Sense8: We Will All Be Judged by the Courage of Our Hearts

Nomi: “Cop guy, where are you? Someone help me.”

Things seem to be ramping up, especially on the conspiracy side of things. With Whispers actively hunting down Nomi after her fateful encounter with Dr. Metzger.

I think we’ll start with Kala this time, since there was some meat to her story. While new plans are unfolding for her wedding with Rajan, Kala is clearly feeling more and more conflicted but isn’t willing to admit those feelings to anyone, including herself. Physically, she is there, sitting with her family in the movies, listening while the wedding planners backpeddle and upsell, while emotionally she is with Wolfgang.

I loved how she was able to express outwardly what Wolfgang must’ve been feeling internally. While everyone was laughing at a comedy, she was crying from pain and grief. We got some really incredible flashbacks to Wolfgang’s childhood and learn why he and Felix are so close. The child versions of Wolfgang and Felix were perfect casting, especially little Felix who instantly connects with young Wolfgang, teasing him but immediately supporting him.

I absolutely loved them watching television together, quoting Conan the Barbarian and being brothers from almost the first moment they met. I especially enjoyed the two times that Felix just straight up saved Wolfgang’s life, first during that fight with the kid gang who hated the fact he was from West Berlin, and the second when Wolfgang’s father started to strangle him. Felix didn’t hesitate, even though he was smaller, using weapons and confidence. They make me like Felix way more than I had up to this point.

Kala’s drama culminates in the cliffhanger of the episode at the temple when Rajan's father (Manendra) practically begs Kala to break off the engagement with Rajan. Then people in the temple, all masked, stab Manendra, because I guess religion calls for senseless violence like that? But that’s not religion, it's fanaticism disguised as faith. The message does seem pretty clear: Kala’s refusal to accept her heart is literally hurting people.

Riley has a much nicer episode this time, having settled at home in Reykjavík, Iceland with her father. There is a long scene with Riley and Will visiting each other and showing off their homes. They reminisce about their lives and their families, and it is super sweet. They have a natural chemistry that feels warm and impossible to disregard.

Riley seems like a very sad person, but someone who refuses to completely give up. We are given hints again that something horrible happened in Iceland, and must’ve involved a car because she no longer drives. Yet she has this smile. It shows up in Will's apartment when she is looking at the records, or when she is talking about her father and her favorite spot under her father's piano that is so open and genuine, even if there is still a sadness in her eyes.

Then there was the kiss between Will and Riley, and at first it was just them and it looked real. But then Diego shows up and we are shown that it is just in Will’s head. Even though Riley is real, and the kiss was real, it was entirely through their connection. It was a bit comical, but at the same time illustrates both the limits and liability of visiting. I do love how incredibly quick and strong their attraction is but somehow doesn’t feel rushed.

Will is quite the detective. He put together Metzger and Nomi and Niles Bolger and Whispers. I love how Nomi is investigating the same thing as Will and at some point they must’ve called each other and suddenly they are interacting. Will might be the most progressed in the cluster as far as being aware of what is going on so him jumping over to talk to Nomi makes total sense.

They're feeling threatened, and as Will said, they are close to putting together all the pieces. I liked how Amanita was just going with it and helping them, while Will's partner wasn't getting it at all. Then there was that photograph, and Nomi recognizes Whispers whom she glimpsed in the mirror when Whispers killed Bolger. Of course Whispers is suddenly at the door, claiming that Nomi has a terrible disease and needs help.

What follows is chaotic and wonderful. Amanita makes Nomi run, while Will is ordered to see his Captain. Nomi makes a mad dash to get away, even climbing down a balcony, but the cops corner her. I loved Amanita stalling them by faking with a bloody tampon. Then Nomi calls out for help, and both Sun and Will show up, which isn’t the first time we’ve seen multiple people show up, but is the first time they have appeared together all at once.

It is tense, but Will tells Sun what the cops will do and what Nomi should do to escape. It is such a cool sequence as Nomi manages to escape on a bike. Because yeah, let's elude half a dozen cop cars on a bicycle. Of course she finds a car and jumps in almost instinctively, but realizes she can’t drive. So of course Capheus shows up and does some insane stunt driving to get away. While the entire sequence does bend disbelief to the breaking point, it is just so much fun that it doesn’t matter.

Capheus has a pretty consequential episode too, as he visits his partner/friend Jela and shares a beer to apologize. He’s realized that he can't keep working for Silas Kabaka, which I can only imagine will piss off the mob boss who had put faith in Capheus and is likely someone who doesn’t forget or forgive. It sucks because Shiro (Capheus’s mother) is feeling better and the loss of the medication might cause her to fall ill again.

Of course the question of what is the moral choice is short-lived as Superpower shows up and demands Capheus kidnap Silas’ daughter to use against the mob boss. Turns out Superpower (the gang leader) worked for Kabaka until Silas killed his sister. His goal is revenge, but also a power grab to take over Kabaka’s territory. While neither man is good, it leaves poor Capheus with another horrible choice. Yet he manages to remain optimistic. Such a half-full guy.

Sun’s story continues in small scenes in the prison. She decides to stand up for Soo-Jin and trips the bully inmate. The reward was that Soo-Jin got to go outside and paint for once. Sun manages to finish her own work and join her, and it’s a sweet moment. Sun paints a picture of her mother, because Soo-Jin reminds her that sometimes it feels good to remember.

While the found family aspect of Sun’s story with her fellow inmates is touching, of course there has to be conflict. So the bully inmate throws red paint on Sun’s mural painting and picks a fight with her. Sun doesn’t want to fight of course, but is more than capable of finishing the fight, easily taking down everyone coming after her. She does get nicked in the side with the bully’s knife, but it doesn’t seem to be a bad wound.

To prove that this society is miserable, despite there being guards who must’ve witnessed what happened, Sun is thrown in solitary. But in another sweet moment the Sun’s older cellmate brings her food and a paint brush symbolising what it meant for Sun to stand up for Soo-Jin. While these small moments of brightness are nice, I’m still not thrilled with this plot so far for her. It feels like they had to rob the most capable of the cluster of her freedom because otherwise she would be too unstoppable.

Finally, we have Lito being a coward. This feels like one of those plotlines that is needed for Lito to grow, but he is so convinced that his entire life must be compartmentalized and his partner and sexual identity must be concealed at all costs that he is driving away everyone that loves him. Hernando isn’t happy that they are living in secret, but pushed it aside because he loved Lito with all his heart.

So what happens with Dani brings everything to a head, as she selflessly goes back to Joaquin to protect Lito’s secret and get her phone back. She shows up a couple of days later with bruises and reveals she agreed to marry Joaquin in exchange for him keeping Lito’s secret. The fact that Lito just basically shrugs and lets it happen really bothers me.

Sure, Daniella inserted herself into their lives, but she clearly fits with them in a way that Lito doesn’t fully grasp. But Hernando cannot really live with Lito’s actions and decides to leave Lito, which feels like just the right consequences for Lito’s inaction. I’m curious what Lito will do next, because he doesn’t seem like he has much of a spine and is utterly unwilling to let his career suffer for anyone else. Maybe one of the other members of the cluster can talk some sense into him.

Bits:

“We will all be judged by the courage of our hearts” is a line from one of Lito’s movies. But is also quoted by Hernando when he leaves Lito, defining the choice Lito has to make.

The BPO is given a full name breakdown: Biologic Preservation Organization.

When the wedding planners were going over the new plans for Kala's wedding, this time it will be at the temple of Ganesha. Given what happened to Rajan’s father, I doubt that is a good choice.

I wonder how many takes it took for Tuppence Middleton (Riley) to get Eyjafjallajökul out correctly since the actress is native to England.

Riley has an old friend named Sven who drives for her. I wonder why Riley doesn't drive.

Will is suspended from the force, which I guess frees him up to do other things.

Quotes:

Nomi: “I don't know how to drive.”
Capheus: “I do.”

Amanita: “Okay, you're having a conversation with an agent in Chicago right now?”
Nomi: “I guess I am.”
Amanita: “Cool. FaceTime without a phone.”

Wolfgang: “He is my brother. Not by something as accidental as blood. By something much stronger.”
Kala: “What?”
Wolfgang: “By choice.”

Nomi: “BPO, the Biologic Preservation Organization. A multi-national research group studying the human genome in the search for positive and consequential mutations.”
Amanita: “Well, that doesn't sound sinister at all.”

The consequences are continuing to roll. Or more accurately, the build up from the first six episodes is starting to pay off. Our sensates are having full conversations. They're beginning to understand the rules and how to utilize them to help each other. Like that amazing sequence with Nomi.

4 out of 4 Crazy Fights, Escapes and Car Chases

Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

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