Sense8 continues to dazzle by blending science with fiction, but its commentary on the human condition is what connects with audiences

The Show: Sense8

The Network: Netflix

The Genre: Science Fiction

The Challenge: Give a show four episodes with which to draw you in, impress you, challenge you, make you feel something deeply. Four episodes for the chance to find out if you care what happens to the characters you’re watching enough to become invested in the story. If after all that, it does none of those things for you? Then no biggie. You gave it a good shot and you can move on. But if you love it, you’ll be glad you stuck around.

The Premise: In one of their latest forays into the science fiction arena, Lana and Lilly Wachowski give us Sense8, a series about a world where homosapiens are not, as believed, the top of the evolutionary tree. Instead, a growing secret minority of homosensoriums, or sensates, are fighting a dangerous war for their right to exist. Hunted by a well-funded and resourceful organization called BPO, who have recruited other sensates to find them, the clusters of eight hide in plain sight to avoid capture. When one particularly talented sensate named Angelica “births” her final cluster prior to committing suicide, she activates the psychic connection between eight individuals from across the world. Slowly, the sensates discover not only what they share with one another, but what they are capable of doing as a group. Along the way, they are assisted by Jonas, one of Angelica’s original cluster members, as they try to stay one step ahead of their nemesis “Whispers” and out of BPO hands.

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In Season two, our sensates continue to strengthen their bond even as the individual lives of the eight begin to tear apart at the seams. With political turmoil, religious conflict, governmental interference, and homophobia just the tip of the iceberg for the cluster, Will and the others must go on a journey to find others like them in hopes of using their numbers against Whispers and BPO. Sense8 was created by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, and J. Michael Straczynski. It stars Toby Onwumere, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai, Tuppence Middleton, Max Riemelt, Miguel Angel Silvestre, and Brian J. Smith, with recurring guest stars Freema Agyeman, Terrance Mann, Naveen Andrews, Daryl Hannah, Erendira Ibarra, Alfonso Herrera, Max Mauff, and Michael X. Sommers.

The cluster is a microcosm of the challenges of being human today

While all of The Wachowskis’ projects have provided social commentary through the stories they tell, Sense8 has clearly been the most personal of them all. With a diverse cast from all over the world, many representing the LGBT perspective, Lana and Lilly Wachowski set out to highlight the societal conflicts we see today. Along with J. Michael Straczynski, they created Sense8 with one idea in mind, which he explained in an interview with Independent:

“One thing that the three of us have in common is the belief that tyranny succeeds when it manages to divide us along gender, party or other lines. We feel strongly that we’re better together than we are apart, that what binds us – the common coin of our shared humanity, our dreams and hopes, is stronger and more important than what divides us.”

While many of the individual struggles are still present in our sensates’ lives, season two takes the cluster (and us) out into the world. All sensates are discriminated against by those who see their differences as deleterious to society. This is a story many minority groups know all too well. Capheus is thrust into the political arena because he stands up for the injustices against his people, but just as with real challengers to the parties in political power, he becomes a target for manipulation. Kala is caught, as many are, in the middle of a battle over religion, and her life and conscience hang in the balance. Wolfgang tries desperately to stay on the straight and narrow, but between his name and his past, he is in a constant fight to stay alive. We are given a glimpse into the current state of our world and asked to take action just as our favorite sensates do.

They must see beyond the cluster to find meaningful purpose

For most of the first season, we watched our sensates discover their shared consciousness and learn to wield it to help each other. While they always knew there were other clusters that came before them (e.g. the one that housed Angelica and Jonas), we watched as they chose to remain isolated so that they could better understand what was happening to them. However, their introversion also worked against them, as they did not have the support network necessary when Whispers and the BPO came knocking at their front door. Jonas did his best to help, but while under the strict watch of their enemies, he could only warn them of impending danger. It was only after the capture of Riley that the cluster came together for the first time as one cohesive mind, and what they accomplished by doing so made it clear they were not to be underestimated.

Will: “Nothing changes if we keep playing it safe…Whispers showed me something. Something I’ve been missing. It’s the scale of this fight. Why does BPO have so many resources? It has to be because there’s a lot more of us out there than we thought. We need to find them.”

Sun: “You can’t win a fight protecting yourself.”

Nomi: “Your life is either defined by the system, or by the way you defy the system.”

Wolfgang: “Fear never fixed anything.”

Riley: “Tonight I want everyone in this room to know…I see you. I believe in you. And as long as we’re together, I know there’s nothing we can’t do.”

Unfortunately, their actions have resulted in renewed interest in them, and they must all be on constant guard. After Will has a harrowing deadly encounter while trying to meet with a potential ally within BPO, the sensates realize they have poked a sleeping bear. While this cluster is particularly well equipped to go against the secret organization, they also know it’s about more than protecting themselves. They have to take down BPO so that no sensate anywhere has to live in fear. With Wolfgang’s chance meeting with Lila in Berlin, our favorite homosensoriums will be looking for new allies in hopes of gaining answers. What Sense8 does here is to point out that there are many others who are similarly affected by the things we face. Just as the eight come to realize they must fight not just for themselves, we’re asked to do the same.

The eight of them build on common ground rather than draw battle lines

In the case of our sensates, their cluster is young and inexperienced. From what we have learned, most new sensates have the guidance of the people who birthed them. While Jonas has done the best he can, it cannot replace the mentoring of an entire parental cluster. This means that a great deal of season one was the sensates focusing on themselves while questioning what was happening to them. Nomi fought against her own family for her right to exist, Wolfgang’s hand is forced after Felix pays the price for their heist, and Riley wallowing in isolation as a witness to a crime that she cannot escape from. While they did have shared moments, each of the eight remained self-centered out of necessity. As time progressed, we began to see pairings that appear within the cluster as individuals emotionally connected, leading to the eventual formation of their bond.

“Who am I? Do you mean, where am I from? What I one day might become? What I do? What I’ve done? What I dream? Who do I love? I guess who I am is exactly as who you are. Not better than. Not less than. Because there’s no one who has been or ever will be exactly the same as you or me.” - Lito and Capheus

By the time season two starts, our favorite cluster has successfully rescued one of their own and finally deciphered the secret of their shared extraordinary ability. They know what makes them so formidable together is the wealth of knowledge, skill, and experience between them. The eight sensates choose to see the differences in their skin, culture, and language as an boon, one that that they take full advantage of when facing their new dilemmas. In no scene is this more perfectly demonstrated than when Lito and Capheus are both being interviewed by reporters. The resulting speeches are breathtakingly poignant, because we know that each sensate contributed a piece of themselves. Here, Lana Wachowski reminds us that everyone shares the same hopes and desires, and just as the cluster found power in acceptance, we can reap the rewards if we do the same. We don’t even have to be a sensate!

Final Verdict: Sense8 season two uses the momentum built by its predecessor to take us on a trip across the landscape of the modern world - and we’re buckling in!

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Sense8, it’s that the show packs an impressive amount of social commentary in each episode. While we still get to follow the individual stories of our favorite characters, season two invites us to engage, as the eight sensates do, in the big world around us. It’s not enough to stick to what is comfortable and safe; you need to go out and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. The cluster has come to this conclusion, and we suspect that the rest of this season will reveal just how they go about changing the world. While some of the themes and issues raised in the first four episodes may be difficult for some, we think they make season two just as important. Binge watch it, spread it out, but don’t pass it by…it’ll blow you away!

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We think it would be an interesting wrinkle to see conflict within the cluster, something that wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility with that many people involved. Who is trustworthy when BPO has a habit of turning them against each other? Will they find another ally within the organization before Whispers gets to them? How many others will join their cause? Could anything drive a wedge between Riley and Will? Is there still hope between Kala and Wolfgang? How epic will the gay pride parade be when - because we know he’ll say yes - Lito agrees to be the grandmaster?

WE MIGHT NOT BE SENSATES, BUT WE CAN STILL BOND WITH ONE ANOTHER!

We insist you watch the first four episodes for a shared experience, and then come back for Sense8 cast interviews, a season two final verdict, our choice for season scene stealer, and so much more!