S02.E04: Polyphony

[Athena]

Quote

Kala and Capheus are caught in the middle of angry protests. Lito looks into a journalist's disappearance and uncovers new info on Angelica's cluster.

[Helena Dax]

Lito crying at the museum made me laugh.

Inspector Mun is supercute. I hadn't recognized him as the boy who got beaten by Sun until the flashback. I'm enjoying Sun's storyline a lot. 

The helmet young Whispers was wearing looked like the helmet McCoy used in "Spock's brain" and I think that's beautiful. I also loved the scene with the guy who had a crush on Riley, and everyone's reaction to that, especially Lito's. 

Tbh, I still don't understand what was going on with Angelica. 

[peridot]

That was a very hot cop chasing Sun, I didn't recognize him either.

Lito is so ridiculous and over-the-top, where does he even come up with these schemes?  "A terrorist who vandalizes art", so crazy!

[Mindthinkr]

The action scenes with Sun are awesome and I so felt her heart when her cellmate set her free to go clear her name. I also was surprised about the cop being her former rival at martial arts. Loving this season so far ( tho saddened at some parts). 

[tennisgurl]

I totally didn't recognize the cop as the guy who teenaged Sun beat at that tournament. I hope this means we see him again, he seems like he might be on the up and up, and he was SUPER cute.

I love that the cluster are interacting with each other more, and have gotten much more comfortable switching out with each other, like when Will was taking over questioning Raoul's father when Lito was talking to him, or when everyone was joking about how obviously jealous about Riley talking with her ex.

Also, I love that Litos contribution to the group tends to be King of Bullshit. Him screaming about terrorists destroying art and distracting security was amazing to behold. I think my favorite line of the episode was probably Kala`s "why is there a man with a machine gun following me around?" comment, even though it quickly got serious. I wonder if the whole issue with her father in law is going to tie into the rest of the plot?

So are they killing Jonas, or are they turning him into a zombie? Either way, it awful to watch someone get murdered or tortured and you cant actually do anything about it.

Edited May 6, 2017 by tennisgurl

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Also, I love that Litos contribution to the group tends to be King of Bullshit.

All those acting skills put to work! 

Cant really tell you more about the other points you made because I might spoil something for you. To me, it just keeps getting better. 

Here we are remarking on another series that doesn't have a lot of participation on the boards (like when we watched Love last weekend). 

[Ravenya003]

I saw the Korean cop and thought: "dammit, he's cute - why does he have to be bad guy?" And then he turns out to be Sun's first love! Well played, show. 

Every time Sun gets hugged I start crying. There's something about her performance that projects a woman who's never had much physical affection before (slightly OT, but it's the same vibe Jyn/Cassian had in Rogue One: when they embrace on the beach, you can just tell it's the first time they've been hugged in years).

Nomi shouldn't be that worried about Bug telling anyone: he could shout it from the rooftops and no one's going to believe him.

Lito at the museum was hilarious. 

Still miss the original Capheus actor - sorry new guy!

[mjc570]

I really liked the Korean cop being the boy from Sun's past - but wouldn't he have recognized her name?  She didn't enter the tournament anonymously, her father was right there in the audience.

Other than that minor quibble, a very enjoyable episode.  It seems like there is much more interweaving of the characters, always true to their natures. 

Kala - is stunning and apparently an intelligent doctor - so why is she always shopping (or at least being shown carrying multiple shopping bags)?  Just to show how rich they are?  Because that message has been received.

My faves are Lito, Hernando and Dani. 

[Chaos Theory]

On 5/7/2017 at 10:08 AM, mjc570 said:

I really liked the Korean cop being the boy from Sun's past - but wouldn't he have recognized her name?  She didn't enter the tournament anonymously, her father was right there in the audience.

She never used her real name (she didn't use it in the underground fighting either).  Her father barely acknowledged she was her daughter (but not sure about that).I think she used her mother's maiden name while fighting.    I actually think she used her mother's maiden name in the company as well but that might be just me mis remembering.  

It was a throw away line but I love that Amita was able to recognize what Riley looks like.  Its not just faith for her. The "Hey there's Riley." line made my heart swell a little.

I adored the look on everyone's face when Riley/Lito was causing a distration when Will was escaping.  

And yes I love that they finally told Bug the truth.  I think he deserves it.  Considering how much he has done for Nomi and how far back he goes in her history.  Hell he knew her when she was Michael they have a long long history.  I think Bug can be more then trusted with the truth.  Plus I love Bug. And his reaction was six kinds of awesome.  Actually I think I would react exactly like Bug.  Whoooooooooa!  Wow,  Thats like the coolest thing I ever heard.

I also really like the fact that Sun made some real friends inside prison.  I don't think Sun ever had any friends before this whole crazy whacked out adventure of hers started now she has people in her life which is so very new to her.  

Both sets of riots were exceptionally well done.  I don't think any "network" other then Netflix could have pulled two large scale riots off in a single episode much less in a single what amounts to an eleven episode season.  But the show did them both extremely well and at the same time did the Amanita's motorcycle chase and intersected them all very well.   Plus I really like the song choice.

Lito and Raoul's Father was a great conversation. I liked that Lito had a tough time admitting that he had been lovers with Raoul even though his father had previously stated that the truth was something that mattered to him above all else.  But wow was Raoul's story insanely sad.  

Edited May 9, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[Clanstarling]

On 5/5/2017 at 6:57 PM, Helena Dax said:

 I also loved the scene with the guy who had a crush on Riley, and everyone's reaction to that, especially Lito's.

That was my favorite, a moment of amusement for us. And I agree, Lito's dislike after his film was dissed was the best moment.

On 5/6/2017 at 5:59 AM, Mindthinkr said:

The action scenes with Sun are awesome and I so felt her heart when her cellmate set her free to go clear her name.

Is it just me, or does it feel like the cellmate has become Sun's surrogate mother? I love their relationship.

I am more than a little confused about Angelica's cluster, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. It seems, with Angelica appearing to Jonas, and maybe Sarah, that there's certainly an implied afterlife for sensates, if no one else.

Loved Raoul's father and that very sad story.

I am really enjoying how much the cluster gets together this season. It's confusing some times, but nevertheless the interactions are great.

I thought I'd miss the old Capheus, but I like this guy and think he might just be better suited for the path they're starting him on.

Wolfie's story is still a little boring to me, even with the sensate tease. His friend is much more entertaining, but the night club scene just isn't doing it for me.

[darkestboy]

I really loved this one.

The Raoul storyline with Lito was my favourite of the bit and it was certainly tragic as hell. I really want to see more of him though.

Lila seems to be pretty open up about duality with Wolfgang and I liked that the latter told everyone else about her too.

Kala and Capheus's storylines playing out side by side was effective and Riley and her ex-boyfriend was interesting too.

The opening with Will's escape cracked me up and the last scene with Jonas was horrifying too.

Nice moments with Nomi/Amanita and I liked that the cop going after Sun was her former lover too. Great twist, 9/10

[jhlipton]

On 5/9/2017 at 2:09 PM, Chaos Theory said:

But the show did them both extremely well and at the same time did the Amanita's motorcycle chase and intersected them all very well.   Plus I really like the song choice.

I was sure that "Neets" was going to slam into a wall or something during the "Bullitt Chase" -- so very glad they didn't go there.

On 5/9/2017 at 7:42 PM, Clanstarling said:

His friend is much more entertaining, but the night club scene just isn't doing it for me.

Would you say that you don't give two Fuchs about it???  LOL

[Spaceman Spiff]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 8:57 PM, Helena Dax said:

Lito crying at the museum made me laugh.

Inspector Mun is supercute. I hadn't recognized him as the boy who got beaten by Sun until the flashback. I'm enjoying Sun's storyline a lot. 

The helmet young Whispers was wearing looked like the helmet McCoy used in "Spock's brain" and I think that's beautiful. I also loved the scene with the guy who had a crush on Riley, and everyone's reaction to that, especially Lito's. 

Tbh, I still don't understand what was going on with Angelica. 

It reminded me of something Walter would have had on Fringe.

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, jhlipton said:

I was sure that "Neets" was going to slam into a wall or something during the "Bullitt Chase" -- so very glad they didn't go there.

Would you say that you don't give two Fuchs about it???  LOL

HA! Indeed I would. :)

[kieyra]

This one felt a bit slow to me. I know not every episode can be cranked up to 11 all the time, but the very long sequence of Sun doing (yoga?) intercut with more Kala/Wolfgang avoidance was annoying to me. It was a rare misstep of blending multiple threads. Maybe because I was far more interested in the latter, so when they kept switching back to Sun it was like someone was changing the channel back to a wellness television commercial while I was trying to watch a different show.

The riot buildups and the Raoul stuff all felt like it went on too long also. 

Again, I know it can't be all actions sequences and orgies all the time, and I know they have to lay some story foundations, but I just didn't care much about Raoul's father, because I barely know who Raoul is. 

Capheus feels like he's on another show. He doesn't bring much to the cluster unless they need a driver, and his storyline happens in isolation. It makes me wonder why, when they're facing this terrible threat, they don't try harder to unite in the physical world. Kala's rich and Nomi's a hacker, surely they could pull together the resources for passports and airline tickets, and maybe a good lawyer for Sun. I mean, I know it would blow the whole "global" premise of the show, but they could still have people move around on the map. 

Can someone remind me if Lito's bf and Dani have any idea about the sensates?

[Mindthinkr]

3 minutes ago, kieyra said:

Can someone remind me if Lito's bf and Dani have any idea about the sensates?

At this point I don't think that Lito has come clean to either of them. 

[jhlipton]

1 hour ago, kieyra said:

It makes me wonder why, when they're facing this terrible threat, they don't try harder to unite in the physical world. Kala's rich and Nomi's a hacker, surely they could pull together the resources for passports and airline tickets, and maybe a good lawyer for Sun. I mean, I know it would blow the whole "global" premise of the show, but they could still have people move around on the map.

Indeed.  If Lito came to the US, his orientation wouldn't matter squat (as Neil Patrick Harris proved as Barney).  Just like that, he could be making action flicks again.

[kieyra]

3 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

Indeed.  If Lito came to the US, his orientation wouldn't matter squat (as Neil Patrick Harris proved as Barney).  Just like that, he could be making action flicks again.

I didn't even think about that part, although I feel like it came up during the Christmas special. (Honestly can't remember if the show adddressed it textually, or if someone posted it here.) I was thinking of the people in more immediate dire straits (Sun, Capheus*, Kala to a lesser extent). Plus just wanting to have safety in literal numbers, rather than visiting/sharing. But I guess that would take away from the magic of the show. Still, even a temporary meeting between some of the more far-flung members would be its own thrill. I guess what they have surpasses normal human contact, but remember when Will and Riley finally met in "real life"?

(* I'm aware that my own US-centric biases may be making me less interested in the Africa storyline than in the US and Europe ones. I've just never found anything to connect with. I do keep trying.)

[Rinaldo]

8 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Indeed.  If Lito came to the US, his orientation wouldn't matter squat (as Neil Patrick Harris proved as Barney).  Just like that, he could be making action flicks again.

I would say that what the example of openly gay Hollywood actors proves is that if you come out publicly, you'd better kiss the dream of "action hero" or "romantic hero" goodbye and settle for being the fun or sensitive or creepy secondary character. There is still no example of an out gay actor being cast in a big-box-office leading role. (Even with Barney, whose sexual conquests were played comedically, Harris came out only midway through the show's run; we'll never know if the network would have approved his casting had the public known about him before it started.) Of course none of this is officially stated: there's always another reason not to cast someone. So Lito might be a little better off in the US, but only a little.

[Mindthinkr]

16 hours ago, kieyra said:

but remember when Will and Riley finally met in "real life"?

Anyone remember what episode that was? I'd like to go back and rewatch. Thanks. 

[kieyra]

16 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Anyone remember what episode that was? I'd like to go back and rewatch. Thanks. 

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but after a quick Google I'm starting to wonder if I made this up, or juxtaposed it with one of their non-RL ("visiting") scenes. I'm not sure they meet in RL until Will goes to Iceland and Riley is already out of her mind (1x08). I've love to be wrong but I'm probably not. :\

[Mindthinkr]

Thank you. Although I like to go back and rewatch, I usually do so in binges; although I remember the most of the content , I forgot which episode I saw it in. I've seen many people on the board comment on it and for some reason it wasn't 'stand out' in my mind. (Lol...I might have gotten interrupted or was multitasking) I'm going to go back and rewatch that and then all of season two again. 

[kieyra]

3 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Thank you. Although I like to go back and rewatch, I usually do so in binges; although I remember the most of the content , I forgot which episode I saw it in. I've seen many people on the board comment on it and for some reason it wasn't 'stand out' in my mind. (Lol...I might have gotten interrupted or was multitasking) I'm going to go back and rewatch that and then all of season two again. 

If you've seen someone besides me mention a Will and Riley "RL" meet that wasn't while they were under fire in Iceland, maybe it really does exist. :) I'll probably rewatch S1 after S2 (I'm going through S2 somewhat slowly). 

[kieyra]

Just following up. In S1, Riley goes from London to Iceland, where she is taken ill at the concert. She and Will DO have a very intense first time RL meeting while she's semi-conscious in the hospital. I hadn't remembered that scene very clearly, I thought it was basically full heist mode, but they do pause to examine the emotional impact of their being in the same room together for the first time, even if Riley isn't fully awake for it. 

[ahisma]

I love Min-Jung (and Mrs. Cho). Such awesome friends! I'm sorry it looks like they are phasing out. I like the addition of detective hottie, though!

Love the Raoul storyline. His dad is awesome. I hope they can get him some answers. 

Bug is hilarious, full stop. 

Jonas, nooooooo! :-((( Last of his cluster.

Lila creeps me out. I'm glad Wolfgang didn't pull any punches with his questions. Can she now stop sliding all over him every time they meet? Bleh. It seems like luck of the draw, whether everyone in your cluster is cool. Our heroes are all a great group, super supportive no matter their differences. But there was that fundamentalist Christian in Angelica's cluster who was freaked out. Whispers is obviously a grotesque sellout. And, yeah, I'm not trusting Lila.

So far, the there seems to be a theme of "politics" underlying this season, the way "drugs" underlay season one. Capheus, Kala, Wolfgang...and possibly Sun, soon. It hasn't hit every character, yet, but with small-P politics affecting BPO it generally affects all of them. 

[Danny Franks]

Love Lito's flair for melodramatic acting being used to cover Will's escape. He cracks me up. And I loved it when he immediately decided he didn't like Riley's ex, because he called Lito's movies "cheesy". It did take me a second to figure out that it was Lito-as-Riley, at the art museum. Even when you know how this show works, the way characters inhabit each other can still throw you off at times.

Kala was looking absolutely incredible at the art exhibit. Tina Desai is just ridiculously beautiful, and the chemistry between her and Max Riemelt is palpable. Not sure about Rajan's sleazy buddy. He's obviously bad news in some way, but whether it's just because he's a threat to Kala's (unhappy) marriage, or a threat to the sensates, I don't know. He was confirmed as gay, right? So maybe he and Rajan were once involved.

So Bug finally knows about the sensates, and actually handles it fairly well. It's nice that Nomi has two people who know the truth, and support her fully. Especially when she couldn't even rely on her parents to support her when she transitioned.

I'm trying to apply the Hinduism vs modernism to the real world, because my very elementary knowledge of Indian politics tells me that Modi actually promotes Hindu nationalism, and is as far from a secular moderniser as you could find. So is Rajan's father an opponent of nationalism? He doesn't seem to be painted that way.

Capheus moving into socio-economic issues is interesting. Loved his bus driver analogy. And he's got plenty of charisma and integrity, I can see why people would be drawn to him. I'm convinced now, by the new actor. He's got the boyishness, but there's also a strength to him that I don't think the previous guy had. I can't see the Capheus of season one giving that response in that interview, and being as convincing.

Freema Agyeman looked good on that motorbike, but the chase scene seemed like it only existed because someone said 'we need some more action, for this montage'. There was no pay off to it.

The more we learn about Angelica's first cluster, the less I like her. It's looking like she sold them out, either deliberately or accidentally, and set them up to be experimented on. Was she coerced by Whispers? Tricked? Or was she a willing partner? And now it looks like Jonas is the last one, and it's caught up with him.

Sun being tracked by a cop who is actually the boy she had sex with as a teenager? That's too much of a fortunate coincidence for me. I don't like it when writing feels too much like writing. I'm not really feeling her story, to be honest. It just feels like it's not playing into the larger scheme of things, like everyone else's.

[Lady Calypso]

This was a strong episode. They pulled more focus on the characters that didn't get all that much story in the first season. Seeing more of Kala and Sun is always appreciated, seeing where Capheus' story is going is something that I'm interested in now (way more than last season's gang wars; this one at least looks like it'll incorporate more), and Nomi and Neets are my favourites by far. 

Bug knows the truth now! I was with Nomi for being worried about telling him, but I do think he'll come through. He's just overly excited and in awe. I just hope it doesn't lead to him accidentally saying something to someone that he shouldn't. 

So, the Korean Cop is Sun's old lover as a teenager? He's really attractive, I will say that, and he seems like a good guy for now. He could be a solid ally for Sun. Speaking of allies, it sucks that it seems like Min-Jng and Mrs. Cho are being written out. It was nice for Sun to have allies to help her escape, though.

I thought Raoul's story was very sad. I was surprised at how emotional I got by the time the phone call flashback happened. Hopefully his father can get closure soon. 

Seeing the intertwined riot scenes and Neets' motorcycle chase might be one of my favourite scenes. They really captured the fear, the unknown, and the claustrophobic feel of the entire sequence. I'm becoming more interested in Capheus, and the actor is doing a solid job with the direction they're taking him. 

I really felt bad for Jonas. I'm not convinced he's dead yet, but he'll be dead very soon if they don't help him. Yet all Nomi, Will, and Riley can do is watch, which has to be difficult. 

We're finding out more about Angelica and her cluster, and I think it's pretty clear that she caused a good portion of this mess. At least, that's the feeling I've got. I've always been confused by her goals and what she stood for, so at least we're getting a clear picture now.

[AllyB]

What do people mean by Anjelica and her cluster? Angelica was part of a cluster consisting of her, Jonas, the guy being experimented on in the video (I think) and 5 others. She also birthed a cluster consisting of Raoul, the unhappy Christian guy and 6 others. Then before she died she birthed our core 8. She may also have birthed any other number of clusters, just like her and Jonas' 'father' who had 80 'children,' meaning he'd birthed 10 clusters during his life.

[Clanstarling]

Good reminder, AllyB, of how widespread Angelica's "family" is/was.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Gotta love how polite the Korean police are. Even as they're chasing down an escaped prisoner, they're still referring to her as Ms. Bak.

I wish Min-Jung weren't so cavalier about her life sentence and the assumption that they can't do anything else to her? Woman, haven't you been paying attention to what's happened to Sun? They can put you in solitary. They can let the other prisoners beat you up. Someone could hire assassins to kill you. They could torture you. They can make the rest of your life miserable and painful. Why not spend your remaining years somewhere that isn't prison?

Mrs. Cho is awesome. "I think he's sleeping." Ha!

Bug took the news about the sensates pretty well. It made sense that a hacker saw the cluster as being similar to a computer network.

On the one hand, I totally get continuing to live your life because that in itself is a victory when a creepy international organization is after you. But isn't going on tv risky for Capheus and hence the others? I'm not saying that they all need to be in hiding like Nomi, but avoiding unnecessary publicity seems like the prudent thing to do (which is why Riley turned down the opportunity to DJ).

Lila admitted that BPO isn't after her because she struck a deal, yet for some reason Wolfgang isn't running in the opposite direction.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who had safety concerns about the pills that Croome gave to will. I wanted to high five them when they decided to get them tested. I loved when the others started popping into the lab while Riley's two friends discussed the pills and then started questioning her relationship with one of them. Hilarious that everyone said they didn't trust him except for Lito who said he was hot - until he called Lito's movies cheesy.

I really want to know more about the other clusters (particularly Angelica's). I'm glad that Lito went to see Raoul's father even though he knew it might be weird. He's lucky that his dad was so open and willing to share what he knew. I know that if my kid disappeared and some random person knocked on the door years later wanting to talk about him, I'd be a little wary.

So Angelica going to Chicago had to do with BPO sterilizing sensates AND she was with Raoul. So did she turn him in/capture him for Whispers? Was she just trying to stop him from getting any further with his story? She let him call his dad before they turned him into one of the Whisper Killing Zombies and it looked like she was crying, so was she regretting her decision?

On 5/11/2017 at 7:26 PM, kieyra said:

Sun doing (yoga?)

She was doing tai chi.

On 5/19/2017 at 8:04 AM, Danny Franks said:

Not sure about Rajan's sleazy buddy. He's obviously bad news in some way, but whether it's just because he's a threat to Kala's (unhappy) marriage, or a threat to the sensates, I don't know. He was confirmed as gay, right? So maybe he and Rajan were once involved.

He's definitely bad news. One of Kala's friends referred to Ajay as wicked and she didn't sound like she was joking at all so I guess they all know he's an ass. He also said that he wasn't at their wedding because he had business in Seoul which is too coincidental so I'm assuming he's either connected to BPO or Sun's brother. Either way - not good.