So I finished watching the first season of Sense8 a couple of days ago, having done my usual thing and blitzed through it all in one sitting.

It's a show about a group of eight people from all over the world who become telepathically linked after being 'awakened', all of them seeing a vision of a woman committing suicide. Over the course of the series they become more capable and comfortable with using their new connection, being able to share skills and knowledge, and even temporarily possessing each other in situations where it becomes necessary.

Given that I'm a huge fan of the whole hive mind concept, there was no way I was going to skip this once I heard about it.

Now, the first thing you realise after starting the series is that it's progressive. Extremely so. I think it's the first series I've watched that stars a transgender character and you're first introduced to her having sex with her girlfriend. This is probably the least unusual of all the sex scenes in the show, which include everything from a loving, gay couple up to a telepathic orgy. I'm still not quite sure what to think about it all.

The characters themselves seem pretty realistic, though the dialogue can become a bit preachy in places, and they run the gamut of personalities. Lito, for instance, is a closeted gay actor living in Mexico City and struggles with never being able to be honest in public. Capheus, on the other hand, is always honest and about as carefree as you can get when you live in Nairobi with a mother who is dying from AIDS. It makes for some interesting scenes where each of the 'sensates' call upon the others to help them when they face a challenge that they would be unable to overcome.

The only real negative, in my mind (YMMV on the sex scenes) is that the series seems to be more about setting up the relationships between the sensates than about making a coherent, overarching story. Each of the plotlines for the characters progresses fairly well, but the major antagonists play a fairly minor role until the very end. Oh, there are also a few scenes that had me thinking that the creators had diverged from reality for the sake of plot, especially in regards to Nomi (the transgender character) in episode 1 or 2. There was a point in the cop's storyline where I thought the same thing, but apparently that was a case of reality being unrealistic, and utterly depressing. You'll know the part.

So, has anyone else watched the series? Anyone thinking about it? It's a Netflix original series (like House of Cards) by the Wachowskis.

 

There are a lot of things that could be improved but I quite liked the show.

Mostly I found the pacing of the show atrocious for the most part. The resolution of the main storyline seemed to drag on forever because we had to follow each character's own subplot. While some were definitely interesting (Van Damme/Capheus, Wolgang, Lito and Sun) others were a complete bore ( Riley at first and Kala, dear god Kala).

The dialogue was also cringeworthy. Every single character seemed to have these little epiphanies about LIFE and tried to offer memorable quotes everytime they opened their mouth.


Some scene where the Sense8 connect/ syncronyze were also pointlessely extended( like the time where they all sing the same song).




But despite these flaws I still enjoyed the show. The concept is incredibly cool and I'll gladly watch the second season.

 

I watched it with my dad.

The first two episodes were weak. They didn't get me invested because the characters' storylines were just starting and weren't interacting much, but episode three kicked things into gear.

I was surprised at how likable all the characters were. Not just the Sense8 but their love interests and friends too. There was not one character I disliked (not including the ones I was supposed to dislike). That leads to the biggest thing this series does best- chemistry. I could take or leave characters on their own, but put them together? It was magnificent. They all bounced off each other, and I especially liked the chemistry between Nomi and her girlfriend. The season, however, didn't quite wrap up all the stories even though it was possible for it to do so.

The music was wonderful and I made sure to watch the opening every single time. It gave me shivers.

Plot holes started to pop up in the later episodes, but they were minor, mostly consisting of information gaps.

Spoiler

Like the actor, despite having the least to do with the hive mind activities, suddenly knows all about the hive mind and what was going on without anyone filling him in.

The biggest thing I didn't like about the series were the sex scenes. They really put me and my dad off in the first couple episodes, and when the telepathic orgy came on, we muted the sound and looked awkwardly in the other direction. It wasn't as bad as when we watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo together, but it was a turn off for sure. Oh, and before I forget, the birthing montage. That didn't need to be included even if it led somewhere important.

Either way, this series is unique, creative, and has excellent characterization. I can't wait for the second season.

Wachowskis. One of them's a woman now.

 

I liked this show, too! Yeah, some of it is cheesy, but it is stunningly filmed, and the characters are great, so I don't mind that much. The characters start off stereotypical to the point of seeming like a possibly conscious choice by the Wachowskis, and I am curious if it was a choice, or just them being cliche. Either way, I like the characters enough that the stereotypes don't matter much to me, and it's honestly amazing to me that there is such a diverse cast, period.

I love all of the characters, but Capheus is The Best, just saying. I like Kala, but I just don't care at all about her & Wolfgang vs her & Rajan....I'd rather she do her own thing tbh, and I was ultimately most disappointed in her storyline (perhaps because I had the highest hopes for her). I want more interactions between Kala & Capheus, Riley & Sun, and Sun & Capheus.

Hopefully we do get a season 2!

 

Binge watched it a while ago. Very enjoyable, though it is preachy and about as liberal as you can make a TV show. Its biggest issues came from the stucture as the show had three distinct directions that felt segmented instead of blending together:

1) Character stories. Just a window into the life. In most of these the characters stand on their own, except for the occasional time they borrow someone else's skillset/have a little bit of telepatherapy.

Lito's (by far my favorite part of the show), Sun's, Capheus' and Wolfgang's arcs. No details as I want to avoid spoilers and they're all enjoyable to watch play out.

2) Exposition stories. Nomi's, Riley's and Will's. Nomi is a bit of a straddler as her arc competently combines her personal story and the plot, Riley less so while Will's sole purpose of existence is to drive the plot.

3) Rounding out the cast (or why Sense8 sounds better then Sense7). Kala.. dear god Kala. I suspect her story resonates more with an Indian viewership but she feels less like a character and more like a diversity check mark with a heavy handed progress vs fundamentalism theme (one they didn't even pull of that well).

Overall, despite the nitpicking, a show that's very worth watching.

 

Oops. My mistake.

EDIT: Also, another thing I really liked were the joint singing sessions. Cheesy as hell, but hilarious all the same.

 

About time Aekkiel!

As for the show, I watched it in one setting (binge watching motherfucker) when it was released by netflix. There are a couple of plot hole, some have mentionned them before but they did not detract too much of the storyline so I was happy to simply shrugged them off.

It's a very progressive show, what with one of the character being transgender, another one a lesbian and two homosexual men. Personally, I have no problem with such things but beware id you're uncomfortable watching gay sex scene (as graphic as GOT letms say). When the orgy came on, I started laughing so hard. I think it was portrayed very well by the only character NOT in a good position to experience so much sexual stimulation...plus he was straight and was experiencing gay/hetero/lesbian sex. Anyway, it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

I liked the characters and their interaction. From Capheus firat time experiencing english tea with Riley to Will's reaction when he succeed in controlling the transgender (can'tremember her name sorry) for the first time. It was really interesting to see their different vision of life (Germany vs India - Narobi vs Korea).

I think the best part through it all is the way they portray the sensate connection. It never felt intrusive, like it was forced. The presence of the hive mind seemed natural and the way they played with the camera shot and different scenes are the highlight of the show for me. I really like the earlier scene when they didn't completely understand what was happening to them and how it was portray in the series (Song scene, Will and Riley bar scene, the wedding/pool scene, Sun and Capheus first fight scene, etc.) But also the one where they knew what was happening (Liti/Wolfgang - Concert scene - escape scene).

Overall, I'd say a very nice show well worth the time. Oh and let's not forget the good music!

 

I really enjoyed it...eventually. The first few episodes didn't really grab me, and if I'd been watching it on a regular weekly tv broadcast, I'd probably have given up. Once all the storylines were set up though, and the characters started getting interesting, I was hooked. It might have worked better if they'd focused on some different characters at first. Nomi's storyline was great, but Will and Riley were easily the least compelling characters at the start. To be honest, I'd cheerfully watch the series if you stripped out all the characters apart from Lito, Sun and Caephus.

Other than the slow start, I thought the arc plot took a little too long to get going, and when it did it was a little too vague imo.

Spoiler

What precisely was Whispers' goal? Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, but as far as I could tell he and his organisation basically went round finding (and possibly 'birthing') Sensates, lobotomising them and then...occasionally using them as disposable meat suits? Like I say, I might have missed something, but there didn't really seem to be any point to it.

 

@Shinysavage

Spoiler

From what I understood, he was part of a cluster at some point and instead of living in symbiosis with them, he tried to take control of them. I'm not quite sure if he was part of the woman (can't remember her name, the one that shot herself) cluster, but I'm assuming not otherwise he would've known where everyone else was.

Anyway, I'm assuming he tried to find a way to control the other sensate. Didn't quite manage with his own cluster, so he went on to find more test subject. So far, he knows that if he lobotomized certain part of the brain, he can take control. I'm assuming he's trying to take control over other sensate, but also their skills.

That's what I think at least.

 

Spoiler

I read that Whispers is killing Sensate because they're the 'next step of humanity' and Whispers wants to keep humanity as it is. So, sort of like the mutant / human conflict in X-Men, I guess.

 

Spoiler

I don't think we really know at this stage. Whisper's goals haven't been given much explanation.

 

I just burned through this in two days.

I really like all the characters, with perhaps the exception of Will and Nomi. They're okay... but I just don't find either of them very compelling. Capheus, Lito, Sun, and Wolfgang are picking up the slack though. Their stories are great, and the portrayals are even better. The guy playing Capheus is acting circles around everybody else on the show.

I can see the plot getting silly and convoluted down the road, but if they can deliver each episode with the same stylistic touches, I'll keep watching.

"He is Van Damme!"

Lost my shit.

 

Personally, I rather enjoyed it. Will eventually got a little boring and, like someone said earlier, only exists for the sake of the plot, I never got into Kala, and for the life of me I can't figure out just what the bad guy's motivation is beyond "next step of evolution is bad because Reasons". But the rest of the characters were all awesome. I especially like Capheus, Lito, and Nomi, along with the latter two's significant others.

 

I watched it in the few days following its release. My biggest problem with the show is that they all speak English instead of using subtitles, which is immersion breaking for me, but I eventually just got over it and learned to enjoy the show. The first few episodes were alright, and some of it seemed to be fairly unrealistic, however as the show went on it just got better and better. The mixing and melding of the diverse characters is definitely the focus of the show and by itself is enough to make it worth watching. Lito, Wolfgang, Capheus and Sun are my favorite characters. Any of their interactions with the other characters are very enjoyable and automatically awesome if it involves two of them, and I found all their individual stories entertaining. Nomi's pretty good. Riley is alright. Will and Kala are uninteresting.

Spoiler

Wolfgang and Lito's respective plots were cool, but once they merged, it was just full of awesome. When Wolfgang pulled out that fucking bazooka, Lito's reaction was pretty much mine. A Sun and Wolfgang combo vs. some baddies is something I really wanted (or even better Sun vs. Wolfgang, but that would pretty much be more concentrated bad-ass than I think reality would be able to handle). Maybe next season.

I wouldn't say this is the best show ever, but it was fun to watch and I would definitely recommend it unless you have very conservative views on sex and/or LGBT issues, because then this show isn't for you.

 

Just watched the first three episodes. Will definitely be continuing.

This is very true. If you're feeling so-so about it, give it until the end of Episode 3 where things start to gel. Honestly, 8 people is pretty ambitious for this kind of storytelling.

This is also very, very true. Whatever you want to call it - the spark, talent, charisma - he's absolutely got it. "Zero-to-hero" needs that kind of earnestness to get us to buy in, and he's got it in spades. Not sure I've ever seen him in anything before, but just after three episodes of this, I want to.

 

This is a great show. Wolfgang, Capheus and Sun are the best. Riley and Will bored the fuck out of me. Though Riley's flashback made me cry so fucking much. For some reason I didn't really care about Lito's story. His scenes with Sun were hilarious though.

I'm pretty sure he's not straight. Think one of the actors, or maybe someone else involved in the show, tweeted that they're all pansexual.

 

I struggled through the show.

I was hyped up by the premise. The concept of a hive mind and its repercussions are fascinating. But I found too much romance in it to keep me interested.

I wouldn't have minded a stronger focus on interactions between each other and the problems they would have faced as they realized the varied and sometimes strange thoughts that they have to encounter everyday. The romantic overtones most of the male-female interactions had was just plain boring. If they had for example, tried to elaborate on how a straight guy felt being part of an orgy with a lot of guys in it or how Sun felt on helping murder a bunch of guys, I would have enjoyed the show much more.

This season feels more like a prelude than the actual series. I hope to find more details as to why Whispers goes around killing the hive and to meet someone from an established group next season.

 

Show is renewed for season 2
http://www.tv.com/shows/sense8/community/post/sense8-renewed-season-2-netflix-143904894985/

 

Sweet. Maybe they'll actually do a good job of explaining the bad guy. Seriously, do they even have a motivation/goal besides "advanced humans bad"?

 

New season! Riley, Nomi, and Will continue to be pretty bland. Capheus, Sun, and Wolfgang continue to be fucking awesome. Sad they replaced Capheus actor though.