Mark Watches ‘Sense8’: S02E12 – Amor Vincit Omnia, Part II

In the second half of the Sense8 series finale, there is a purge; a development; a reveal; a setback; a bizarre plan. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Sense8. 

I’m so glad this finale is as long as it is; it has allowed the showrunners so much more space to wrap up a number of threads, and it’s RUINING me. I’M SO HAPPY.

The Purge

You know, I love a good nuanced villain. Gimme an antagonist who is conflicted, who actually has a solid moral standing, or who is weirdly easy to sympathize with. That shit is like oxygen to me. At the same time, I’m a huge fan of villains that are easy to hate. And BPO/Whispers certainly lands completely in that category!!! I hate them so much! What they’re doing is undeniably evil!!! So the opening sequence of this split was horrible to watch. The BPO’s retaliation is all the more frightening because we see it through the eyes of Mr. Hoy, one of the most delightful characters in the entire series. Of course, it’s made worse with the re-appearance of Yrsa and the introduction of River El-Saadawi, who both ask something of Riley and her cluster that they can’t provide. And if that scene had happened outside of the purge, it would have been stressful all on its own! Instead, it takes place as Mr. Hoy is being hunted down.

I get why they refused to kill Whispers. Even though I’m certain they each wanted to, the risk to Wolfgang’s life was too great. Their plan was to successfully navigate the swap and survive. That’s it! So it was hard to watch the heartbreak and disappointment spread over River’s face. As she said, she had to try, but I couldn’t see any of them willing to sacrifice Wolfgang to make this happen. Bless Aunt Kirsty, though, for providing some surprising levity and hope during the hunt sequence. SHE WAS SO GREAT. 

The Chairman

This was the first time we actually saw the Chairman, right??? Unfortunately, he was wearing a large mask while tormenting Wolfgang, and I don’t even know if I can believe what little I saw or heard otherwise. What if he was wearing a prosthetic? What if his accent was fake? LOOK, I DON’T KNOW, but these are some paranoid motherfuckers, and I don’t trust anything I see.

Planning Scenes

Okay, Bug’s not wrong; planning montages are so goddamn entertaining, y’all. There’s a strong heist vibe to both the exchange and the later Trojan horse sequence, and the show—in the writing, acting, editing, and cinematography—does a brilliant job of building tension by splicing the planning with scenes of them actually pulling off the various elements of the swap. Well, it’s not just that, but we see Lila’s cluster at work to protect themselves and plan for Wolfgang’s murder. And honestly, I wasn’t surprised that Lila never had any intention of letting Wolfgang go; they just wanted Whispers. EXCEPT NOT FOR THE REASON I ASSUMED. 

Chaos

I’m impressed that there’s so much going on in many of the scenes of “Amor Vincit Omnia. This cast is so huge, and yet now that we’ve got at least 12 main characters on screen in most of them, I never feel confused. Overwhelmed? Sure, but the scene in the club is supposed to feel that way. There are two clusters at work, ready to fight over Whispers. Through editing, we get a sense of just how many people are potential variables that can ruin this swap.

And yet, it’s another variable that flips the whole thing on its head. Bodhi, who we’ve seen multiple times now, intervenes to assassinate Whispers. Admittedly, I knew how terrible it would become if Bodhi succeeded, but I seriously want Whispers dead so, so badly. Thus, there was a part of me that wanted Bodhi to succeed, knowing that Lila would immediately turn on Wolfgang. And instead, Whispers escapes and finds his way to Lila’s cluster, and then Lila tries to kill Wolfgang, and everything was a LOT. But it’s the aftermath of the swap—which is only successful for Wolfgang’s cluster—that I found more interesting.

Sun

I am just so happy with Detective Mun, y’all? This show certainly knows how to torment me, and I got real worried that Sun would be taken captive. Instead, we got a dreamy, exhilarating sequence in which the Detective and Sun coordinate to take down the men who tried to take Sun. There’s an obvious emotional layer, too, and the scene is filmed so that it is reminiscent of their big competition from when they were younger. Except here? They’re working together rather than against one another. So even if logistically, I desperately wanted them to RUN AWAY FROM ALL THE UNCONSCIOUS PEOPLE AROUND THEM, I get why they had such a huge romantic moment. In terms of the story, it absolutely fit.

The Lacuna

I mentioned this on video, but I’m loving just how frequently the world of the sensates is expanded this season. The reveal of the Mother and the place called the Lacuna is HUGE. And it makes a lot of sense that there’s a “realm,” so to speak, where sensates could live outside of normal human existence. But I also can’t ignore that Whispers has fucked up so badly that his own sensate mother decided to come out of hiding just so our main cluster could track him down and kill him. Oh, right, he’s also TRYING TO BE IMMORTAL. That moment? FUCKED ME UP. Because of course he has his own, self-centered agenda! It explains why his is the sole controller of the drone program. He doesn’t want anyone else to be a part of it because that will threaten his plan to stay alive for as long as possible, even if his consciousness is in other bodies. HI, WHISPERS IS SO FUCKED UP.

Joy

This might also have to do with what I brought up in the beginning, but this show has no problem allowing time for joy. I’m so happy that’s the case. There’s so much dire shit going on, and we still get scenes like the dinner at Jean-Pierre’s home. Or the trip to Naples! These characters have not spent much time together in person, and the script takes advantage of that without apology. And I love it! But there’s nothing I love more than the fact that this story resolves a love triangle with a POLY RELATIONSHIP. Hi, this never happens????? I’M SO HAPPY! And I didn’t need to see the moment where Kala told Rajan the truth; instead, I found it much more pleasing that we got to see him after. He’s just so happy? Yes, things are complicated, but it’s a complicated joy. 

Jonas

I still don’t get what he’s trying to do, y’all. What secret is he holding on to? Were those images of Angelica killing the staff? Y’all, I’m convinced at this point that he has some secret plan unfurling, but I cannot even begin to guess what that is. 

The Trojan Horse

There will be much more to talk about in the next review, but I’m just so thrilled that this harrowing attempt to infiltrate Lila’s stronghold involved so much HUMOR. Y’all, Hernando’s idea is so damn GOOD. And they clearly commit to the part??? LOOK AT THEIR OUTFITS. It’s so perfect! I don’t know what their next move is, but I imagine taking out as many of those men as possible is probably a good idea. Also, can I just admit how cool it is that there’s a group dedicated to finding collaborators with the BPO???

Anyway: not ready for this to end, y’all.

The video for the second part of the finale can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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