Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers. They are anomalies that can’t be explained by logic or science. They are as follows: Will (Brian J. Smith), Riley (Tuppence Middleton), Capheus (Aml Ameen), Sun (Doona Bae), Lito (Miguel Silvestre), Kala (Tina Desai), Wolfgang (Max Riemelt), and Nomi (Jamie Clayton). They are all of different ethnicities and backgrounds. In the wake of a tragic death they all have foreboding experiences. With each episode that passes by, they find themselves growing more and more psychologically and emotionally connected. While trying to work out the reasons behind this, a stranger called Jonas (Naveen Andrews) tries to help the eight.
Each character seems to have adopted a different genre. Wolfgang for example has taken the gritty crime thriller genre. He’s a fighter and has knocked people senseless throughout the series more than once but he’s also a thief. A good one at that. Lito on the other hand is a famous actor being followed around by his co-star who is obsessed with him. Their story is a bit like a really bad soap opera but with the Wachowski charm. Then there’s Will. A cop from Chicago in love with Riley from London. This is the textbook long distance romance. The Wachowskis direct the season, as you can see in their attention to detail and great uses of slow motion. They shot in eight different countries across the world including: America, India, England and Germany to name a few.
Naveen Andrews plays Jonas in Sense8
The acting performances from the cast were awesome and I had no premeditated judgements as they were unknown to me, which I liked. With a lot of movies and television series, there is one or two standout actors that you can pass judgement on before you see the series or movie. This time I was surprised and I was glad that they had cast so well for each of these characters. The fight scenes from Sun were something to behold. They are akin to another Netflix series, Marco Polo. I felt like I was in 13th century China witnessing a brutal punch up but done with the most elegant and graceful way possible. It was done with such precision, and I felt that I was under a spell.
Sense8 talks about current world problems as well like women being inferior to men in places like India and Japan. Kala is forced to marry someone she doesn’t love, with her family’s backing, and there’s no way she can get out of it because cultural norms. In these countries, people marry for political gain, money or social standing. Many marriages are arranged from the time couples are born and married when they both come of age. Also there’s gay rights with the scenes with Nomi and Amanita (Freema Agyeman) at Pride. Lastly there’s Sun who goes to prison for her brother who stole from their father’s company, getting a lesser sentence because she’s female.
I believe that Sense8 is one of the best series of the century. The cinematography and filmmaking is irrelevant in what I am about to talk about. It gives us a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. To love, to feel, to hate. All these characters feel each other’s happiness, sadness or sensations but other emotions are also on display such as: guilt, fear, shame, disgust and envy. There aren’t many shows (if any) that show humanity in such a focused form.
In conclusion, I incredibly enjoyed this series and I really want this to be called for a second season. It made me see how vulnerable we are, yet our humanity isn’t something to be feared or hidden, it is something to be celebrated. The only qualm I have with the series is with the introduction. Despite the beautiful shots of the cities, the intro could be shorter.
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