{"id":7385,"date":"2019-08-28T13:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7385"},"modified":"2019-08-19T12:47:55","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T19:47:55","slug":"mark-watches-sense8-s02e12-amor-vincit-omnia-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/08\/mark-watches-sense8-s02e12-amor-vincit-omnia-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Sense8’: S02E12 – Amor Vincit Omnia, Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the finale of Sense8<\/i>, the cluster attempts to finally change BPO for good. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to finish Sense8<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of transphobia, blood.<\/b><\/p>\n

Forcella<\/b><\/p>\n

The prevailing power of Sense8<\/i> is love.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the course of these two seasons, that theme has been evident. Even as most of this finale has dealt with the logistical nightmare of taking out BPO and Whispers, we still never strayed from the importance of love and its many forms: physical, sexual, romantic, familial, platonic, and the love that sensates experience for those in their cluster. The reason Riley turned down assassinating Whispers while they had him is because the cluster loved Wolfgang too much. And here, as they all infiltrate the Forcella, love still matters.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Granted, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not until the horrifically upsetting scene with Kala that it necessarily rears its head. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, the Trojan Horse sequence is just so delightfully weird and funny, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that this show was able to successfully mix the serious with the humorous. I just love how ridiculous it was that they all pretended to be tourists, then<\/i> created an explosion to divert the guards\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 attention, and this all allowed them to storm the Forcella. This whole thing was a lot bloodier than most episodes, but it had to way. They had to fight their way into an impossible place, and the body count would<\/i> be high. But holy shit, THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO MUCH BLOOD.<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s through Kala that love still matters. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that scene, for instance, where Rajan witnesses Kala shooting down some of the guards. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d forgotten that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d not quite seen Kala in action, so I was worried. Would this suddenly be too much for him? However, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sort of the point. Rajan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s love for his wife is so powerful that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able to view things through that lens. So he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t criticize Kala for killing the guards who would have killed them both; no, he ASKS HER TO TEACH HIM HOW TO USE A GUN.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also how the show slowly addresses the strangeness and beauty of the Kala\/Rajan\/Wolfgang scenes. Because when Wolfgang, through Kala, is teaching Rajan about guns, it honestly feels romantic and exciting. Which was probably foreshadowing!!! Then, when Kala is shot, the show doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t try to deny that both<\/i> men in her life love her and would grieve her absence. Their relationship might not be what most people experience or expect, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not any less<\/i> than others. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still love. Also, thankfully we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually<\/i> have to explore Kala\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. I WOULD HAVE BEEN SO FURIOUS. But my big takeaway from that scene was that the show was validating both<\/i> of their love for Kala. ALSO: It was so goddamn funny to have her acknowledge how sad this moment was, but ALSO I AM NOT DEAD, PLEASE SAVE MY LIFE. Bless this show.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jonas<\/b><\/p>\n

HE MADE A PROMISE AND HE KEPT HIS PROMISE AND THE ANSWER WAS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT THE WHOLE TIME. A good twist can leave the audience feeling floored, but the truly great ones also have to make a lot of sense. In hindsight, this explains so much of Angelica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motives and why she was willing to appear as a collaborator the entire time. And given what we saw in the last split about the groups that hunt<\/i> collaborators, I was hoping that Angelica would be vindicated in the end. Her plan the whole time?<\/p>\n

To kill the Chairman. To prevent Whispers from ever<\/i> demonstrating the true power of the drone program. WHICH WAS ALSO A LIE, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M LOSING IT, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. I like that this finale makes it clear that the Chairman is still complicit in this nightmare and deserves his fate. And what an irony! Angelica hid an essential truth from Whispers: ANYONE COULD HAVE USED A PSYCRANIUM. She just tuned the main one to Whispers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brain, making him believe he was the sole person who could control it! Thus, I love that look of panic on his face once he recognizes the zombie drone from earlier. He figured this shit out, and his fate was SEALED, and I bet he knew this would all be over soon once the Chairman was killed. GOD, THAT SCENE WAS SO FUCKING GREAT.<\/p>\n

And in the end, Jonas fulfills his promise. He murders the Chairman, and he destroys the ENTIRE zombie facility. In a second, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all<\/i> gone.<\/p>\n

But the game wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t up yet.<\/p>\n

Will<\/b><\/p>\n

I feel less conflicted about Will being a centerpiece here because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really only in this scene. After what he was put through\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand after what Whispers did to him and his father\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit felt right that the big showdown would be with Will at the healm. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still an important part of Wolfgang in this, too, which was also poetic and appropriate. After all, it was Lila\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treatment of Wolfgang that caused much of this nightmare, too. So, as long as these two took them out? I would be happy. But watching them explode because of a rocket launcher? HELL YES. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something poetic in them thinking they escaped again and then NOT ESCAPING AT ALL.<\/p>\n

Wedding<\/b><\/p>\n

Sense8<\/i> was always about love. The journeys these characters went on sometimes showed us the toxic aspects of love, like how Nomi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transphobic parents often hurt her in the name of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153love.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or how familial love could be corrupted. Or how love is confusing or damaging or complicated. But this finale centers all of its post-confrontation attention on a love that has remained pure and gorgeous and supportive throughout: the love between Nomi and Amanita. Now, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some exposition given throughout the ceremony, such as mention of some sort of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153accord\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the BPO. We also learn from Detective Mun that all of the charges against Sun were dropped. I do think the show kinda forgets about Capheus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s whole plot line? I mean, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like an election could have taken place here, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really the only character subplot that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s left unresolved here.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, this wedding (and the subsequent sex scene) resolves the last thread left behind. Or at least the big one I needed to feel happy with this finale!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was surreal to see the entire<\/i> cast in one location. This unfolding drama was set all over the world, and I assumed it would remain that way right up until the end. But this is so PERFECT. Each of the sensates invites their close friends, tells them the truth about who they are, and then celebrates the love of Nomi and Amanita. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a spectacle to watch, but y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n

Those damn vows destroyed me. I admit to being a bit tender about love these days, and sometimes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to see happy couples. But this was just so damn beautiful, and in many ways, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue that the writers used Amanita\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Nomi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vows to give us their thesis not just on Sense8<\/i>, but on humanity as general. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much uncertainty in the world; change is inevitable; everything is impermanent. And yet, through this all, sometimes we find the special someone\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbe they a lover or a friend or a sibling or a husband or a wife or a life partner\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand they help us see the world anew. Love does not manifest for everyone and it certainly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look the same to everyone either. But watching that wedding unfold on the Eiffel Tower, I felt like I was witnessing magic. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lost on me that the big emotional moment of this finale is also so damn queer, and Sense8<\/i> will forever hold a huge place in my heart for how unapologetically queer it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been. This has been the kind of storytelling that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve thirsted for all these years, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so happy that I got to witness this.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And look, I would be remiss in my duties as a reviewer to NOT address the ABSOLUTELY incredible threesome between Kala, Rajan, and Wolfgang. Like, yes, the huge orgy is just spectacular and gorgeously shot, but I also love that this finale asks Kala a question: What does she want? The final scene is her answering the question: Why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she have both of the men she loves? WHO ALSO ARE INTO ONE ANOTHER??? HELP ME, THIS IS A QUEER PERSON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DREAM COME TRUE, I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY GOT TO WITNESS THIS.<\/p>\n

I know it was a bit of a rough start with me and Sense8<\/i>, and I certainly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect like a nearly four-year gap between watching seasons. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad I came back into this world right now. It reminds me of my ex, and how could it not? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in all of last season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s videos. And while that made this hard to watch at times, I got to experience it anew, with new memories and experiences. It added to the journey, probably in ways the creators never intended. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the beauty of fiction: we all bring our own lives to these experiences, and they affect what we get out of it.<\/p>\n

Thank you for following along.<\/p>\n

Up next on Friday: I’ll be watching season 4 of Veronica Mars<\/em>. This is to buy me time to get the DVDs for what I’m watching afterwards:\u00c2\u00a0the anime Monster<\/i>! There are still episodes left to be claimed, so head on over to the Commissions page<\/a> if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like one.<\/p>\n

The final video for the finale can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now OUT!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"