Monday, May 8, 2017

Sense8, Season Two, Episode Four: Polyphony

Image result for sense8 season 2

Things are looking grim for the sensates. At the end of the last episode, just as Will and Croomer were forging a deal and a possible path forward, Croomer was stabbed to death courtesy of none other than Whispers.  Will is already a wanted man and with two dead bodies lying on the floor, the police are going to want to talk to him.  Will doesn't have much time. Nomi discoveres that the police were called before he even arrived.  Whispers is so very good at what he does. Will and Riley must make it out of the museum somehow. It's Lito who comes in handy this time and when he takes over Riley, he pretends to be hysterical. It's the distraction that Will needs to slip out of the building unnoticed and great comic relief.

Once Will and Riley are clear of the building, the other sensates arrive to discuss what to do next.  This is when Wolfie finally makes an appearance.  Wolfie apologises for being late but explains that he has met someone who might be able to them. He's talking about Lila, the woman he had psychic sex with in the last episode. Lila may know more about what is going on than they do but at this point, the sensates have no idea whether they can trust her or not. For all the sensates know, Lila could be working for BPO and waiting for an opportunity to sell them out. Wolfie asks Nomi to run a check on Lila.

While the sensates have been talking, to Bug, it looks like Nomi has been talking to herself.  Bug finally decides that it's time to ask Nomi what is really going on. Nomi turns to the other sensates for advice on what to do but they leave it in her hands. Nomi and Amanita sit Bug down and tell him about sensates and his mind is absolutely blown. Nomi reminds Bug that they need discretion because one false step could be a disaster. Amanita and Nomi share a concerned look as Bug stumbles out of the room.  Clearly Bug can be trusted because he's letting Nomi and Amanita stay there but discretion doesn't seem to be his strong suit.

Sun is on a roof top and she's working out, clearly trying to come to peace with everything that has happened. Sun's approached by the woman she escaped the prison with and is informed that it was indeed her brother who tired to have her killed. This is really a no shit sherlock moment; however, it's saved by a discussion of Sun's brave and warm heart.  The woman is worried that whatever Sun plans to do to her brother will change who she is as a person and that this would be a terrible thing.  I tend to agree with that. 

While Sun is having her little heart to heart, Kala returns to the same temple that her father in-law was stabbed at to find a protest going on.  It seems he spearheaded a war against idol worship and the Hindu population is not at all happy and rightfully feels it's an infringement on their religious freedom. Capheus is also involved in trouble when while driving his bus, he is forced to stop because it is surrounded by people chanting Van Damme.  The local government has once again raised the price of water and the people have decided that they aren't going to take it anymore. Nomi finds herself at the side of both Kala and Capheus which is a problem because Amanita is currently being followed by Agent Bendix, determined to find out where the women are living now.  Between what's going on with Kala, Capheus and Amanita, Nomi is absolutely overwhelmed. When Amanita makes it home safely, Nomi crumples in tears.

Things are about to get more intense for Kala. When Kala returns from a shopping trip she is greeted by armed security. It seems that the government has decided that their family needs security because someone sent a bomb to Rajan because of his father's restrictive policies on religion.  

Riley takes the drugs Will was given by Croomer to a friend to find out what is in them.  The sensates need to find a way to stop Whispers from tracking Will but aren't sure if they can trust the drugs that Croomer gave Will. Kala shows up to ask questions about what the pills are made of and how they will effect the person who takes it.  It's very clear that the person Riley turned to for help is totally into her and the sensates actually gossip about this as Riley does her best to act normal and as though there aren't several people carrying on an invisible conversation around her. 

That night, Rajan takes Kala to an art gallery.  After meeting one of Rajan's friends, Kala excuses herself to go the bathroom where she runs into Wolfie.  Wolfie is in what is now Felix's club in Germany.  Kala wants to know why things are so difficult between them and Wolfie explains that Kala deserves happiness.  This of course is when Lila decides to make an appearance. Lila quickly becomes aware that Wolfie is with someone else but she cannot see Kala. Lila starts to talk about the fun of a threesome, as Kala suggests that maybe she's not such a good person after all.  Wolfie turns from Lila to Kala but before they can kiss, Kala is called away.

Wolfie then finds himself sitting in Lila's car. Wolfie has figured out that Lila is working for the drug lord as a form of protection and that she's not being hunted by BPO.  Wolfie of course wants to know how it is that Lila accomplished that but she's not exactly forthcoming with details except to say think of what you want most and then think about what you'd be willing to do to achieve it. It's pretty dark but it's absolutely meant to be. 


In the wake of the protest about water, Capheus is interviewed by the local station. The reporter wants to know how it is that a local man has become so respected and such a hero of the people. The reporter then delves into Capheus's background and his father's life and death as a social justice warrior. Capheus is slow to get talking at once but warms to the subject of the importance of water in the lives of people and how unfair it is in remote areas that people are forced to pay so much for a vital life resource.  When Capheus is asked about the politics of the situation, he simply says that the people in charge cannot expect the public to follow, if they don't do what the public wants. Could there be a future in politics for Capheus? 

Right now the future is very bleak but a ray of light appears because while talking to Will, Jonas revealed that many years ago, Lito was interviewed by a journalist named Raoul who was also a sensate. At the time, Lito had no idea that he was a sensate and hadn't even accepted his own sexuality. Lito was drawn heavily to Raoul but having no idea what was going on, he was overwhelmed by the connection. 

On the advice of the sensates, Lito decides to pay a visit to Raoul's father to see if he can learn anything new. Raoul disappeared while he was on assignment in Chicago which leads the sensates to believe that there might be a connection to BPO. Raoul's father is not impressed by Lito at first, especially when Lito explains that he is an actor but he does in the end invite Lito to come in and gives Lito the opportunity to check out Raoul's room. The room is covered in pictures of a cabin where Angelica's cluster of sensates lived, along with some pictures of Angelica. With Raoul's father's permission, Lito take pictures of the photos and sends them off to Nomi.  Hanging on the door of the room is a huge poster of Lito.  Raoul's father lifts the poster and removes a VHS tape which Raoul hid for safe keeping. Though Whispers sent his men to the house, they never found the tape. Raoul's father feels that since his son felt safe hiding his secrets this way that it's probably safe to share the tape with Lito. The tape shows Todd, the self hating sensate being experimented on by Whispers and a professor. The sensates wonder if this is what happened to Raoul as well. 

Lito asks about the last time Raoul's father heard from him.  Raoul's father remembers getting a phone call and that the person on the other end didn't answer. He assumed that it was Raoul calling and so he told his son that he loved him one last time. At the time, Raoul was lying on what looked like a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines with Angelica by his side and unable to talk. There's a massive scar on Raoul's forehead and tears are rolling down his face. 

The sensates are of unsure of what to do. On one hand they desperately need to find Whispers again but doing so exposes them to discovery.  The fact that Whispers is free once more reveals that there's someone powerful on the inside who's determined to keep BPO on its new path of finding and experimenting on sensates no matter the cost. Croome is only one man but that doesn't mean that there aren't others who are sympathetic to the Sensates cause. 

In South Korea, the cops show up at the place where Sun is hiding.  Sun is forced to make a run for it. Sun manages to knock the cop unconscious but when she returns to the woman she escaped with, Sun is told that it's time for her to flee on her own and to protect her heart. Sun promises to visit the woman in prison when she is able to clear her name.

For every step forward the sensates take, they are forced to take a step backwards. Will is awoken with one of Jonas's memories. He sees Jonas and Angelica arguing. Will is joined by Nomi and they are brought to the present where Jonas is being wheeled into an operating room. Jonas tells them that he's there to say goodbye and that it seems that he's no longer useful to the BPO people.  Jonas sees Angelica and he tells her that he loves her and the two kiss. Jonas explains to Will and Nomi that they are using him to send them a message and that they want them to watch what happens to him. A gas mask is put on Jonas face and then his skull is split open. This is clearly what happened to Raoul and what will happen to Will's cluster if they don't find a way to bring an end to BPO. 

The experiments that BPO are performing on the sensates are absolutely brutal. On one hand, it seems that they want to know how the sensate connection works but on the other, they have no problem eradicating sensates at will.  What is their end game?  I tend to think that even though Angelica sacrificed her life for Will's cluster, she is at least in part to blame for the current situation that the sensates find themselves in.  Why was she there with Raoul after he was experimented on? We know that she had to be physically there because she is the one who held the phone.

They are really teasing Wolfie and Kala this season and I want to see them become a couple so badly. I think that they have far more chemistry than Will and Riley.  I'm not sure however where Kala's assessment that she's not a good person comes from.  It's not like she was party to the stabbing of her father in-law. Could it be that she bowed to pressure when she married Rajan, even though she knew she didn't love him? 

We know that Will was drawn to a young girl long before he was born as a sensate and now we know that Lito was drawn to Raoul.  Do sensates just feel each other even when they are not in the same cluster? How exactly did Lila know that Wolfie is a sensate? We really don't know much about how sensates are connected to each other or why at this point.

What's going on with BPO is absolutely ominous and it's been going on for a very long time.  Jonas's goodbye was meant to strike fear in the hearts of Will and Nomi.  It also means that there's one less person capable of helping Will's cluster figure out what the hell is going on and how to get out from under Whispers.  I still very much want to know Whispers motivation for his part in the experiments and think that it's time that Sense8 do some explaining there.