Episode 2, I Am Also a We – The bonds between the birthed 8 continue to strengthen. A mysterious figure, Jonas (Naveen “Sayid from Lost” Andrews), appears to several of them before telling Will they have been reborn as “Sensates”.
While the main plot is still kept as a mystery, this episode focuses again on developing the individual stories of 8 (see our episode 1 review for a summary breakdown of each). However, it still achieves a common theme by the way many of them are pretending to be someone they’re not for a mixture of fun and serious results. The hardest edged version comes from Nomi as her trans-gender issues are expanded upon following hospitalisation. We meet her mother still determined to call her Michael as a visual representation of the obstacles she’s faced in finding her true self as Nomi. Her mother would insist that she/he is pretending be someone now, while in Nomi’s eyes she spent the first half of her life pretending to be Michael. This is clearly a very personal subject for The Wachowskis, and they handle it very well in a way the different viewpoints are delivered. Her mother isn’t portrayed as evil for her lack of acknowledgement as she still cares for her child. She simply doesn’t understand what it means to Nomi, which is an entirely relatable concept. Nomi’s opening blog montage of hatred verses pride is also the most touching moment of the episode, “So today I’m marching for that part of me that was once too afraid to march”. The medical side of her story serves for development as we learn something has happened to her brain (and we assume everyone else’s in the group). This knowledge leads to some great moments of questioning her mental sanity as the senses kick in. Also hints of higher involvement as she becomes detained in the hospital. Has somebody figured out she’s become a Sensate?
The more fun sides of denial come from Kala and Lito. Kala’s martial inhibitions were the only dull note of the pilot episode, but this time her story is far enjoyable if nothing else for pure spectacle as Sense8 goes full on Bollywood! The impromptu dance number and the wedding pre-ceremony is a wonderful mix of colour and music that highlights the shows great cultural diversity. Meeting her fiancé also does Kala the world of good by explaining her conflict better. We see that by all standards, her man is an ideal catch, making it all the more difficult to confront here lack of feelings towards him under pressure from her family. For Lito, however, it’s all about pressure from the public. Concealing sexuality is problematic for the best of us but when you’re in the public eye, it’s another deal entirely. For that, you need props to you assist your acting and deception and so we meet Lito’s current “beard”, Daniela, to go through reporters and the like off his scent. This in itself is good as we catch Lito’s subtle little squirms and deflections over questions of relationships at his red carpet premier. But the outright star is Daniela herself as the night progresses for her unyielding determination to drop the “friend” for another popular F-word. Their scene back at Lito’s apart is utterly hilarious as nothing Lito says (including his “my heart belongs to another” catchphrase) can shake her one track mind (or get her clothes back on).... then she actually finds out what’s in his closet; it just gets better as she wants in too. This new threesome looks like it's set to become comedic muscle of the series, which is definitely a good thing based on these results.
In continuation from last episode, Will gets the duties of advancing the main story over the group’s connection; though thankfully he still gets an aftermath to gunshot story last episode. There’s a great unlikely friendship forming between Will and the kid he saved despite the anti-police mentality of his background. After his heroics, it’s great to see Will achieve a moment of reward, “I don’t owe you for what you did but you should know that I’ll never forget it”. The rest of his investigations struggle though, primarily due to time constraints. It’s the same problem that hounded many of Gotham's episodes this season. Due to all the other story elements in play, our police officers have to discover things a bit too quickly without the more rewarding investigations and pursuit of leads. Some stories take a firm back seat this episode, which is probably for the best. It looks like the show will follow the Game of Thrones model of alternating locations from episode to episode to avoid the strangulation of overcrowding. Capheus is a no-show; Riley gets some aftermath of the last episode but no real narrative; and Wolfgang just becomes eye candy/echoing for Kala. The biggest omission though is Sun in Seoul. We really don’t know enough about her yet so she really could do with a spotlight in episode 3.
I Am Also a We is good follow-up episode that has the typical second episode syndrome feeling of being a quieter follow up but still entertains and delivers a lot more depth on many of the characters. Yes, we’re still in the dark as to this apparent Sensate society but the series is still young and worth keeping the faith with. The series isn’t loosing us, it’s expanding.
Episode 3, Smart Money is on the Skinny Bitch – As the consequences of recent events creep up on many of the eight so too does the next level of their powers. It seems that rather than just receiving feelings from each other, they can actually become other when required.
So as the third episode rolls in, so too does some more understanding of where the series is heading. In one thrilling end sequence, we get a glimpse of what our 8 characters can achieve as the connection between them grows. We see that they can potentially become one single entity, able to draw from each other’s skills and knowledge at will to become all the more formidable. This episode introduces that excellently as Capheus makes a crazy bid for justice after being robbed at gun point. Switching out with Will at a police firing range gives him the needed marksman skills and doing the same with Sun in the middle of her boxing match gives him the fighting skills to truly be the Van Dam man when he needs it. It makes for a great visual spectacle and opens up all manner of possibilities combining the powers of these 8 or indeed any other Sensate unit (we already know they’re not alone) they encounter. It’s almost like a conscious version of the “composite event” experienced by both Echo & Alpha in Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. It may not delve any further into the how or why of it all but like Marvel’s Infinity Wars, it’s given us a rewarding finish line worth waiting for.
As with last episode we see some characters having a more minor part. Wolfgang takes the day off. Kala gets a brief ticking clock moment implying her wedding will probably be next episode. Nomi is mostly in a holding pattern as her hospital incarceration takes a darker tone, including some great emotional work from Jamie Clayton. The undisputed star this week is Sun who finally gets some much time centre stage as this episode’s titular skinny bitch.... but i wouldn’t say that to her face as she’s an utter badass (a pint-sized Ronda Rousey..... Ronda Mousey?)! The whole underground fight club set piece is utterly gorgeous from the Tron Legacy like entrance (complete with electronica soundtrack), to cold blue lighting tones and Sun’s perplexing composure pre-fight. You have to love the idea of a business executive channelling all the anger and frustration of her day job, all the chauvinistic male colleagues that judge her on gender alone and unleashing it on whoever’s dumb enough to go against her. Her preceding scenes at work also imply bad things to come by day. The combination of threatening calls from a bank manger and flashbacks to her mother telling her to look after her brother implies he’s done something very bad with the family company that she will have to deal with.
After making their arrival last week, the bearded triangle of Lito, Herando, and Daniela are again a superb source of comedy as they adjust to their new arrangements and again, it’s Daniela who shines the brightest. From fighting out of her corner about Lito’s initial plan of just using her to the pair’s great scene at the restaurant getting to know each other better, she absolutely dazzles. What’s more, it seems she has more than a pretty face and a gay porn obsession to offer as her own romantic history suddenly makes Lito’s work life more complicated. The lunch exchange between tLito and her supposedly-violent ex is a fun mix of fanboying and threatening. Even though they depart like civilised men, it would appear things are far from over, “Sooner or later we all have to pay”.
Will subtly confirms a big clue as we wakes up in hospital. His nurse also mentions “Unusual brain activity” implying Nomi’s condition has happened to all of them. Apart from that, he isn’t given much else to do before his part in the finale. He’s more used as a plot tool to confirm Jonas is being held in custody following their car crash. Much the same can be said for Riley. She gets a fair bit of screen time but not much seems to come from it. Her tube tunnels scene of dumping the money is a highlight. The rigorous piano accompaniment makes it feel strongly of Cloud Atlas. However, we’d prefer if she hadn’t met up with Shugs and his Aussi in tow becaus her overly stereotypical accent is a bloody pain in the arse. This show is thriving on culturial diversity but this is one-stop on the map it really didn’t need to make. Finally, Capheus continues to be the surprisingly most likeable character. His scene of buying AIDS drugs with his mouth almighty partner in crime, Jela, is hilarious as he keeps this BS flowing thick and fast to reach an affordable price. He also crucially sells the crazier events of the switching finale by being the grounded centre. He really feels like he’s figuring it all out as he goes, just as we are.
As we pass the quarter mark, Sense8 is still going strong. In their own ways, the characters are getting closer together, and with an end game on the horizon, that might not be on the level of Hardhome but still a place worth visiting.