Let’s Talk About That Sensational Show, Shall We?
It is not without bitterness that I wish to talk about the second season of Sense8 and about the show in general.
As we all know, Netflix announced a few days ago that the show would not be back for a third season, as of now without explanation.
When I watched the first season, it took me until episode three to actually get into the story and wanting to understand it better. And then of course the end of episode four happened, and I fell in love and finished the first season in a couple of sleepless nights.
I was so excited when it was announced that we would get a 2016 Christmas special, to help make the waiting more bearable. I will admit that after watching it for the first time, I felt unsatisfied, I expected more, because even though it was a two-hour special, it did not move the story forward – in fact, it felt like two hours of stagnation without proper development, despite of course a wonderful directing and soundtrack. Nevertheless, I was still happy because we got some new Sense8.
When the second season got released exactly one month ago on Netflix, I dedicated two days to watching the episodes and I was not disappointed at all.
I thought Lana Wachowski did a tremendous job, especially when knowing that her sister Lilly withdrew from the project and she had to manage practically everything on her own. I cannot pick one or even two favourite episodes simply because each one contains significant and epic lines, scenes or shots. I, however picked a few favourite scenes, which are the following:
- As the Christmas special is part of the second season, I picked the Birthday Party simply because we were, once again, shown how powerful the bond of the Sensates is, and that even though they are eight individuals, they are also “a we” and “one”.
- All of the fighting scenes involving Sun, particularly the ones when she – and subsequently the whole cluster almost died from hanging. It felt so intense I think I stopped breathing with them. I also loved the cemetery scene when she was challenging Detective Mun. They are Ying and Yang, Sun and Moon, and it is beautiful to see Sun finally being challenged and admired by a man for who she is, knowing how badly she suffered from misogynist behaviours in her corporate life.
- The montage of Wolfgang visiting the cluster to “ask for help” his own way before meeting with Lila Facchini, a Sensate from Italy who is somehow obsessed with him and will not leave him be. He is the least talkative of the cluster, and one thing I love is that they know each other so well that one does not need to voice their concerns in order to be understood, especially someone as manly as Wolfgang who would never expressly ask for help.
- The Protests montage between India/Kenya/Amanita being car chased in San Francisco. It was probably the second most tense-filled moment of the season when I actually wondered: “Is someone about to get hurt seriously?” I honestly thought something would happen to Amanita, but knowing how important she is and the value she brings to Nomi’s cluster, I knew this could not actually happen.
- Nomi’s father standing up in front of the FBI agent saying “Take your hands off my daughter”. Six words that made me tear up and still give me chills when rewatching the scene, simply because there are many transgendered, and more generally, LGBTQ people in the world, struggling to be accepted by those they love. It was empowering and truly a lesson of acceptance.
I could pick many and many others such as the moments involving our unstoppable epic trios Will-Sun-Wolfgang/Lito-Dani-Hernando, but those are the five moments that echoed the most.
As a hopeless romantic, I loved the significant development of Kala and Wolfgang’s relationship at the end of the season. I was worried when I saw that they kept them on the backburner with few scenes compared to the other romantic pairings, but then it slowly progressed, even though I got a little bored with Kala’s indecisiveness which, inevitably, would have hurt both of the men, had she not taken a decision (Pretending isn’t a life, right?).
I also loved the scenes between Will and Riley, clearly showing that the romantic bond is heightened when they are together physically. I definitely consider them the ‘parents’ of the cluster.
As Wolfgang and Kala were finally and officially together and ready for the next step, which was hopping on a plane and meeting in Paris (thank you Rajan for buying her an apartment in one of the most romantic cities in the world), Lila had other plans for Wolfie and sold him to Whispers, who had him captured and tortured by the Biologic Preservation Organisation. The season ended with the seven members of the cluster being finally together in the flesh in London, on a mission to save Wolfgang.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room – Netflix officially announced that Sense8 would not be back for a third season. Although there has not been an official explanation, Brian J. Smith aka Will, implied that the show was too expensive to produce and the number of viewers was not enough to support such a big global production.
From a financial perspective, it is justified, from a moral one, not so much, especially knowing the huge impact it had on people globally. Among the eight characters there is at least one you can identify with. Not only that, but cancelling it when it ended on a big cliffhanger, but also while being introduced to other members of clusters around the world calls for at least a big movie to conclude, if not a full season to explore the story of Homo Sensoriums deeper. Besides, now that the members of our favourite cluster are all together in London, the filming location could be reduced to Europe.
I consider Sense8 more than a simple show. Besides being ambitious, diverse and inclusive, it is bold, it touches upon subjects that might be uncomfortable to talk about, but still are important to discuss. It also brings many stereotypes to light, and uses those to twist them and turn them into something we would not have expected but works so well. In the current tense political and societal landscapes, it is important to remind people that diversity is what makes us rich from the inside.
Could Sense8 be the first show saved by Netflix?
While waiting for an official explanation, there is a widely spread petition which has been signed by +400,000 fans from across the world, and it has been launched less than a week ago so it is not crazy to believe it could reach half a million by the end of the week.
In the meantime, you can still stream the 23 episodes of Sense8, and if you are not watching it yet, maybe this will help you decide.
