On top of the truly impressive acting, the sex scene at the end of episode seven showcases the physicality of emotionally-invested sex in a way thatās uncommon even among shows with relatively explicit love scenes.
In most shows that depict sex, there is a close tie between the charactersā level of emotional connection with the act and the extent to which the act itself is framed by the camera as either inside or outside the bounds of the mundane. This makes senseāa high emotional connection to the experience can draw sex closer to the realm of the sacred, while the lack thereof makes sex the means to satisfy a physiological urge. A good cinematographer will frame the sex scene accordingly.
(Aside: I am purposely drawing a distinction between connection to the experience of sex and connection between the *people* having sex. That distinction isnāt necessarily relevant here, but I do think that itās important for accuracy.)
A high-connection scene normally uses soft, warm colors. The camera angle is tight, causing the actors to fill the screenāreducing the world to this space, this moment, these people. There is an emphasis on faces and hands. The soundtrack rises with the action on-screen, priming us for the emotional climax (but perhaps not any physical one).
Often, though, the emphasis on emotion in a high-connection sex scene is paired with a de-emphasis of physicality and even a mystification of physical intimacy. It is as if showing the ādirtyā parts of sex could take away from the emotions on display, moving the scene towards mundanity. So bodies are presented as titillating, but details may be obscured or softened. The soundtrack replaces any sound more graphic than a moan. Climax itself is often skipped over. (This is in contrast with a low-connection sex scene, which treats bodies matter-of-factly and often emphasizes both the repetitive motions of sex and climax as its end point.)
This weekās sex scene gives us all the framing of a high-connection sex scene paired with all the physicality that such a scene normally skims overāand ties that physicality directly to the emotional intimacy.
When Kinn first touches Porsche, it is desperation begging to be understood; desperation that is apology and comfort and possession all at once, a plea that cannot be fully spoken and must instead be felt.
Once the plea is metāonce Porsche turns around and shows that yes, he understands, he still wants to be part of thisādesperation melds into relief and gratitude, urgency now tinged with delight.
These grins mark successful physical communication, joy in each otherās presence and in the mutual discovery of pleasure. The tight framing around Kinn and Porsche (and their reflections), the focus remaining almost entirely on their faces, and the soft bright blur of the background behind them visually set the emphasis on their emotional connection during the sex. Meanwhile, the motions of sex, the audible slap of skin, the way every sound is breathed into each otherās mouths, the very moment of releaseāall of these graphic details, so often occluded from high-connection sex scenes, tangle into the wordless communication taking place. They do not shift the sceneās overall focus from emotional to physical. They do not carry even a trace of the mundane. Instead, they contribute to the emotional intimacy, making the scene rawer and more intense than it could have been without.
