Sense8 - 'I Am Also a We'

Awkward.

The pilot episode of Sense8, 'Limbic Resonance', was absolutely packed, a necessary side effect of introducing eight primary characters. 'I Am Also a We' focuses in on a smaller sample, allowing us to learn more about that slice of the cast.

In London, Riley is dodging gangsters and sees Will in her mirror, even suffering a sympathy cut when he cuts himself shaving.

The principal focus of the episode is on Nomi, and draws many of its themes from her identity as a trans-woman. After a fall during a Pride parade, Nomi's evangelical mother - a storming, monstrous turn from actress Sandra Fish, as she strives to pin Nomi down and force her to accept the name Michael along with her family's medical insurance - isolates her from her girlfriend Amanita and effectively has her committed, pressuring her to have an operation on her brain. The threat of hallucinations is of course heightened by the impossible appearance of Jonah, but a call from Amanita grounds Nomi, who is determined to escape.

The conspiracy against Nomi's identity mirrors that against the Senseates as a whole. Will and his watch are given Jonah's photograph and told that he is a terrorist, presumably knowing that he would try to contact Will, leading to a car chase in which Will and Jonah jump perspective into each other's cars. Will is uncertain about his calling, since his fellow cops see him as a traitor for saving a young gangbanger's life, but still cop enough that he can't just let Jonah walk.

In Mexico, we learn that Lito is actually in the closet for the sake of his career, dating a string of girls to deflect suspicion. When the latest gets pushy and uncovers his secret, she is unexpectedly delighted that she gets to be the beard for a cute gay couple. This, along with Kala's engagement party and her fiance's Shah Rukh lipsynch provide moments of lightness which lift and heighten the drama elsewhere. Props also that the Indian woman having doubts about her wedding is engaged to a charming, handsome chap that she chose; her questions are deeper than that.

'I Am Also a We' makes Sense8's core themes apparent: Identity, persecution and connection across boundaries. The persecution of the Sensates mirrors that felt by all of the characters in some other aspect of their lives, and all are struggling with their identity. Sun and Capheus make little or no appearance, so hopefully we'll see more of them next episode, and I expect to see these themes appear in Capheus' life, as they already do in Sun's.