"Sense8" Recap: "Demons"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

This is going to be a vastly different recap for Sense8 today because well...I'm starting to have some concerns for this show. I like the characters, I think they are all vibrant and fascinating people. I like the premise, it's a unique idea to tie eight people's minds together.

There's a lot to like, there really is, but something is missing from the show and to me, "Demons" put that missing component for the show front and center. Was an awful episode? Not at all. It had its moments for sure. After all, Riley's story was pretty freaking intense. Sun and Capheus' story is getting pretty sorrowful as we watch them begin to regret their decisions and hey, the Sensates managed to discover that certain emotions and experiences, including the most sensual and sexual ones can be shared by all. 

But what is it that's missing from the show? Well...quite simply...a plot. I'm having big time trouble with the fact that they have set up this grand universe and did it in amazing fashion really, only to do nothing past that point. What happened in the first five minutes of the show was kind of a big deal, it gave us a grand villain, a purpose for the Sensates that would no doubt culminate into something epic. But...it hasn't. 

It's frustrating to say the least because while I have enjoyed a lot of what the show has thrown at us, I need more. I need the plot to get going and every episode seems to be cooking on the same formula. Resolve last week. Some stuff happens and the Sensates ponder over the fact that they are connected and/or might be crazy...set up what appears to be that greater purpose or hint at how important they are and fade to black.  Something has got to give at some point and what frustrated me the most about this episode is that the formula became a tad boring.

Now I get it. It's a new concept, a new type of show altogether and there are growing pains. This is clearly one of them, I was just hoping for something more by now. It doesn't mean I'm going to abandon the show outright. After all, I am six episodes in, halfway there and there's no going back now because I do want to at some point eat my own words and rave about the series as a whole. But as it stands now, "Demons" served as more of the same, and that's unfortunate because this is a show that can be so much more and I really do hope it finds its stride, soon.  Until next time. 

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