transform Zakia (Mumbi Maina) from critic to supporter, she comes back later to invite him to lunch, leading to another heartfelt scene in which she is impressed by his optimism in the face of adversity. While I still occasionally find myself mentally inserting Aml Ameen into some of these moments, Toby Onwumere is growing on me; I'm confident in another episode or two, my brain will fully accept him as Capheus.

Will's strand is the dominant one of the episode, and his confrontations with Whispers stand alongside the interview scene as particularly memorable moments. Will might be constantly drugged up, and in visible physical decline, but he remains determined to find a way to turn the tables on his tormenter. There's a scene in which first Will, then Whispers, deconstruct what each man can deduce about the other's location based on the glimpses of their respective surroundings. Each man is intelligent, and each is given a moment in which he seems to have the upper hand... Only for that moment of strength to be taken away again.

I will also note that the more we see of Terrence Mann's Whispers, the more impressed I become with the performance. At this point, he's more than a mere creepy presence - He's emerging into a fascinating character in his own right.

The episode ends on a particularly strong note, making it an effort of willpower not to just move onto the next installment.  From the very beginning, this series has demonstrated its mastery of the art of the cliffhanger, and I imagine that many viewers just binged the season in a single weekend when it originally dropped.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Happy F*cking New Year
Next Episode: Obligate Mutualisms



Review Index

1-12. I Can't Leave Her

Riley relives the worst day of her life.

Running Time: Approx. 55 minutes. Written by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski. Directed by: The Wachowskis.


THE PLOT:

Riley is now in BPO's clutches, a prisoner at their facility in Iceland. Fortunately for all of the cluster, she remains unconscious; Whispers is unable to use her to locate the others until she wakes up - leaving Will and the others a narrow window to attempt a rescue. Nomi and Amanita frantically hack their way through BPO's security measures, while Will acts as an avatar for the members of the cluster to utilize their skills to locate and free Riley.

But Whispers knows Will is coming, and has a few surprises of his own in store...


CHARACTERS:

Riley spends this episode trapped. Not merely in BPO, but worse - reliving the most horrible hours of her life: The car crash that killed her husband, followed in rapid succession by the birth and death of her baby girl. Even after Will manages to wake her, she remains a prisoner of those memories - so much so, that she seriously considers dying rather than continuing to carry her grief. Fortunately, Will matches that grief with sheer stubbornness. Even faced with a hopeless situation, he refuses to give up, believing that there must be a better solution than the one Angelica pursued.

The rest of the ensemble is in support mode, but every character gets his or her moment. Kala's skills as a chemist save Wolfgang in the first half of the episode, then help Will to save Riley in the second half. Kala also gets a close-up look at the violence that is part and parcel of Wolfgang's life, with him even declaring himself to be a "monster." Lito, who a few episodes back cursed himself by crying, "All I do is lie," now gets to put those very skills to good use. Sun continues to make Rambo look like Strawberry Shortcake (actually, one of the few criticisms I have is that Sun is so hyper-capable that she's become the default solution to anything that can be solved with fighting skills), while Capheus gets an amusing bit in securing a getaway vehicle. Meanwhile, Nomi and Amanita are a pure delight providing tech support and occasional wry commentary.


THOUGHTS:

Though this series always looks more like a movie than a television show, the location shots of Iceland in this episode are breathtaking.  From the barren winter that Riley confronts on the worst day of her life, to the single highway that is both Will's approach and escape from BPO, to the final shot of the entire group on a ship at sea - This episode looks absolutely incredible.

Throughout the season, Sense8 has gradually increased the degree to which the main characters interact. The first direct interactions were conversations: Will and Riley in the first episode, Nomi and Jonas in the second. Then we see the characters borrowing each other's skills: Capheus drawing on Will's police training and Sun's martial arts skills, Nomi doing the same to escape first from the hospital and then from Whispers, Wolfgang using Lito's skill at lying and Lito using Wolfgang's fighting and endurance abilities to defeat Joaquim. Those moments have become more and more complex as the season has gone on, with an increasing number of characters involved in these interactions - as in Nomi's escape from Whispers or Capheus' confrontation with the Superpower Gang.

It all builds to this episode, in which Will draws on the abilities of all six of his fellows to rescue Riley. At each step, Will encounters an obstacle that he himself could not clear, but that another member of the cluster can. The resulting sequence moves from suspenseful to startlingly funny to occasionally surprising - And just as it seems the abilities of the cluster are going to allow Will to get through with relative ease, Whispers throws a curveball with a single glance.

Though the rescue makes a strong climax to the season, plenty of plot threads are left dangling for Season Two. Sun is still in prison for her brother's crime; Capheus may want to return to his old life, but it seems very unlikely that he will be able to; Wolfgang's moment of violence seems poised to push Kala into a marriage she doesn't really want, and at the same time has pushed Wolfgang into a more nihilistic emotional space. Not to mention that Whispers is still hunting Will and Riley, and Will's solution in this episode seems like a very temporary one.

The final shot - in which we at last see all eight of them together, enjoying their moment of triumph, however fleeting it may be - is a wonderfully satisfying visual. But all the nagging threads mean that it leaves plenty of compulsion to dive straight into the next season - Which I am greatly looking forward to.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes
Next Episode: Happy F*cking New Year



Review Index

1-6. Demons.

"And it was at this moment my child walked in

and asked what the people on screen were up to..."

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


THE PLOT:

Nomi and Amanita visit their apartment and find all of their belongings either gone or ruined. A furious Nomi realizes that the people hunting her will not stop "unless we make them stop." Needing a safe place to stay, Amanita takes Nomi to hide out at the home of her mother (Maximilienne Ewalt) while they figure out their next move.

In London, Riley finds Nyx - the drug dealer her ex-boyfriend attempted to murder - waiting for her. She is able to channel Will's police training to escape, but is left on the run with no safe place to hide. In India, Kala is visited by Wolfgang, who tempts her even as Rajan urges her to complete their interrupted wedding. In Mexico, Lito, Hernando, and Dani are growing increasingly comfortable in their new relationship.

Meanwhile, Capheus' agreement with Silas takes a more serious turn, as the crime lord entrusts him with the protection of his daughter. And Sun confesses to her brother's crimes, only to immediately worry that she has made the worst mistake of her life...


CHARACTERS:

In my last review, I complained that Riley had been pushed so far into the background, she was at risk of becoming entirely redundant. This episode revives her thread in a memorable way. Nyx's interrogation with the plastic bag is allowed to run well past the point of being genuinely uncomfortable to watch, and the performances of Tuppence Middleton and Joseph Mawle are almost too good - As he placed the bag over her head for longer and longer periods, I almost felt like I needed to catch my breath.

Before that scene, Riley and Will share a bit of cross-continental flirtation. These two seem to be developing the same type of bond as Wolfgang and Kala, only they're more cute than carnal. Will tests that they aren't going crazy by plugging his number into her phone and having her call him, then passing the call to his partner, Diego (Ness Bautista) - simple but smart. I also suspect it will be important that Riley now has the means to directly contact Will. Oh, and her flipping from being indignant at Diego describin her as having "a weird accent" to declaring that she likes him when he says, "She sounds hot" is just one of many little bits that make this entire scene adorable.

Riley also seems to be the one of the eight most able/willing to visit the others. Her visit with Will in the first episode was the first direct contact we saw; and while Wolfgang and Kala have been mostly limited to visiting each other, Riley has by the end of this episode had notable interactions with Will, Capheus, and Sun, as well as sharing a smile with Nomi during Episode Four's singalong. She and Capheus are also the only ones we've seen who have neither resisted the visits or questioned their own sanity because of them.

Speaking of Capheus - I love the scene in which he meets Silas' daughter. Critically, we are shown the genuine bond between the crime boss and his cute little girl before Silas explains his love for his daughter, which makes it real in a way that the explanation alone would not accomplish. In a series that's loaded with parallels, the scene establishes yet another one: Even as Capheus makes his choices for his mother, so does Silas for his daughter. In a single scene, a stock gangster character becomes a human being, and also becomes a possible future for Capheus - If he continues on a criminal path, one can easily see the simple but brave bus driver eventually becoming the feared crime boss.

THOUGHTS:

Well, after the previous episode's pause for breath, I think we're officially getting on with it. Demons is again terrific, well-paced and turning successfully from charming character comedy to white-knuckled tension to eroticism without skipping a beat.

The decision in Episodes Two and Three to slow down and focus on some of the individual threads is now paying dividends. The last few episodes have been able to skip across all eight members of this "cluster" with absolute comfort, and with each episode we're left feeling like we know these eight (and the people in their orbits) just a little bit more. Amanita's mother is a good addition to the San Francisco strand, and it is refreshing to see a television show where a parent is absolutely accepting of their LGBT child and her partner - which at the same time makes a good counterpoint to Nomi's mother, who is anything but accepting of her.

Of course, just as it would be ridiculous to talk about Episode Four without mentioning the singalong, it would be equally ridiculous to discuss this episode without mentioning the sex scene. This is basically the singalong's erotic counterpoint. Lito and Hernando begin having sex at the same time as Nomi and Amanita, while Will lifts weights and Wolfgang basically relaxes in his comfortable nudity in a swimming pool. Soon we are moving among all of these characters, mixing them in with the partners from the other segments. Some react (Will is definitely startled; Wolfgang seems to be musing something along the lines of, "It must be Thursday"), others don't even seem to notice, but it all builds to a striking artistic tableaux.

The episode ends with several characters contemplating what they're going to do next; and since we seem to be at the point where events are starting to move more quickly, my guess is it won't be long before we find out.


Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Art Is Like Religion
Next Episode: W. W. N. Double-D?



Review Index

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



Review Index

Sense8 Review Index

Christmas Special
Original Release Date: Dec. 23, 2016
2-1. Happy F*cking New Year

Season Two
Original Release Date: May 5, 2017
2-2. Who Am I?

2-3. Obligate Mutualisms

2-4. Polyphony

2-5. Fear Never Fixed Anything

2-6. Isolated Above, Connected Below

2-7. I Have No Room in My Heart for Hate

2-8. All I Want Right Now Is One More Bullet

2-9. What Family Actually Means

2-10. If All the World's a Stage, Identity Is Nothing but a Costume

2-11. You Want a War?

Finale
Original Release Date: June 8, 2018
2-12. Amor Vincit Omnia


Previous Season: Season One

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