Happy F*cking New Year is the first episode and season premiere of the second season of Sense8. It was released ahead of the rest of the season as a two-hour Christmas special.
Synopsis[]
Scandals, surprises and celebrations deepen the Sensate's bond as they work to rebuild their lives and outmaneuver Whispers.
Plot[]
The special opens with a montage of Kala swimming in Positano, later joined by Wolfgang and the rest of the cluster. The opening montage shows Nomi and Amanita doing laundry; Riley and Will liquifying heroin; Capheus carrying a jug of water; Sun languishing in solitary confinement; Lito taking selfies in his bathtub; and Wolfgang drinking alone at a bar.
It is soon revealed that the US government is still searching for Nomi when Agent Bendix questions Amanita about Nomi's whereabouts, to which Amanita pretends she doesn't know. The conversation shows that the search has been long and unsuccessful and the government is resorting to monitoring Armanita's phone and Bendix threatens to imprison her if she does not disclose Nomi's location.
Sun is training in her cell, punching and kicking the wall. A guard walks by and tells Sun to quit hitting the wall, that it was government property. An agitated Sun provokes her by giving the wall one kick, adding more time spent in solitary confinement.
The punching reaches Wolfgang in Berlin, whom comments that his knuckles feel as though he has been punching a wall. He sits beside Felix's bedside, waiting for him to wake as he comments about his actions from the previous season finale. He peers to the hallway and sees Kala walking by with shopping bags in her hands. They share a glance but do not utter a word or a noise. They continue their days separately, Kala walking back to her place in Italy.
Hernando stands in front of a crowd of seated students, lecturing them on how art can be found in anything. During this lecture, the students are mass-texted an edited and published photo of Hernando and Lito's having sex. The collective whispers and murmurs leads Hernando to halt his lecture and ask what the gossip was all about. One student in particular answers by projecting the image onto the screen. The class chuckle, but Hernando is off-put. He, however, turns it into a part of his lecture by asking the student, Mr. Valles, what he sees as "art."
"Shitpacker porn." As the class enjoy a laugh, Hernando goes on with an explanation, in which he himself sees it as an act of two men making passionate love, caught deeply into the act that they are unaware of the camera. He adds that with things such biases and prejudices, one observer's view of the image can be entirely different from another, telling Mr. Valles that is the reason he sees "shitpacker porn."
Class bells ring in the school, and Lito embraces Hernando, telling him that Joaquin kept his word and released the pictures.
While sleeping, Will, in a drug-induced state, has a dream of Angelica. He finds himself sitting next to her, visibly drained and drugged. She asks Will if he was a cop, continuing that she was an ecologist whom saw beauty in everything. As she speaks, Angelica injects herself with heroin and lies stretched on the mattress, moving her hand to carry a hidden revolver. Angelica then tells Will that he knows what to do to protect his cluster; she takes the revolver into her mouth and fires a shot.
Will weeps, but he takes the revolver, confused and hopeless. Soon, he, too, points the revolver into his mouth and tearfully fires. He abruptly wakes up, waking Riley by his side. She tries to calm and comfort him.
In Seoul, Sun is paid a visit by a new attorney. When she asks what happened to her old attorney, the man says that there was a conflict in interests; though she questions him and he reveals her brother threatened him.
In San Francisco, Nomi waits for Amanita to come home at the Women's building they are hiding out at. Lito visits Nomi, telling her he is scared and wondering if she had faced the same response when she came out of the closet. Lito, with Hernando and Dani, are surrounded by paparazzi at Lito's apartment overseeing the word 'Faggot' spray-painted across the garage door. Flashing to Kala in Positano, Rajan tells her he knows there's something wrong. She attempts to explain to him what is happening to her regarding being a sensate, though Rajan brings up how he had contacted her mother regarding them not yet having sex. Lito and Kala berate Rajan as the cluster all flash into Lito's car seeing words that they all feel negatively towards. Rajan apologizes.
Kala visits Sun, slightly confused to why she is there. Though Sun believes she understands how visiting works, Kala makes a comment that her visitings have been complicated and inconsistent. She soon reveals that she is afraid to experience sex for the first time.
Sun shares a story of a man she once fought in a tournament by the name of "Woojin." The story goes that she fought in the hopes that her father would allow her to continue fighting. Despite winning the tournament, her father forbid her from entering any further matches. Weeping silently in the locker room, Sun sees Woojin sit beside her and congratulate her for the match, telling her she was one of the best fighters he has ever fought. Staring into each other's eyes, Sun kisses him, soon peeling off one another's uniform and exposing their naked bodies for intercourse.
She tells Kala that it was that moment that she learned more about Woojin than she ever had in a hundred fights, added that sex is nothing to be fear but to honor.
Kala gets herself ready to have sex with Rajan while Wolfgang searches for someone to hook-up with on a dating app. Lito and Hernando proceed to go into a bathroom stall and have sex while Nomi and Amanita strip down at their picnic to have sex as do Will and Riley in bed. The cluster joins Nomi, Lito, Will, and Riley as they have sex.
Preparing for sex with Rajan, Kala tries to feel sexy in the mirror. Feeling ready, she leaves the bathroom and is abruptly visiting Wolfgang whom is seen having loud, rough intercourse with his date for the night. She closes the door and reopens it to a bored Rajan. At first gaze, he drops his phone, telling her that she was beautiful and that nothing would make him happier... except the words "make love to me." Climbing on top of Rajan, they share a kiss; again, she visits Wolfgang. They have a small inquary, Kala asking why he keeps distracting her and Wolfgang wondering how the situation is his fault.
The mood is eventually lost on Kala. As she tries to leave, Rajan makes an attempt to bring her back into bed, collapsing and rupturing a vein in his penis.
Kala sits beside a hospitalized Rajan after the events a night ago. A doctor walks into the room, greeting them and asking how the couple were doing. While the doctor tells them that Rajan only ruptured a vein, he speaks about worse possible outcomes from what happened. Kala asks the doctor what are some remedies she can do to speed the recovery; the doctor tells her that love heals all aliments. After the doctor leaves, Kala tries to comfort Rajan, giving him a kiss on the lips. Sighing in pain, he tells her that her love gives him pain.
Arriving at their place, Hernando, Dani, and Lito find themselves stuck outside, Lito's room code not unlocking the front door. When Lito buzzes in to fix the issue, the man behind the microphone informs them that the room code had changed, that a letter had been delivered to his room that addresses the issue. The man, obviously nervous and unable to handle the situation, glances at the cameras, gestures to go away at the televisions, then walks away from the microphone.
Lito attempts to shatter the glass down, charging shoulder-first. Rather than break, the glass doors bounce him to the ground, the actor in minor discomfort. Wolfgang appears, lifting Lito from the ground and asks for his house keys, detacting the rings from one another and using it to unscrew the code device next to the door. He unwires two different wires and begins to clip them together until a green light and a buzz could be seen and heard. Hernando and Daniela both express shock and amazement at this "hidden talent," asking how could Lito do that.
Courteously, Lito opens the doors, holding it open as Hernando and Dani walk in, championing him a hero. Lito thanks Wolfgang for stepping in, saying that it was good to see him again.
The trio reach their apartment, and as they step in, they all are distraght. Hernando reads the letter mentioned that sits at the top of the first flight of stairs.
After avoiding Agent Bendix, Nomi and Amanita leave the women's shelter and migrate to Bug's boathouse to seek shelter. While the place appeared disgustingly messy, the girls choose to rest in a smaller space over "Bug's Love Nest."
Rajan and Kala return to Mumbai, India, and pick out a new home to start their own family. A glance at the pool, Kala was briefly reminded of Wolfgang before she is called over by her husband.
Wolfgang and Felix walk back to Wolfie's place after drinking in a pub. Noticing the pin removed from the door frame, Wolfgang gestures Felix to remain quiet, arming himself with a sidearm before sommersault into his room and immediately pointing his gun at one of the henchman nearby.
Returning home, Capheus recognizes the black car to be Silas' and becomes skeptical. Inside, he joins supper with his mother, Silas, and Armondi. Here, Silas informs them that he plans to run a clinic for the people in the area. Capheus believes it is only to juggle drugs through without suspicion.
A friend of Riley's briefly visits her and Will, bringing in drugs (Nacron) and a phone to call Will's father.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Doona Bae as Sun Bak
- Jamie Clayton as Nomi Marks
- Tina Desai as Kala Rasal
- Tuppence Middleton as Riley Blue
- Toby Onwumere as Capheus Onyango
- Max Riemelt as Wolfgang Bogdanow
- Miguel Ćngel Silvestre as Lito Rodriguez
- Brian J. Smith as Will Gorski
- Freema Agyeman as Amanita Caplan
- Terrence Mann as Whispers
- Naveen Andrews as Jonas Maliki
- Daryl Hannah as Angelica Turing
Guest Starring[]
- Purab Kohli as Rajan Rasal
- Max Mauff as Felix Berner
- Alfonso Herrera as Hernando Fuentes
- ErƩndira Ibarra as Daniela Velazquez
- Paul Ogola as Jela
Co-Starring[]
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Uncredited[]
Sensate Connections[]
Music[]
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode runs for 124 minutes and 1 second, making it the longest episode of the original season. It is later surpassed in length by Amor Vincit Omnia.
- The title originates from Wolfgang telling his cluster "Happy Fucking New Year" after surviving an attack due to their help.
- The episode was titled A Christmas Special at first, but was renamed shortly after its release.
- The following locations appeared in this episode:
- The episode is sometimes considered separate from the second season because it's a Christmas special, but J. Michael Straczynski clarified that it is the first episode of the season and was filmed along with the rest of the season.[1]
- Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer make a brief cameo appearance in the final scene with Wolfgang and Felix.
- The episode reveals insults that deeply upset each member of the August 8 Cluster:
- "Bitch" for Sun.
- "Nigger" for Capheus.
- "Freak" for Nomi.
- "Slut" for Riley.
- "Pig" for Will.
- "Virgin" for Kala.
- "Faggot" for Lito.
- "Nazi" for Wolfgang.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Memorable Quotes[]
See Also[]
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
Season 2 | |||
#01 | "Happy F*cking New Year" | #07 | "I Have No Room In My Heart For Hate" |
#02 | "Who Am I?" | #08 | "All I Want Right Now Is One More Bullet" |
#03 | "Obligate Mutualisms" | #09 | "What Family Actually Means" |
#04 | "Polyphony" | #10 | "If All the World's a Stage, Identity Is Nothing But a Costume" |
#05 | "Fear Never Fixed Anything" | #11 | "You Want a War?" |
#06 | "Isolated Above, Connected Below" | #12 | "Amor Vincit Omnia" |
<< Season 1 |