What I’m Watching: Sense8

Sense8: Season 1, Episode 4 “What’s Going On?” (B)

There are some parts of this episode that I really liked, and I wish that each full hour could be as intense and cool as a few select scenes and segments were. I’m not terribly engaged by Wolfgang, Capheus, Sun, and their plotlines. Nomi by nature is the most interesting character, but Will ranks second best because he actually has a clue about what’s going on (title and song reference) and wants to understand how to make it better. I love that he showed up to try to talk to Jonas and then managed to go into his cell and learn some crucial information, most notably the fact that Nomi’s wellbeing was in danger because of her impending operation. Switching places with her to pick the lock on her restraints and help her to escape to Amanita’s guardian angel was awesome, and I like just how subtle and quick it was. I was caught off guard by the shared singing scene, which reminded me a lot of the quirkiness of “Magnolia,” but I came around to it as the ultimate expression of connectivity, eight people who just all of a sudden started singing a song that was stuck in their heads and were able to be united by this brief departure from their lives. When the music got intense during the stand-up routine a few minutes earlier, I thought that the episode was going to get much more serious and enthralling, but this show has a certain way about it that makes the moments in which it works overshadow the ones where it lags.