Mark Watches ‘Sense8’: S02E03 – Obligate Mutualisms

In the third episode of the second season of Sense8, THIS EPISODE RUINED ME. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Sense8. 

Trigger Warning: For discussion of homophobia, abuse/spousal abuse, and a mention of suicide.

Hi, this episode was exquisite, and I feel like my soul was straight ripped out of my body by this experience. HELP ME. 

Blackmail

I definitely feel like the plot revolving around BPO has added a faster pace to these episodes in general, but I’m still happy that there’s a significant amount of time spent on character studies and developing the stuff that’s happening in the background. That being said: I have to start off by talking about the cluster’s blackmail of Croome. This episode clearly plays off some expectations for this type of storytelling, and Croome fits an archetype… to a point. In stories with a huge conspiracy that’s hidden from the general populace, you often see a character like Croome, one who is morally revolting, but whose selfishness or pragmatism makes him the perfect person for the heroes to manipulate in order to get inside. And for the entirety of this episode, that’s exactly what role he plays. Through Whispers, the cluster is able to put Croome in an awkward position and then trick him into icing Whispers, which grants Will a freedom he’s not had for a long time. I LOVE HIM GOING OUT INTO THE SUNSHINE OF AMSTERDAM. What a visual metaphor! He’s free, and it’s such a gorgeous sequence. 

It also gives the cluster their next step: time with Jonas that’s unmonitored (somewhat) and a face-to-face meeting between Croome and Will.

I was so excited, y’all. SO EXCITED. 

The Break Out

I am still reeling, y’all, and the more I think about the sheer talent it took to pull off Sun’s escape from prison… LORD. The camera work. The choreography. The stunt doubles and the writing and the PURE FUCKING TERROR conveyed by this experience. That might’ve stuck with me the most. And Whispers did warn Will of this! He said that they all had no idea just how much pain they could all feel, and this felt like the first real moment where this was made abundantly clear. Sun could have died, and all of them would have experienced it simultaneously. They were trying to make it looked like she killed herself, too!!!

It’s horrifying, y’all, and it also made Min-Jung’s appearance so cathartic and shocking. But I loved that she was both a solution to a plot point and allowed to have a story herself. She helped Sun because she saw her abusive husband in the guards who came to murder her. And then we see how Min-Jung is able to guide Sun to someone who she trusts, who was once imprisoned for shockingly similar reasons. All three of these women suffered because men failed them, and they were pushed into these terrible, nightmarish positions. And I am really excited to see what’s going to happen with these three characters!!!

The Apartment

I will say that it was funny to me that Lito was so incensed by that first apartment that he, Hernando, and Daniela were looking at. That thing was nicer than any apartment I have ever lived in. Like, a million times over. But he’s had such a higher standard of living, and the apartment itself wasn’t really the point of this. This is more about the evolving relationship of these three people in the wake of Joaquin. So much of Lito’s life has changed dramatically. Like his role being taken away in an upcoming film due to a “morality” clause. I imagine the fallout from him being outed will last a long, long time. Part of that also involves Daniela, since she’s the one who has been housing Lito and Hernando since everything went down. To me, the point of this scene was that Hernando and Lito assumed that their future only involved the two of them, and thus, their dream apartment was out of their budget. But why can’t Daniela be a part of that? I know that I was confused about Daniela’s role in this relationship when I started the show, but I certainly feel like I’m just here to enjoy this. It clearly makes Hernando and Lito happy to have her around, and now, they can hopefully own something that is theirs. 

Lila

HI WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! Look, I’m willing to admit that I thought of Wolfgang’s plot wrong, that maybe he was more interested in Fuchs than I thought he was in the last episode. Maybe I just read that wrong! And maybe I’m right that getting involved with Fuchs is a bad, bad idea, and Wolfgang knew this but went with Felix just to make sure he was okay. I was a little confused as to why Fuchs thought that Felix was so necessary to have as part of his enterprise, though it was clearer by the end of “Obligate Mutualisms” that he did want Wolfgang.

BUT THEN LILA SHOWS UP, AND I WAS NOT FUCKING READY FOR ANOTHER SENSATE TO PLAY SEXUAL GAMES WITH WILL. We learn so much more about sensates, their birth, and their abilities in this episode, so it was fascinating to find out how desire fueled Lila’s game with Will. Their connection was possible because they were both sensates, but also? Will had to want it, and that made it easier for them to connect. So, I’m guessing this is going to come up again. Not just Lila, I mean, but sensates being able to experience sensates from other clusters! Also, does Fuchs know Lila is a sensate??? Is he using her to manipulate Will? I DON’T KNOW!!!!

Jonas

I’m so glad Jonas is still alive, and I want him FREED, and HE HAS SO MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT THE SENSATES. I’ve certainly got more information about them, and I think the most shocking detail was that there are people who don’t like being sensates. I mean, it makes sense? Just based on the odds, someone would be birthed and wouldn’t enjoy the experience. Still, the cluster seems like such an amazing experience that I never once considered this reality. All this makes me want is to see more clusters and to learn what the dynamics of each one are. Because they have to be different, right? I imagine that the individual people shape the collective experience. 

I also know how Angelica crossed paths with Whispers. Ugh, she was trying to do good! And she had no idea what Whispers would ultimately do!!! Which is a perfect segue to this…

Us vs Them

Jonas is the first to identify that there’s a split within BPO itself, though I think you can see this in both “Who Am I?” and “Obligate Mutualisms.” But when Will finally meets with Croome… look, here’s my issue. I don’t know whether to believe Croome. I think Whispers’s reaction to Croome confirms that what the man was saying was true. But Jonas did warn Will that Croome would still be cold-blooded in the end. Which… now feels like a very fucked up form of foreshadowing??? So, let me assume Croome is right. BPO WASN’T AN EVIL ORGANIZATION. It was about OBLIGATE MUTUALISMS. They were trying to foster work between sensates and humans!!! HELP ME. And then 9/11 and the War on Terror changed the entire political landscape, and sensates were now threats, and this whole thing is just mind-blowing and scary and makes a whole lot of sense, y’all. 

So yeah, it’s very clear why Whispers murdered Croome. (Well, using one of his mind-controlled sensates.) He couldn’t allow that relationship to grow. Again, makes me think Croome was telling the truth! So, there’s a split within BPO, and I bet that’s what the group will focus on next. It has to be! But how do they get inside? Will has those blockers, but is that enough? UGH THIS IS SO GOOD.

The video for “Obligate Mutualisms” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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