TV #23 of 2017:

Sense8, season 2

I have the most mixed feelings about Sense8. On the one hand, it’s like no other television show out there, and I feel like it gets at some really profound truths about living in a networked society where your friends around the globe can be there for you at a moment’s notice. (Or at least, that’s my favorite take on the show, that the internet provides this extra texture to sociality that we can bring to our daily experiences now, and sensates are just a heightened way of representing that on-screen.) Plus, the show really has improved a lot as it’s gone along, although occasional episodes still stumble here and there.

On the other hand, those stumbles are often massive, as in the case of the season 2 finale that basically offered no resolution to any of the ongoing plot or character arcs for the season except for maybe Nomi and Amanita. (But their biggest moment was two episodes ago at the wedding, really.) And after 23 episodes – likely an entire day’s worth of storytelling, given the typical episode length – there are still really basic worldbuilding points about how sensate powers work that are very unclear to me. And they still haven’t made the whole BPO conspiracy at all compelling as a plot engine, but the writers just keep going back to that well over and over again without ever fleshing it out further.

So… mixed feelings, like I said. I love so many things about this show, and I’m really happy to hear that it’s coming back for a 2-hour special. But I hope the writers really take their time on that, to deliver a product that resolves all of the lingering threads from this season and can stand as a satisfying series finale if it ends up being the last we see of this world.

★★★☆☆

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