Sense8 1.05 “Art is Like Religion”

It’s odd that episode five is the first one to get its own entry, given that it’s not an especially event heavy episode of the series. As the plot of Sense8 expands, however, it seems that the program is doing likewise; there doesn’t seem to be any particular charge to move the overarching plot forward, but rather focus on a series of personal moments with the characters. As with the first four episodes of the series, there are varying degrees of success with the different threads.

The episode opens with Lito, the soap star, and Sun, the Korean executive, sharing her period. This is a perfect example of how episode five breathes, and answers a question that someone may have had about the rules governing the sharing between the eight characters, but the sequence really just seems like a cheap source of humor. While the show resists having Lito succumb visibly to cramps, it doesn’t seem to be breaking any ground by having him suddenly become conscious of bloating and overly emotional. While this may be a key part of the Sense8 universe, the scenes displayed a particularly ham-handed sensibility. At least Lito gets in some excellent wire work later on; Sun is left to have her period and sullenly make terrible decisions.

Earnest Chicago cop Will continues soldiering through the most straightforward and blandest part of the show. In this episode, he gets chewed out by his gruff commanding officer for carrying on the classic unsanctioned investigation. Nearly every beat was hit. I resolved to do a shot if the old guy observed that he was too old for Will’s shit, but instead he deploys a choice “fuck,” and we shift to Wolfgang and his heist, which is picking up a little steam. Max Riemelt has a definite Mads Mikkelsen vibe to him, and his scenes are becoming increasingly watchable as the series progresses. That he shares most of his “sensating” with hesitant bride Nala, with whom he has good chemistry, only helps buoy two of the show’s blander threads. Even if the stories are pretty predictable, the actors ably elevate its watchability.

Perhaps if Will becomes more involved in the group, his story will be similarly helped. Up to this point, he has mostly interacted with Icelandic DJ Riley, who seems just to be a spectator most of the time, and up to this point has been around to look alternately frightened or cute. Cute wins this episode, as Riley’s big moment this episode is a tea party with Capheus, which would have been a little easier to take if he hadn’t been quite so wide-eyed to be in England. One would expect a character to be amazed to suddenly be transported to another continent, but, as with the opening scenes, the execution is just a little broad. Capheus is at least worldly enough to know Jean-Claude Van Damme; it would seem that he should be asking a few more questions about the how and the why of the situation, rather than delighting in the prospect of a proper English tea. Capheus does get to continue his role as an unlikely folk hero/action star later in the episode, and then ends up offering some wisdom to another character. In both of these instances, he comes off as a much rounder. It’s fine that Capheus is optimistic and taken with the experience, but he works better when he is taking part in the action instead of commenting on the sheer wonder of it all.

This leaves Nomi to pull Will out of the gutter, but she always seems to be trapped about knee deep in schmaltz. In the last episode, she and her partner took the brunt of the 4 Non-Blondes. This time around, they are absent save for a painfully earnest rehash of everything that has happened to them up to this point, topping it with the following chestnut: “Impossibility is a kiss away from reality.” That line prompted a time check. At this point in the episode, there were twenty-nine more minutes for the Wachowskis and Straczynski to top this line. Nothing came close. It might be that Will is going to have to rescue Nomi again. It’s only a kiss away.