The Wachowskis' Sense8

Sense8 (Netflix Original, One Season + Christmas Special, 2015-6)



Anyone else watching this one? Geek legends The Wachowskis and  J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) join up for a globe-spanning tale of eight psychically linked strangers and the mysterious baddies intent on eliminating them. So far, however, it's been a mostly slow-moving melodrama with sprinkles of sci-fi rather than a sci-fi tale featuring melodrama. The last two eps of the first season definitely put the foot on the gas, leading to a heart-pounding climax, but the two-hour Christmas special released a few weeks ago slowed things way down again, advancing the various plots only a little. But the proper second season, coming out in May, might still continue the fast pace of the end of S1.

Anyhow, the acting is strong across the board, and the international location shooting is lavish enough to match any big-budget movie - no broadcast-style fudging here. The writing can be a bit blunt, but given the premise and tone, that's understandable. It's kind of a shame all the international characters speak English pretty much all the time, with the show "translating" for us instead of using subtitles, though that would be a commercially dicey proposition. And the first half of the first season definitely takes its sweet-ass time getting going, but the same could be said for multiple streaming series these days, especially Amazon's The Man in the High Castle. (Yes, there's definitely fan editing potential in trimming a lot of sloooow-moving storytelling and redundant scenes, whenever the show gets a blu-ray release, that is, but that would be a mammoth task indeed.)

Overall, I'm liking, not loving it, but the first season finale was indeed an epic adventure. When a thoroughly serialized show such as this pays off ten or more hours of storytelling in one big climax, the viewing experience can produce a rush I'm not sure I've ever seen the big-screen movies duplicate, with the notable exception of The Return of the King's struggle on Mt. Doom. (Broadcast TV, meanwhile, generally has to space its thrills out enough that it doesn't produce this effect, either.) And I certainly hope the actual second season builds on said rush, and keeps up a thrilling pace.

Anyhow, it's certainly good to see The Wachowskis doing solid work again. (I haven't seen Cloud Atlas, which likely has a similar tone to this.)

Thanks for the tip. The Wachowskis have a bit on an inverse-midas thing going on since 1999 but I'll give it a go because of Straczynski co-writing it all.

I've had this in my Netflix queue since it came out and never watched it.  Had no idea the Wachowskis were involved.

Be forewarned, lots of sex/nudity.

I was on the fence until episode 4 or so, and then something happened and I was sold. It's worth the investment.

Q2 said:

I was on the fence until episode 4 or so, and then something happened and I was sold.

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addiesin said:

lots of sex/nudity.

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The series was a slow build for me. The first three or four episodes I just didn't get what was going on. But by the end I was like "MOAR! MOAR!! MOAR!!!"

One thing I noticed (maybe): Sun never gets help from the other Senseates. She helps them kick ass a lot, but doesn't get help in return. Unless I missed something?

^ Not so much, no, but she does get a bit of assistance in the Christmas special.

Concluding thoughts: welp, I tried to stick with the show; I really did. Turns out, however, the Christmas Special wasn't a fluke - the first half of S2 is not only as slow as the majority of S1, it's a lot duller, as we've lost the mystery element of the sensates figuring their new situtation out. And while there's a throughline of tension/threat, the overwhelming focus remains locked on boooring melodrama that, despite all its screentime, remains undercooked. (I get the gist, but none of the substance, of the religious arguments in India, the gang war dynamics in Germany, or whatever the heck is going on in Africa.) Alas, at this point, I no longer care. Adios, Sense8.

Overall recommendation? The first season is worth a try, and, if one doesn't mind its slow pace, it builds to a satisfying finale. But, unless you love the characters and can't get enough of them, I'd say stop there.

It is a slow burn, but when you get to the action scenes they're spot on and flawlessly executed. But it can be a sludge to get to them. That said, the action and mystery surrounding what's going on, I don't think, was never the point of the show. Or if it was it became that when the Wachowski's took over. (That's what the second season felt like to me.)

The finale was good but pretty anticlimactic. I'm pretty sure the theme of the story is we are all interconnected and should love one another and let people be who they are to be happy, but when the initial story is all about the mystery and it's explained off in a moment of exposition, it kind of lost its way.