Hot damn, what an episode. “Smart Money Is On the Skinny Bitch” shows what Sense8 looks like at the top of its game. There is no fat on this hour, and I swear that’s not a shitty play on the word “skinny” in the title (at 48 minutes, it’s also the leanest episode yet, and I swear I’m done now). This is the kind of episode that binge-watching was invented for. It’s here that the Wachowskis have the most fun with Sense8‘s bizarre concept, which is a good thing, because the way “Smart Money” is presented also completely justifies it.
On paper, this shouldn’t have worked so well (neither should this show, but that’s a conversation for a different day). A lot of “Smart Money” is more or less an exposition dump, but it pays dividends. Anila tells Lito about a crazy ex-boyfriend, who later shows up to take Lito to an intimidating lunch. See? It all leads somewhere.
We find out more about the sensates’ lives, namely that a lot of them seem to have sick parents (Will, Capheus, and Sun at least), another connection between them. Parents in general seem to play a big part in Sense8; Kala is supposedly overjoyed about her marriage to Rajan, based on who his father is, and we’ve all seen Nomi’s nightmarish mother.
And that’s as good a segue as any to my next point, which is praise of “Smart Money”‘s presentation. This is a thriller, through and through. Sometimes visceral, sometimes psychological, but always unnerving. The episode starts strong, with Will’s flashback to what looks like a lobotomy (nice foreshadowing), and doesn’t let up. Nomi’s plot is straight out of a horror movie, with her surgery looming ever closer. When Amanita sets fire to the hospital to present it, we’re as relieved as Nomi is (watch Jamie Clayton’s smile when she figures it out; it’s revelatory). Lito has the aforementioned lunch with Joaquin, who is deeply unhinged. Framed against a huge billowing Mexican flag, Joaquin teaches Will the proper way to cut someone’s throat, which he blithely dismisses as a hobby. It’s a striking image.
Also, this show might be psychic. I’ve spent the last two episodes either mentioning or thinking that Capheus has had nothing to do, and as if on cue I watched “Smart Money,” where Capheus’s plot takes up a good chunk of the runtime. While driving his van – misspelling Van Damme as Van Damn is a nice touch – he gets robbed of the AIDS medication he bought for his mother (Kala’s company shares a concern for fake drugs not unlike Capheus, yet another connection). Rather than accept defeat, Capheus chases down the thieves to get the drugs back.
This fight is good. Like, second episode of Daredevil good. The setup is so brilliant too. We see Capheus get out of the van. We see Will enter the shooting range. We see Sun skulk into a kickboxing ring (Doona Bae is a serious badass; in many ways “Smart Money” is her hour; hell, she’s the skinny bitch of the title). The fight unfolds fluidly, thrillingly, and joyously, as if the Wachowskis have had this idea for years and have finally found a put it into action. As Will, Capheus takes shots at an approaching car. As Sun, he takes down four attackers. I have trouble putting it into words, because it’s something that should be watched and experienced. Again and again. This is going to sound like hyperbole, but I can’t help it, good TV gets me excited: the fight scene at the end of “Smart Money Is On the Skinny Bitch” should be taught in film school. Over the last few years, the Wachowskis have lost some of their cred (Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending all failed to set the world on fire), but this episode shows that they’ve lost none of their skill.
A Few Thoughts
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Wolfgang Watch: no Wolfgang. Will report back.
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Riley’s plot is moving at glacial speed. You could say she’s from a land of ice. But seriously, for the amount of screentime that Sense8 affords scenes with Riley, this better be going somewhere quick
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“If there’s one person who can be a zebra in this world, it’s you, my friend”
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“I don’t have Asperger’s, I’m fuckin Australian!”
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“He is Van Damme.” Best line of the episode
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Doona Bae: bae or not bae? I’m so sorry.
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