Sense8 Review: Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes (Season 1 Episode 11)

As far as penultimate episodes go, this one is pretty standard.

Sense8, “Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes” gives us more set up than actual payoff in a lot of ways, which for once is completely appropriate since the finale is right around the corner.

The one plot that does get paid off in a big way? Capheus’ confrontation with the Superpowers gang and Abaka. After refusing to turn Amundi over to them to ensure his own mother’s safety, Capheus is stunned to find that they’ve managed to kidnap Abaka. Things get even worse when they hand him a machete and order him to deliver the fatal blow.

Capheus has been in a constant state of limbo this season, hovering between one life or death decision and the next. First it was the choice between working for a criminal or seeing his mother slowly fade away. Then, whether or not to hand over an innocent child in order to keep himself and his family safe. Now, it’s the immediate fight or flight decision. Him or me.

Predictably, the noble Capheus decides to risk his own life rather than kill Abaka.

Let’s just be grateful that Sun was in a murdering mood after finding out that her brother had killed their father in order to keep Sun on the hook for his embezzlement crimes.

Sun: Call me bitch one more time.

That vengeful wrath we see from Sun was later anchored with what is potentially my favorite scene of the entire season.

Desolate and afraid after sending Wolfgang off to his death, Kala visits Sun in prison, likely drawn to the similar kind of turmoil raging inside her.

Their conversation, while short, plays perfectly on the themes of the overall narrative; the ways that different people have different strengths, while still having so much in common on a deeper level. Kala is the perfect embodiment of gentleness. A healer, a believer, and a genuinely kind soul with her heart on her sleeve. Sun is her opposite. A fighter, a realist, and for the most part, emotionally closed off to the world around her.

And yet Sun is the one to put Kala’s wave of emotions into perspective.

Sun: This is what life is. Fear. Rage. Desire. Love. To stop feeling emotions, to stop wanting to feel them… is to feel death.

As we build towards the finale next week, there are two major confrontations left to pay out: Wolfgang’s revenge for Felix, and the race to save Riley from BPO and Whispers.

The latter is by far the bigger and more interesting plot, so I can only assume that the majority of our time will be spent in Iceland rather than Germany. As Will heads off to save the love of his life – and the rest of his cluster by extension – you have to wonder if maybe he’s playing right into Whispers’ hands. If Jonas is truly on their side, then there is a change of survival. But if he has in fact been allied with BPO this whole time, like Yrsa implied, then Will and Riley might be snared in a trap more deadly than they ever imagined!

Other Thoughts:

• More air kissing! We really should get our romantic sensates on the same continent soon to avoid these kind of awkward situations…
• Poor Sun, she just can’t catch a break!
• Amanita’s matter-of-fact acceptance of all the weird shit that goes on around her gives me life.
• Where the hell was Lito? I miss him already!

Where do you think the finale is heading? Sound off in comments below with your thoughts!

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Sense8 is available for streaming on Netflix.