Sense8: What is Human?

Kala: "It's so violent."
Capheus: "Life is violent."

This was a strange episode that was one-half resolving a bunch of dangling plot threads, and one half celebration and set up for the final arc of the season.

I’m gonna go kind of in reverse here, starting with Nomi. She is briefly seen in the sequence at the Holocaust museum and during the birth montage (more on that later). I’m not sure she has a single line of dialogue and her main scene is a sex-scene with Amanita during the fireworks, as the most blatant symbol of the climax of celebration.

Capheus spent most of the episode visiting. First with Kala, sitting down to actually talk and enjoy each other’s company. It was such a sweet moment, strengthening both characters and giving us some nice character growth. They both come from places where a shanty-town is a real thing. So they have some common frame of references, despite their backgrounds.

While he comes from that world, she has always had a life of privilege and comfort. So her first question was about the most obvious discordance with that poverty, why a big screen TV? His answer made so much sense. Living with necessities allows you to survive; having a luxury that gives you a window into a different life allows you to dream. I don’t know if that is just a TV line, but it is a wonderful sentiment.

Kala spends most of the rest of her scenes grappling with her central dilemma, whether or not to go through with the wedding. Kala confides in her father about what happened at the temple with Manendra, that he wanted her to stop the wedding. Her father makes a good point that if Kala tells Rajan the truth it would give Mandendra power over him. But if she doesn't, their marriage will start with secrets. Tough choice.

Sun’s one scene is a big one, as her lawyer arrives with great news. Her father made good on his promise and has set a date to confess everything to a judge. If things go well, she could be out of prison in a week. So why does it feel like things won’t go her way? The lawyer makes an offhand comment that her brother should be on a plane to another part of the world already. I’m just worried he is going to do something else that screws her over. He seems like that kind of jerk.

Next we have Wolfgang, whose story takes up a good chunk of the episode. Felix is still on life support and initially, his uncle showed up to threaten them both. Now his cousin Steiner arrives and isn’t quite so subtle; Felix will die if he doesn’t get “his” diamonds. Wolfgang doesn’t hesitate. He melts the ice where he’s been hiding the ice and goes straight for a meeting with Steiner to make the exchange. It says something about Wolfgang and what is important to him. The diamonds may be a nice luxury, but Felix is family, there is no choice.

Of course Wolfgang also has no intention of just letting this sit. He’s been stewing on what to do about this situation since Felix was hurt, probably trying to decide if going to war with his family is the right choice. But here he definitely makes that choice. He goes to that meeting, he gives Steiner the diamonds and is ready to just leave. But Steiner has to be awful, refusing to believe that Wolfgang is smart enough to crack that safe.

Steiner beats him and threatens him with death, but Wolfgang didn’t just go to the meeting unprepared. Maybe he always planned to attack, although six to one odds were not exactly in his favor. Unfortunately, in a pivotal moment, when Steiner has a gun to his head, Wolfgang freezes. He isn’t a liar at heart, he doesn’t make up stories because his life is too stark to live in fantasy. Which makes it all the better when Lito steps in to help.

Our sad-sack Lito, still half dressed, his shirt stained with daiquiri and missing one flip flop, jumps in and makes up a perfect story that would fit Steiner’s limited imagination. It creates the window needed for Wolfgang to grab the gun taped to the bottom frame of his car. The tables turn quickly and Steiner tries to escape, but as Joss Whedon once said about a certain Buffy episode, "You gotta have a rocket launcher."

I loved how much Lito enjoyed that resolution, no matter how over the top. The grand explosion and the death of the bad guys probably felt like the climax of one of his movies. Wolfgang tells him that making a mistake is common, but fixing that mistake is what makes the difference. It was just the last push Lito needed to finally decide to prioritize Hernando over his career.

Although first Lito has to get good and drunk. So he goes to that same bar where he yelled at the bartender and called him a slur which I won’t repeat here. While that was a moment of pure self-hatred on Lito’s part, it was still totally uncalled for. Thankfully, he apologizes in one of the loveliest moments in the episode, leaning in and giving the bartender a stolen kiss, explaining that he was tempted but already has a great love. It probably made that guy's year.

Finally we get the moment that we’ve been waiting for since Dani sacrificed herself for him. Lito sacrifices his career for her and becomes the hero he has always just pretended to be. He does it with style too, speeding into Joaquin’s estate with a lit cigarette, tossing away the butt cinematically complete with a gunshot sound, then challenging him to a fight.

Of course the fight doesn’t exactly go smoothly. While Lito manages to get in a couple of hits, he is clearly outmatched. So it is just wonderful symmetry that Wolfgang steps in and in a few simple moves completely overwhelms Joaquin and rescues Dani. It was so incredibly satisfying and such a lovely way of showcasing the sensate bond. Almost like Lito and Wolfgang represent two halves of a whole.

Speaking of two halves, we have Will and Riley whom I have been saving for last because they carry the emotional weight of the episode. Will has an intense conversation with Jonas about the nature of humanity and what it means to be a Sensate. It was primarily philosophical, with a bit of Jonas’ backstory weaved in. We learn he was born in India, moved to London as a child and then to New York when he was twenty. Because of this he doesn’t really know where to place his allegiance, so he gives us the impression of his true loyalty to his race, the Sensates. But can he be trusted? Riley tells him about Yrsa’s warning that he collaborated with BPO to hunt down young clusters.

Will also has some cute moments with Riley, who is mostly having a good day. She is going to watch her father play for the first time in years and we get to see the concert. It is so magical that everyone in the cluster begins to experience the moment of their own birth. This culminates in the final moment where Riley experiences delivering her child and it was clearly massively traumatic, to the point where she is physically overwhelmed by it or maybe overdosing on ecstasy. Her nose starts to bleed and she passes out. In Iceland, where everyone is worried about her being caught by BPO.

Births:

Riley has a flash of her father playing the piano over the phone while her mother gives birth. Then her mother holds the phone to Riley's head as she is coming out.

Will is born in the back of his father’s police cruiser, who helped deliver him.

Kala was born in the rain, surrounded by other women. It feels loving and happy.

Sun’s mother was in a cemetery, and the groundskeepers helped deliver her.

Lito’s entire family is watching a telenovela, including his mother as she is giving birth. Just so appropriate.

Nomi’s birth is cold and sterile as her mother gets what looks like a planned C-Section. Nomi cries during the memory, and the doctor cuts the cord instead of her father who isn’t even there.

Wolfgang was born in a jacuzzi, and he actually smiles slightly at the memory of his mother, but not necessarily about his birth.

Capheus was born in a tent, his father was there (I assume that is the man) along with a couple of other women. It felt joyous, and he was crying reliving the moment.

Bits:

The episode takes place on the Fourth of July, America’s Independence Day, and it was interesting to see different cultures react to it. I loved the fireworks on the boat, with Capheus and Sun visiting. It’s great to see them visit in groups more often.

The memorial from the opening scene is probably Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, or the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which is an austere concrete monument consisting of 2711 rectangular blocks of varying heights that sits on the site of the Berlin wall and covers more than four acres.

In the scene with Wolfgang at the memorial is the quote; “Is the holocaust an aberration or a reflection of who we really are?”

The movie Kala and Capheus watch is Lionheart which co-stars Ashley Johnson and Brian Thompson. Meaning technically Sense8 now has a two-step Kevin Bacon-esque connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Jonas warns to never look Whispers in the eye; that is how he hunts.

Quotes:

Sun: "I want to believe that the past is done with us the moment we are done with it."
This sounds like a JMS line.

Lito: "Lying is easy. It's what I do."
Wolfgang: "Sometimes you make a mistake. You've got two choices: you live with it, or you fix it."

Lito: "Thank you."
Wolfgang: "Fighting is easy. Fighting is what I do."

Kala: "Can I ask you a question?"
Capheus: "Of course."
Kala: "The first time I went into a house like this in Bombay, they had no beds, but they had a television as big as this. I mean, how can a TV be more important than a bed?"
Capheus: "Ah. That's simple. The bed keeps you in a slum. The flat screen takes you out."

Jonas: "My parents are from India. I was born there, but they moved to London when I was a baby. In my twenties, I moved to New York. I never fully grasped where I owed my allegiance. Didn't know what I was supposed to sing. The Indian National Anthem? America's? God Save the Queen? I envy people their clear-cut allegiances."

Hernando: "Really?"
Daniela: "He said he didn't care."

This one was very satisfying wrapping up some story arcs almost perfectly, but the final sequence with the births was a bit over the top for me.

3.5 out of 4 Gratuitous Birth Scenes

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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