Sense8, the embattled Netflix series that fans brought back from the dead last year, just delivered a rollercoaster finale worthy of the series.
The show whose message is one big metaphor for human interconnectivity on a global scale divides watchers into only two camps: Those who savor every minute that the Sensates demonstrate the depth of their love, loyalty and devotion to one another, and those who shake their heads at the plot and ask: how does this make any sense?
Oftentimes, it does not. That’s understandably maddening to those who feel as though a show ought to hew more closely to the logic of its own plot if it’s going to stray into metaphysics with its characters. But that’s also beside the point. Time and again, Sense8 defies common sense to keep the action going so that the characters can have more time to reveal what it means to share the thoughts and feelings of others, and to sometimes literally see the world through the eyes of someone who shares none of your history or makeup.
For those coming serioisly late to the series, the Wachowskis’ show centers on eight individuals who suddenly realize they’re connected to each other, although they’re from different parts of the world and have never met. There’s a Chicago cop named Will, (Brian J. Smith), Kala, an Indian doctor in Mumbai (Tina Desai), Sun, a Korean martial arts expert and business woman in Seoul (Doona Bae), an Icleandic deejay named Riley in London (Tuppence Middleton), a German safecracker from Berlin named Wolfgang (Max Reimelt), Nomi, the San Francisco trans hacker (Jamie Clayton), a Nairobi bus driver named Capheus (Toby Onwumere) and Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), an action hero movie star in Mexico City who’s both gay and closeted as the series begins.
What makes Sense8 the must-watch show of the last five years is that in nearly every frame, cinema visionary Lana Wachowski (she of The Matrix and Cloud Atlas films) moves heaven and Earth — and literally plays with time and space — to show audiences that the cultural differences between us are not nearly so strong as the human ties that bind us together from cradle to grave. It’s a stronger message than any that progressives managed to put out during the 2016 election cycle, and certainly in diametric opposition to anything put forth by the Trump camp.
This finale was meant as a thank you to the fans who clamored for the show not to be cancelled on a cliffhanger. This is their reward. But so long as you-know-who is in the Oval Office, don’t we all deserve an opposing view to his xenophobia?
Also check out: What LGBTQ Readers Will Find in Mark and Jay Duplass’ “Like Brothers”
Last modified: April 2, 2019
