 |
| The smart money is indeed on the skinny bitch. |
Capheus (Nairobi)
After being absent last episode, Capheus comes centre stage. First, we learn that he once wanted to be a zebra, which seemed like an easy life, although 'the lion is a downside.' Then he and his friend Jela make a backstreet connection to buy AIDS medication for his mother (and opt to snark at the snotty dealer, which may come back to bite them.) When the drugs are stolen in a holdup, Capheus charges after the gang, unexpectedly beating down four armed gangsters by channeling Sun's martial arts skills and briefly Will's firearms training, mirrored with scenes in the fight club and the firing range.
Sun Bak (Seoul)
Another absentee last week, we see Sun being chased by the man from the bank, who is threatening to involve the authorities, while she can not get a meeting with her father. A flashback shows that she works with her brother because she promised their mother she would look after him, but her 'message' for her father (punching a hole in his secretary's desk) leads into her inner life, which is conducted in a flashy underground fight club.
Nomi Marks (San Francisco)
Nomi learns that she has been marked down not only for non-consensual surgery, but also forced drug administration. The first attempt at her operation is cancelled by a fire, possibly started by Amanita, and her doctor - who clearly knows more than he is letting on - describes her as being 'under quarantine'. The level of illegal is hard to judge here, but I'm guessing high.
Kala Dandekar (Mumbai)
We touch base with Kala this week, mostly to reference the fake drugs which are making Capheus' mother even more sick. This is part of a general thesis of human interconnectedness underlying the particular interconnectedness of the Sensates.
Riley Blue (London)
Riley is marking time, finding shelter with a friend and establishing a little backstory about her time in Iceland.
Wolfgang Bogdanow (Berlin)
Wolfgang takes a turn in the box this episode, with no scenes at all.
Lito Rodriguez (Mexico City)
Lito learns that Daniela is not just keen to be a gay couple's bessie, but also trying to duck a clingy ex. The ex, Joaquin, turns up at the set and insists on taking Lito to lunch, where he displays an unnerving knowledge of how to kill a man.
Will Gorski (Chicago)
Will recalls dreams in which he saw, as a child, someone being lobotomised (quite possibly in the same procedure planned for Nomi.) A girl in the dream - revealed in Will's police standard issue obsession file to have gone missing at that age - tells him not to look; 'that's how they found me.' Not sure he did the right thing, he tries to talk to Jonas, but he is being taken away by Homeland Security.
'Smart Money's on the Skinny Bitch' pays its dues in general storytelling, but its crowning glory is the spectacular final set piece where Capheus draws on Sun's abilities to defeat a gang. It is also hinted that his sudden and uncharacteristic decision to fight comes from his connection to Sun and the buried rage she has clearly been itching to unload on her brother's smarmy, sexist business partners. As well as a solid action sequence, this is the first chance the series has taken to really dive into the meat of the Sensates, and what makes them both powerful and dangerous, the pooling of eight sets of skills and knowledge coupled with the transfer of emotional states.
A couple of the stories are marking time this week, and Mexico still feels disconnected from the others, with Lito alone having made no significant contact with the other Sensates. Nonetheless, this was a good episode and redresses some of the balance from the last, which was very focused on the white folks.
As a random observation, I keep wanting to talk about 'last week', even thought the episodes aren't released weekly.
No comments:
Post a Comment