"Sense8" Season One Review

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Sometimes the only way you learn about a television show you're missing out on is by word of mouth and that's exactly how I discovered Sense8. It came highly recommended to me by several friends and trusting their judgment, I made a point to check out this show and I'm glad that I did. At times I found this show a little bit polarizing, but also extremely brilliant. So with that in mind, let's look back at the freshman season of the series, and all the good and bad that came with it. 

The Good: Let's start with the obvious...this is a damn original concept. To unite eight strangers by way of an evolutionary change in our genetic makeup is nothing short of brilliant. We get the mysticism of psychic abilities with a heavy dose of science fiction and the concept alone had me excited to watch this show, but it only got better from there. After all, characters matter most and Sense8 features perhaps the most diverse set of characters on television in history. I mean really, I cannot think of a time I've truly seen people from all walks of life be represented in a show and we get it here and man, those characters are rich. The acting in this series was top notch and their stories were nothing short of fascinating. 

Not to mention, I love the villain as well. The fact that Whispers happens to be a Sensate and hates his species and wants nothing more than to see his own kind wiped off of the planet is an interesting twist and one that I wasn't expecting. It gave a story that appeared to be some kind of sweeping superhero tale at first a special kind of grounding since the whole thing boiled down to a celebration of life and the beauty of it.

The Bad: At the same time however, the show's greatest strength was also its only downfall. Granted this didn't ruin the show by any means, but it did endanger it. At times there was too much of a focus on the characters, to the point where the plot didn't advance at all. In fact in the middle of the season the show managed to stumble into a simple pattern. Recap and resolve the events of last week, spend more time wondering if the characters are crazy or not because they can see and hear one another and then a taste of something big to come. It became quite frustrating simply due to the fact this original an idea and this special a concept deserved a little more care. 

The Verdict: In the end however, Sense8 completely redeemed itself, getting back on track and finally realizing its potential in the latter half of the season. I am still in awe of how seamlessly these characters can interchange between one another's lives and use their special talents to save people. They may not be able to fly or have super strength but these are definitely a new breed of heroes and I want to see where else this story plans to go. Hopefully Netflix gives this series a green light for season two and we can return to the world of the Sensates sometime soon.  Until next time. 

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