"Sense8" Recap: "What's Going On?"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I found the title of this episode of Sense8 to be extremely humorous for one particular reason. One of the people that told me I had to see this show had a warning for me. They told me that when I watched the show, I better make sure I give it every opportunity because the story doesn't quite get rolling until the fourth episode and well, many a critic had trouble making it out of the first three. 

Turns out my friend was right, there was a decidedly different feel to the fourth episode, a level of confidence and cohesion that seemed to permeate from not only the story, but the characters and while the plot may not have totally taken a massive jump and revealed all to us, the people that are now sharing a mind sure did and we did get a touch of answers in "What's Going On?"

Now the last episode certainly allowed us to know that these eight people were going to be capable of many great things when they combined their efforts. While this episode reinforced that fact in the final few minutes of the show, more on that in a moment, we have to talk about some of the incredibly moving character pieces that came to bear in this episode. First and foremost, let's start with our mysterious street fighter Sun. Specifically those mysterious phone calls she was getting and the scary hint that the authorities were to be involved. Turns out she discovered her idiot brother had been stealing from the company and the only way to save it...is for her to take the fall. Granted she doesn't decide this go round, but I'll be damned if it wasn't a tough part of the episode to watch, and man...what a position to be in. To save a life and the lives of others by letting their sins become your own is something you rarely see in television but such heavy themes didn't end there.

Capheus' story needs to be discussed as well, as he was now viewed as quite the badass and quite the hero for his ass kicking actions in the last episode, so much in fact that he earned the nickname Van Damme. But there are consequences for his actions. The thugs he brought down were well connected with the most corrupt and powerful man in the city and well...unfortunately every man has his price and the kingpin meets Capheus, and manages to buy him off with medication for his mother. In fact this episode seemed to weigh heavy with the themes of cause and effect before finally returning to the handful of answers about the Sensates and their "purpose" if you will.

Unfortunately, the answers were still vague, and I would say at this point I should be angry about that, but this show is all about the slow burn and the payoff so...I'm good with it. I have a feeling we will get what we want, but Jonas did provide a touch of insight on how the group interacts mentally and relayed the message as to how important this group is to one another, which finally allowed for Will to save Nomi's life...by choice. He truly managed to work his ability and get her into the clear and that's a wonderful thing because it was hard to tell if Nomi was going to make it or not.

Either way, this show continues to be a fascinating mix of character drama and sci fi spectacle and I like the fact that the sci fi theme is quickly slipping its way into the drama. Bit by bit the Sensates power is being revealed and it's those little tidbits they feed us that has myself and so many others hooked. Can't wait to see what happens next, until then. 

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