Let’s just get this out there: I really fucking liked this show.
I first heard about Sense8 from a podcast in which it was talked over briefly as one of Netflix’s new series. Honestly, I didn’t even know they had new series, other than Daredevil, but apparently they did. Then I heard of a couple of friends who’d watched it. When I started going into Netflix for my Sherlock and OITNB binges, I noticed it there in their Original Programming list and decided to earmark it. My husband was away and checked out the first episode (letting me know it was NOT fit for child consumption, by the way), and I cemented my decision for it to be the next show I ventured into.
To be sure, the beginning is a little rough. We’re in some weird location and Daryl Hannah is filthy and crazy and odd shit is going on, and if I didn’t know the premise of the story going in — that there will be eight primary characters in the series who can share each other’s minds, abilities and feelings, in addition to being able to have telepathic conversations with one another and to take over each other’s bodies — I would’ve been lost. It’s a lot to follow. And for the first couple episodes, it’s almost too much. There are too many characters and everything is sort of scattered and the purpose and intent of these people and all the different events in their lives is unclear to say the least. By episode three, however, things start to rapidly fall into place, and I was glued to the action.
Sense8 works best when the players are interacting, and in episode three when Sun (Doona Bae) shows up to help Capheus (Aml Ameen) fight off some dangerous guys, it’s a really exciting moment. And as the action and the conspiracy or whatever it is to silence the sensates comes to light and more and more the sensates are called upon to help their brothers and sisters, the moments only get more and more exciting — especially as they all become more accustomed to and accepting of these new abilities and their new brethren. The more and more they interact, the better the show gets, and the moments when they are all connected together — singing “What’s Going On,” the scene in the orchestra with the memories of their births, and the rescue of Riley (Tuppence Middleton) from that nefarious Icelandic facility — are the high points, emotional and affecting and thrilling to a fault. Even just scenes when many are involved, like Sun and Will (Brian J. Smith) and Capheus helping Nomi (Jamie Clayton) escape the police, or the fireworks, or that unbelievably hot sex scene, are ballsy and cool and fearless. Not everything works, particularly concerning whatever nefarious forces are hunting them or the logic behind it, but it really doesn’t matter. Sense8 swings for the fences, and that’s the way you hit home runs. Sense8 hits a lot of home runs.
On top of all the amazing things the show does with plot, it’s also one of the most diverse and interesting casts ever in a TV series. And not just in the even split of men and women among the group, or their races or countries of origin, but in who they are and what they do. One of my favorite moments is when Riley asks Capheus if they’re in Africa and he scoffs, “Africa?? Kenya. Nairobi.” Because not all Africa is the same thing. And when asked about big TVs in the ghettos, he plainly states that a bed in the ghetto simply means you wake up in the ghetto, but a TV can take you anywhere.
As my husband said, the characters all feel very authentic, and no one is a joke or a caricature. Nomi is transgender and fought a huge battle to get herself there, while Lito (Miguel Angel Silvestre) is secretly gay in a world where he’s sure his homosexuality will ruin his career (though neither character’s life is treated as outlandish or mocked in any way). Sun and Kala (Tina Desai) are trying desperately to be good daughters. Wolfgang (Max Riemelt) and Will are disappointing sons. Capheus lives in a deadly dangerous environment. And Riley has suffered a past more painful than anyone should ever endure. And yet it’s comforting and more than a little reassuring for each of them to know the others are out there, whether to simply lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on or to literally help save them from peril. They all have strengths, they all have weaknesses, they are all capable, and they all falter. They’re all so incredibly different, but also very much members of the same human experience.
The advantages of being on Netflix, for a show like Sense8, are innumerable. It’s able to be graphic and bold, and Netflix has a lot of room to be experimental with the kind of content it produces. Episode length can also vary as needed — not significantly, but if a few extra minutes are needed here or there, it’s not an issue — and almost nothing is off-limits. The births scene, in particular, is incredibly graphic and unexpected, but also amazing and fearless. It’s not exploitative, but it’s also not shy. Same goes for the sex scenes and the nudity. And the finale is fucking badass. For a pair like the Wachowskis, who blew away the entire world with the work they did on The Matrix, this feels like a return to innovative, compelling form. I hope to see many more seasons of it.
Sense8 is available exclusively on Netflix.
Viable Option 