Sense8: Episodes Seven and Eight: Amazing Stuff

So here’s what I’ve come down to when talking to people about this show. It’s an amazing six-hour movie, full of heartwarming, heartwrenching, funny, tragic, thoughtful, action-packed suspense and romance, but you have to sit through six hours of chaotic mess with moments of brilliance to get to the good stuff. Think of it as the price of admission.

There’s an interesting Salon article about True Detective that pretty much says the same thing I’ve been saying here: You can experiment with story but you can’t make things so chaotic a viewer has no idea of what’s going on. But in Sense8, once you reach Episode Seven, there’s more shape to the narrative, and even though it’s self-indulgent at times, great story happens. Those last six hours are must-see TV. Actually, that’s underselling it: this stuff is easily cinema worthy, better than most movies out there.

Episode 7: “W. W. N. Double D?”

I had no idea what this title meant until I saw the episode; now it makes me smile when I think about Nomi and Amanita doing their Nancy Drew thing. Also, my contract clause about that lobotomizing surgeon gets paid off, thank you very much. Satisfied viewer here.

Big improvement: We’re still getting short cuts, but it’s easier to see why the different scenes are together. Plus the first half of this episode shows all eight reaching a new stability, adapting to the changes in their lives. Which is fun, but then the last half blasts that stability out from under them again, which is lousy for them but great for story. It’s rudimentary structure, but by god it’s structure.

• The first chunk is basically New Allies: Sun goes to prison and meets women as angry and as lethal as she is while Nomi gets back in touch with an old friend named Bug she knew as a boy, and he brings her computer equipment and the offer of help if she goes into crime fighting. Bug is great, and this whole first bit is so up-with-the-people that it’s energizing. Plus Nomi is definitely starting to fight crime or at least Metzger, the surgeon who tried to lobotomize her, and for the first time Nomi-and-Amanita are more that just people who have a lot of sex.

• The next set of scenes should have “Happy” playing in the background. People’s lives have changed for the better: Lito, Hernando, and Daniela go to dinner in public with Hernando having a wonderful time as Lito’s bodyguard. Riley flies to Iceland in first class and Capheus joins her, rapt at being above the clouds; “You’re so lucky,” he says; “Not lucky, privileged,” she says, that shadow always on her face. Lito and Hernando and Daniela come home, laughing and talking about how it was the best dinner date ever. Riley’s dad meets her at the airport, singing to her and playing the ukelele. It’s all so lovely that you know something awful is coming. Yep, Joaquin is in the apartment in a demon mask, but after a scuffle, he’s ejected. Good guys win!

(One thing I loved from this scene: Joaquin saying, “I”m not the bad guy, I’m the sad guy.” It’s such awful dialogue and so perfect for the rabid, stupid, self-absorbed, and therefore lethal Joaquin. It takes guts to write that kind of dialogue and guts to act it, and it was just perfect.)

• And then the plot really kicks into gear. Nomi and Will start separately to do hard investigation and the show cuts back and forth between them as they get closer to Whispers; there’s a lot more detail but the important thing is that this story is moving with protagonist vs antagonist, two protagonists, both determined to get answers. It’s good, strong storytelling about people we’re invested in and with really high stakes that are established not with dialogue but by Nomi’s visit to lobotomized Nils. My craft-obsessed heart is so happy.

• Kala’s talking to Ganesha again, asking the god what’s going on and why he sent a demon with a very big trunk to her, and since she’s thinking of him, of course, Wolfgang shows up. Their scenes together and Riley-and-Will are the only visiting that makes sense to me because they are thinking of each other. Everybody else seems to show up . . . not sure why. Oh, well. Wolfgang tells her Ganesh doesn’t care: “Gods don’t give a shit about us. I know from experience.” Kala asks him to leave her alone, and he says, “I try not to think of you, but every time it brings me straight to you.” She says, “At least you’re wearing clothes.” They laugh. Heart melts. Such great romance.

• Meanwhile Riley’s with her dad at home, warm and loving. Capheus sees Kabaka with his daughter and remembers his mother defending him against all comers. Sun makes friends in prison. Riley’s with her dad and he made pancakes. And then suddenly the Hex Witch is behind her, telling her that she shouldn’t have come back. Hallucination? Somebody from another cluster sharing? Bad omen. But still, she’s home and her father adores her and she’s eating pancakes. So happy.

• And now we’re back with Kala and Wolfgang, switching back and forth between cold rain outside a cafe in Berlin and warm sun on a rooftop in Mumbai, talking, really talking, about what’s happening to them. Kala tells him that he showed up at the wedding because she prayed to Ganesh to stop the ceremony. Wolfgang says, “That’s what you think stopped your wedding?” and then takes it to the next logical conclusion: “You think our connection is a miracle?” It’s lovely stuff, but it’s especially lovely because they’re actually trying to find an explanation for the weirdness that’s happening to them. Kala tells him it’s like gravity, an inexplicable force, and as they lean closer, Wolfgang says, “Thank God for gravity,” and then Felix calls his name and the connection is broken. I like you, Felix, but that was terrible timing. Except Felix has great news: the fence wants the rest of the diamonds and they’re going to be rich. Wolfgang says, “I need to take a trip. To India.” That’s so positive of you, Wolfgang. Now get on that plane.

• So I’m having a wonderful time, but you know plot, it needs conflict. Enough with the good times, let’s raise the story stakes. Back in prison, the Bitch Prisoner is mean to Sun’s new friend. Be afraid, Bitch Prisoner, be very afraid. Nomi and Amanita trace Metzger to a coffee house and clone his phone, except somebody notices and calls Metzger to tell him; Nomi gets the number and calls back and gets Whispers, who calls her by name. THIS IS NOT GOOD. Kabaka takes Capheus away from the birthday party and shows him an employee who cheated him by watering drugs; then he takes a machete and whacks off the guy’s hands (congratulations on your new boss, Capheus). Lito, Hernando, and Daniela are having a lovely morning when Joaquin texts him with pictures of him having sex with Hernando from Daniela’s phone that he stole the night before during the scuffle: it’s blackmail time. Back in Germany at the locksmith shop, Felix is in a panic: he went to the fence, he tells Wolfgang, but he’s gone, disappeared, something’s very wrong. Then a pretty girl knocks on the door to the shop, Felix goes to answer it, and gets gunned down by Steiner. Jesus, that all went south in a hurry. GREAT STORYTELLING.

• But now we’re with Nomi and Amanita, breaking into Metzger’s apartment because Amanita read how to in a book. They’re great together. Nomi starts downloading info from Metzger’s computer while Amanita snoops through the house. Metzger has a picture with Dick Cheney (“He’s got to be evil”) but he also has a vintage copy of Nancy Drew. So confusing. Also, no porn on his computer. This is the first time I saw why these two were together; they complement each other so well. This is the way they should have been introduced, they’re wonderful. And then Metzger returns, his flight cancelled by Whispers since Nomi knows about him; he surprises them in the apartment, Jonas appears to Nomi (how? why? I dunno) and tells her to get out now because Whispers is coming, Metzger finds out Nomi called Whispers and says, “You’ve killed us all,” Jonas says, “He’s here,” and then Lobotomized Nils comes through the door, fully functional, chases them down the hall, shoots a random neighbor, traps Metzger against a mirror and shoots him in the head, and then puts the gun in his own mouth and pulls the trigger, his reflection showing Whispers instead. And that’s the end of the episode.

Really got to work on those endings.

Okay, Nils was once part of a cluster, looked into Whisper’s eyes, got lobotomized by Metzger, but is still controlled by Whispers because of the eye-looking thing? In which case, how many lobotomized zombies are waiting out there to be possessed by Whispers and do unspeakable things? This never comes up again in this season, so it’s a real question.

But the important thing is, that’s really creepy. Kudos to the writers.

Also, a big chunk of my viewer’s contract got paid off when Metzger bought it, screaming in terror. Very satisfying. Thank you.

Episode 8: “We Will All Be Judged By the Courage of Our Hearts”

You know, this title sounds like another garbage title, but it’s a line of dialogue from one of Lito’s movies that comes back to haunt him, so I like it now. Actually, all of this episode is terrific.

So this episode ia about friendship and its price (look, A THEME):

• Kala’s in a movie theater and everybody else is laughing, but she’s crying for no reason. Back in Berlin, Wolfgang is in despair as he sits by Felix’s bedside in the ICU. Kala goes to the ladies’ room to cry and sees Wolfgang sitting by the bed, now she’s in Berlin, and Wolfgang tells her how he met Felix. His conversation is summed up in a flashback, and I loathe flashbacks, but this one is terrific. I hope they paid those two kids a lot of money because they are priceless. “Where are you?” Wolfgang asks her. “At the movies with my family.” Wolfgang nods. “Makes sense. Felix loved the movies.” Cut to a Conan movie. This show really loves its action movie heroes–Conan, Van Damme. Then he says, “I don’t know why he liked me,” and there’s Wolfgang in a nutshell; he knows he’s a monster, unlovable, but there’s Felix, running to defend him with a bat, screaming Conan quotes. I love these kids, I love Wolfgang grown up and falling in love with Kala. Also, his father deserved to die, psychopathic sadist son of a bitch.

• Dani calls Lito to tell him that she fixed everything. Then she hangs up and Lito tells Hernando that everything’s going to be fine. Hernando knows better, but Lito insists it’s good news. Hernando looks at him like he’s insane. Meanwhile, Capheus’s best friend Jela is having problems with his wife because he home all the time now; Capheus tells Jela he’s quitting Kabaka and they’re going back to work. Hilarity ensues.

• Sun’s having problem sewing but her friend helps, even though it means she won’t get to out in the sun. Bitch Prisoner tries to stick her with her sewing and Sun trips her; the guard notices and Bitch Prisoner’s going to have to do her own sewing. Sun says to her friend, “Today you get to go outside.” Sun gets outside and talks to her friend, but here comes Bitch Prisoner and her gang to pick a fight. Bitch Prisoner gets her ass handed to her, but Sun gets slashed across the stomach and put in solitary. But another prisoner brings her dinner and says, “We know what you did for Susan,” and when Sun unwraps the napkin she finds the paintbrush she was using, a symbol of friendship with the others. Prison is so much better than Sun’s family.

• Will’s in Chicago but he sees Riley in Iceland. They have the most classic romance in the series–the damaged flower and the cop who protects her–but it’s done beautifully. They talk like friends, Will trying to clean up the mess in his apartment, Riley loving his vinyl collection, Will saying, “You should come to America some time, I could show you around the city,” Riley saying, “I could show you around Reykjavik,” and it’s lovely and quiet. Then they touch by accident and that leads to a great first kiss. So much of the impact comes from the fact that this is the first time they realize they can touch, in spite of being on different continents, so there’s a lot of amazement and joy colliding with a lot of desire:

That’s good romance writing.

• Kala’s back with her family and Raj’s family and the wedding planners and Raj’s father doesn’t look happy. Capheus’s mother is cooking and he has to tell her that he can’t get any more of the medicine that’s keeping her healthy. Then the Thug shows up and tells Capheus that unless he agrees to turn Kabaka’ daughter over to him, he’ll kill Mom. It’s not fair. Lito and Hernando are waiting for Daniela to give her back her things. She has a black eye, and she tells them that she’s agreed to marry Joaquin in exchange for her camera and the pictures; they’re safe. Hernando says, “No, you can’t.” It’s not fair. So that’s three characters who have everything at stake and are going to have to choose to either do nothing or fight back. I vote “fight back.”

• Riley goes to the cemetary to visit the graves of her husband and baby daughter. I really think this actress is wasted on this role; she manages to make twelve hours of looking sad compelling, so imagine what she could do with a character with agency. Still, her loss is a terrible thing, and it’s not fair.

• You know who has agency? Nomi. The show cuts to Will showing Diego how Zombie Nils gets out of bed, and ties him to the white van and Whispers’ Biolgical Preservation Organization (basically Hydra for biologists). Then he’s talking with Nomi in San Francisco which Amanita thinks is cool; Nomi and Will compare notes and realize they’re getting close to the bad guys which means they’ll come after them next. It’s marvelous: in five minutes of great conversation, they move the plot forward about fifty miles. Then Whispers shows up at the door in SF. THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD. Nomi escapes out the window while Amanita stalls the Bad Guys with an iodine-soaked tampon, but Nomi’s cornered in the alley just as Will is called to the captain’s office. He can’t fight for Nomi, he’s surrounded by cops, but he’s in the alley with her anyway, and then Sun shows up. “Who are you?” he says, but there’s no time. He tells Sun what moves the cops are going to make, and she takes them out. He tells Nomi “Throw the gun. Get on the bike,” siding against the cops and with his Cluster. Nomi escapes on the bike, steals a car and then screams, “I don’t know how to drive!” “I do,” Capheus says, and does a ridiculous Van Damme car escape and I don’t even care, I love these people so much. THIS is what I signed on for, and it’s fabulous. Back in Chicago, Will get suspended without pay. It’s not fair, but boy is it good TV.

• In Mexico City, Lito is filming a scene. He’s spectacular. Hernando shows up and says, “We’re over.” He can’t stay with somebody who would let Dani marry Joaquin to save his career. “In the end,” he says, “We will all be judged by the courage in our hearts.” It’s a cheesy line from a cheesy movie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Lito says, “It’s not fair,” but in this case, it is. In Mumbai, Raj’s father meets Kala at the temple and tells her that she must tell Raj she can’t marry him. Since I agree, go Dad. Then religious zealots do an “Et tu, Brute?” on him while Kala screams. I’m thinking he asked for that one, too.

An episode with a theme, hell, two themes. Who knew? And strong plot movement and great action and wonderful connections between characters and a flashback I love. Really WHO KNEW? I could quibble, but I don’t want to. This is where I just flat out loved this show.