Here’s the thing about Sense8‘s fourth episode “What’s Going On?”: it was a pretty uneven episode, all things considered, but there were moments of absolutely stunning beauty. Several times I found myself close to tearing up. In many ways, this is the best episode so far at showing the connective threads that bind us all, which is what I’m convinced the Wachowskis and J. Michael Sraczynski had in mind when developing the show. Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) directs with an assured, humane hand, and while this is still something of a shaggy dog of an episode narratively speaking, I can’t help but kind of love it.
The smartest decision Sense8 makes going into this episode is to focus on some of its lesser-developed characters, most notably Wolfgang (we’ve already gotten to know Kala a little bit, and we can sympathize with her as a victim of that unfortunate Bollywood dance number). Max Riemelt, who plays Wolfgang, has an everyman quality to him, much like Brian J. Smith (Will), which is why I suspect he got the part. But we still don’t know much about who Wolfgang is. He has minimal dialogue, so he’s definitely the strong silent type, but we haven’t gotten another humanizing moment like we did in “Limbic Resonance,” when he stopped cracking the safe to watch a singing competition. What we do get is Wolfgang trying to sell the stolen diamonds, along with his friend Felix, who annoys the shit out of me. Felix is basically the definition of “Eurotrash,” and he gives an annoyingly unnecessary monologue about losing his virginity. I don’t want to hear about you getting your “dick wet,” Felix. Thanks, though.
Probably the meatiest material of “What’s Going On?” involves Will, which should come as no surprise, as he’s clearly the character that the creative team is the most comfortable with. Will visits Jonas in lockup – well, he tries, but no one sees the wizard, apparently. Jonas comes to Will, though, and takes him back to solitary confinement with him (Sense8‘s whiplash editing style never fails to excite). Jonas explains a little bit of the mythology, which is perfect timing for an episode with this title. He explains the difference between “visiting,” which is what he and Will have been doing, and “sharing,” which is what Will, Capheus, and Sun did at the end of the last episode. He warns Will that Nomi must be saved, both from the doctors and her subplot (she’s been in the hospital since episode fucking one!). Will manages to share Nomi’s body and pick the handcuffs keeping her from escaping. Nomi’s girlfriend Amanita swoops in with a wheelchair to complete the jailbreak. The whole sequence is thrillingly well done, and now that Nomi is out of the hospital maybe she can actually join the proceedings.
It’s with the rest of the characters that “What’s Going On?” meanders a bit. For instance, what’s happening with Riley? Oh right, literally nothing. She doesn’t even have any lines this episode. Sense8 needs to work harder to justify her presence. But she does set in motion my favorite sequence of this episode, a beautiful montage set to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” (incidentally, one of my go-to songs whenever I’m drunk enough to karaoke). It’s here that Sense8 breaks its own boundaries and becomes – briefly, wondrously – joyous. Seeing Kala and Wolfgang singing while looking into each other’s eyes and smiling beatifically is a beautiful, human moment. The whole montage is perfectly evocative of a similar sequence in Magnolia, featuring all the main character’s singing Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up.”
And it’s that moment that makes it impossible for me to be too hard on “What’s Going On?” (that, and any scene involving Sun, who is quickly becoming my favorite character on any show right now). In many ways, this episode seems like the perfect encapsulation of Sense8: sometimes frustratingly vague, but peppered with moments that leave you awestruck.
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