Sensing a stronger season for Netflix's original series.
I’m not sure I always understood what happened during Sense8's second season, which leans heavily into the conspiracy theory plot the show started exploring late in its inaugural run. But I never much minded — season 2 is such a beautiful examination of the themes of love, human relationships, and what identity is that the messy or less enthralling moments are worth pushing through. Giving into some of the nonsensical aspects of the show’s mythology, rewarded me with a better paced, more action-packed, and emotionally dynamic 10 episodes.
Sense8’s season 2 picks up not long after season 1, as the eight main sensates — characters psychically (and also somewhat physically) connected to each other — are still hiding from Whispers (Terrence Mann) and the mysterious organization BPO. That cat-and-mouse game, which has no shortage of twists to it, mostly comes in fits and starts at the beginnings and ends of episodes. It’s fun, wild, and gives the season and individual episodes form. Some of the cliffhangers do end up feeling too much like wheel-spinning stops along the journey meant to keep viewers binging from one episode to the next, though.
That conspiracy plot does open the series up to plenty of more action, however, which is something the show’s co-creators, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, have plenty of experience with. Hand-to-hand combat has a much bigger presence this season, in part thanks to Sun’s (Doona Bae) plot, which finds her still confined to prison at the start of the season.
What makes Sense8’s combat so dynamic, other than strong stunt coordination, is a hallmark of the series — its editing. The central idea that the eight connected sensates can not only communicate but in some ways inhabit one another leads to gorgeously edited sequences, both combat-focused and otherwise. Sense8 fashions almost musical movements out of fights and even simple expositional scenes, as the show cuts from Kala (Tina Desai) in Mumbai to Capheus (Toby Onwumere) in Nairobi to Will and Riley (Brian Smith and Tuppence Middleton, respectively) in undisclosed locations while hiding from Whispers.
But Sense8 doesn’t resign these characters to their individual settings. They’ll pop up in the locations of one another, sometimes next to them, sometimes becoming them depending on the situation (Lito’s expert bartending skills are called on by another sensate late in the season, for example). In the wrong hands, it could be chaotic and confusing, but the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski have a firm handle on their vision and who these characters are that this hallmark of the show's style is repeatedly, and powerfully, employed.
Season 2 makes good on the promise of season 1’s interconnectedness, and to an extent the ambitious, similar attempts made in the Wachowskis’ film Cloud Atlas, by making this style of editing and the importance of the sensates relationships with one another central to every episode. Season 1 eventually came to this revelation, but it’s omnipresent throughout these 10 new episodes. (And be warned — Sense8 is not a show to jump into with season 2. Though it may be better, the first year is necessary to understanding the show. For more on it, read IGN's Sense8 season 1 review.) The second season is all the better for it, in part because the love these characters share for one another, both familial and in some cases romantic, is key to every interaction.
Will and Riley’s relationship, as well as Wolfgang (Max Riemelt) and Kala’s repressed love, are still central to the main sensate cluster, but the show continues to pair of characters in fun ways. Lito (Miguel Angel Silvestre) and Sun have such opposite personalities that they're a joy to watch bounce off one another, while Will and Nomi (Jamie Clayton), who share an investigating nature, excitingly collaborate during some of the season's most tense moments.
The season also brings some of the non-sensates who matter to those in this cluster more so into the fold. Nomi’s partner Amanita (Freema Agyeman) has a much more prominent role in the group, and the team is made all the better for it. As the show continually folds the plight of these individuals’ lives into the experiences of the other sensates, it becomes a stronger exploration of identity. Who are these people now that they have this unique connection to others living in entirely different circumstances, and how does that influence the people they’re becoming?
The show investigates that question of identity with a loving, positive touch. It's the loving bonds these characters share that saves them, both literally and metaphorically. Sense8 is at its best when these stories crisscross, when the emotional pains and triumphs are shared across the world via these eight people with fascinatingly diverse backgrounds and identities. Despite their differences, they learned in season 1 to care for each other because of this unexpected link, and season 2 takes full advantage of that world building to focus on the group as a whole.
Time is still spent on each of their individual plights — Capheus takes on a bit of celebrity in Nairobi, while Kala’s uncertainty over her arranged marriage continues, and Lito deals with what coming out as gay means for his career as an action star. (Capheus is, of course, played by a new actor this season. Onwumere is fine in the new role, though there’s a certain exuberance to Aml Ameen’s performance I miss.)
The singular stories for the most part, even with season 2’s smaller episode order, feel stretched too thin across the entire season. And when their lives are at stake one minute, it can feel silly worrying about much smaller scale crises a couple of scenes later. Those more human problems are most effective when they involve the sensates working together, but as much as I appreciate the central cast’s work, their individual stories can still come across as padding between the truly moving aspects of the season.
Luckily, those moments are not in short supply. The conspiracy plot can be nonsensical but entertaining, and the concept of sensates is expounded upon as the group learns of more people like them out there as well as their history in regard to Angelica and Jonas (Daryl Hannah and Naveen Andrews, respectively, both of whom play important secondary roles this time around). The season also makes intriguing use out of exploring extensions of their gifts. It all gives the show even more of an X-Men vibe, one that fits well into the positive, inclusive viewpoint of the show.
The Verdict
Sense8's second season takes the building blocks of season 1 and develops it into a wild ride, continuing the show's beautiful cinematography from around the world while spotlighting a delightful ensemble cast. The result is a season that is as affecting and fun to watch as it can be puzzling to follow. Yet, ultimately the show's positivity and desire to promote human connection and acceptance shines through. Sense8 season 2 can be crazy, hilarious, joyful, silly, and powerful — just like life.
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