Sense8 Episode 10: What is Human?

It’s been a long time since we covered Sense8 hasn’t it? With all the special reviews I had planned for Halloween, various other projects that sprang up here and there and of course now having an actual job outside of this website, Sense8 unfortunately got lost in the shuffle. However, with the second season officially announced for May of next year and a Christmas special airing later this week, I figured the time had come to return to this wonderful, wonderful show. We open with Wolfgang walking through that a holocaust memorial. As he walks in silence, he catches brief glimpses of his fellow sensates walking with him, paying particular attention to Kala. He’s joined by Will, who reads the writing on the wall which reads: Is the Holocaust and aberration or a reflection of who we really are?” Wolfgang says nothing in response but instead asks why it’s so loud where Will is, to which Will replies that it’s Independence day in America. Wolfgang then scoffs at Will not understanding his Conan the Barbarian reference and walks off. With their connection broken, Will finds himself back in Chicago where he’s contacted by Jonas who suggests they find a safe place to talk.

In Korea, Sun is visited in the prison by her lawyer. Apparently, Sun’s brother is going to confess to the crimes that Sun was imprisoned for, meaning that Sun will be able to walk free. However, Sun’s brother’s punishment promises to be far more severe than her own. With a heavy heart, Sun agrees to allow her brother to testify.

In Germany, Wolfgang is at Felix’s bedside where he’s visited by his cousin Steiner and his goons. He cryptically implies that if Wolfgang doesn’t return the diamonds he stole from them, something very bad will happen to Felix. Wolfgang agrees to give the diamonds back on the condition that he and Felix are free from any further retaliation.

In India, Kala is sitting in the hospital alongside her father. Finally, she opens up to her father about her misgivings about the wedding. And now with the recent death of Rajan’s father, she’s more confused than ever. Kala knows that she has to break things off with Rajan, but she’s afraid of how he will react knowing that breaking off the wedding was his Father’s dying wish, effectively allowing Rajan’s father to continue to control his life, even in death. Kala’s father’s solution is to simply tell Rajan the truth and let the chips fall where they may. Sure, if Kala marries Rajan, it can lead to a long and happy life together, but that happiness will be built upon a lie. It’s not an easy decision that Kala faces, but her father is confident that she will make the right choice.

In Nairobi, Capheus is taking a moment to watch one of his Van Damme movies. Kala enters and introduces herself before remarking on how big Capheus’ TV is. This begs the question of how he can afford a flat-screen but not medicine for his dying mother. Kala has a similar question, as she herself has visited similar homes in Bombay that had televisions but no bed. Capheus responds by saying that a bed keeps you in the slum, but a flat-screen can take you out. Capheus invites Kala to join him for the movie, but Kala agrees but only because Capheus promised her there would be dancing. Fighting is a type of dance, right? Anywho, Capheus says that the movie, Lionheart, is the film he watches anytime he needs to find courage, and right now, both he and Kala could use a great deal of courage. Back with Will and Jonas, the two are discussing some of the fundamental aspects of what it means to be sensate, but the conversation soon turns to the nature of those who are hunting them. They plan to use Jonas to get to Will and the others. We also learn that Dr. Matheson is just an alias used by the man who went after Nomi and runs the shady organization. His true name is unknown but Angelica called him Whispers. Jonas warns will to never look into whispers eyes, as once that happens, he’s in your head. The entire reason Angelica killed herself in the beginning of the show was to make sure Whispers never found Will and the others.

Back with Wolfgang, he’s arrived at the exchange with Steiner and his goons. Wolfgang gives back the diamonds, but Steiner isn’t satisfied and takes a moment to beat up on his cousin, especially when he doesn’t believe that Wolfgang was able to crack the diamond safe on his own. Enter Lito, taking a break from his drunken depression over the loss of Hernando to offer some advice. He suggests lying to Steiner to put his mind at ease, allowing Wolfgang enough space to reach for the gun he has stashed under his car. Lito takes the wheel and uses his skill as an actor to bluff his way out of having a gun pointed at his head. This distraction is just enough to allow Wolfgang to grab his gun and shoot several of Steiner’s goons dead. Steiner tries to get away, but Wolfgang pulls a F*CKING ROCKET LAUNCHER out of his trunk and blows his cousin to kingdom come. Lito’s reaction is pretty much the same as my own: Somewhere between “Holy sh*t that was awesome!” and “Why the f*ck do you have a rocket launcher in your trunk?!” Lito makes just about every scene better. Wolfgang thanks Lito for the assist and Lito responds by saying: “Lying is easy, it’s what I do.” Wolfgang, seemingly aware of Lito’s own situation suggests that when one makes a mistake, they need to either live with it, or fix it. Lito wakes up back in his drained hot tub. He immediately calls Hernando and leaves a message, vowing to fix his mistake, whatever the cost may be.

In Chicago, will is seen with a crate full of beer for he and his father’s 4th of July tradition. More on that later, but what’s important now is that he’s joined by Riley. Will warns Riley to be careful, knowing that they’ve both been warned that Iceland isn’t safe for her right now. Riley promises to be careful before thanking Will for all that he’s done for her as they share a passionate kiss.

Lito returns to the bar from the last episode and orders a double tequila, and then four more. Obviously Lito is about to do something reckless and needs to build up some courage. The bartender apologizes to Lito for coming on to him but Lito responds in a way that is so gloriously Lito. Lito kisses the bartender on the lips without warning before dramatically telling him that he has already met the love of his life, and now, it’s time for him to get him back. Lito then drives up to Joaquin’s house ready for a fight, or at least he’s had so many shots of tequila that he’s f*cked up enough to think he is. I gotta say, I love Lito’s entrance in this scene. He comes off like a character in one of his movies, and it’s both incredibly cheesy and incredibly badass at the same time. Lito demands that Daniela go with him. When Joaquin threatens to expose his secret if she does, he’ll expose Lito’s secret. Lito defiantly replies that he no longer cares what happens to his career, he’s not about to let Daniela stay with him any longer. Angry, and probably even more drunk than Lito, Joaquin attacks, and the fight is about as one-sided as you’d think with Lito desperately trying to fend off an unhinged psychopath and getting his ass kicked for his trouble. However, Lito then calls in his secret weapon, Wolfgang. Wolfgang, takes over and beats Joaquin’s ass like he’s Ed Norton beating up Jared Leto in Fight Club. With one well-placed and extraordinarily satisfying to watch uppercut, Joaquin goes down for the count. Mirroring their interaction from earlier, Lito thanks Wolfgang, who responds with, “fighting is easy, it’s what I do.”

In Chicago, Will and his dad take part in their favorite 4th of July tradition. Renting a boat, driving out to the middle the river, having a few beers and dogs and watching the fire-works. As the fireworks go off, Will is joined by both Sun and Capheus, both of whom love Fireworks just as much as Will does.

Back with Lito, he goes to Hernando to tell him what happened and beg for him to take him back. Lito apologizes for being a coward and says that he now understands what is truly important in life. Daniela walks in and Hernando is astonished by Lito’s courage and the fact that he no longer cares if his secret is exposed. The two lovers have a very touching reunion, nicely punctuated by Dani taking another picture. Over in Iceland, Riley is bonding with her father in her own way by attending one of his concerts. As we soon see, all the other sensates are in attendance as well The concert begins and Riley recognizes the piece as one that her father often played for her as a child, causing Riley and the others to flashback to the moment of their births. For Riley, her father played music for her mother over the phone to sooth her through the delivery. For Will, we are treated to the humorous scene of his dad delivering him in the back of a police car after putting up a bunch of road flares (evidently they didn’t make it to the hospital). For Kala, it was a rainy day when she was in Mumbai when she was born. Lito was born to an apparently large family who seemed more enamored with the action movie on television than his birth. Sun was born in a cemetery after her mother left flowers on someone’s grave. Nomi’s mother, to further highlight her cold and uncaring nature, delivered her via C-section. When remembering her mother mouth the word “Michael” she begins to cry. Wolfgang was born inside a wading pool. Capheus was born in his village to a mother who refused to stop fighting despite the pain. However, before the song ends, Riley flashes back to the accident and the birth of her own daughter and suddenly passes out, ending the episode. Episode Ten was a lot of fun, primarily due to the scenes between Lito and Wolfgang. The two characters could not be more different from one another, and yet in the brief scenes they share, they compliment each other surprisingly well. I think if it wasn’t official before, this episode cements Lito as my favorite character. He’s such a goofball who can still be serious when the situation calls for it. The others also got their fair share of nice moments, particularly Will having beers with his father on 4th of July. It’s always nice when our characters get a moment to kick back and relax. Overall, this was a great episode and Riley’s passing out at the end will lead us into the endgame. We only have two episode left of the first season. I can’t promise when we’ll be finished, but I’ll do my best to make sure it’s before season 2 comes out.