Sense 8 (2015-?)

Network:

Netflix

Creators:

J. Michael Straczynski

Andy Wachowski

Lana Wachowski

Starring:

Aml Ameen

Donna Bae

Jamie Clayton

Tina Desai

Tuppence Middleton

Max Riemelt

Miguel Ángel Silvestre

Brian J. Smith

Plot:

A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world’s order.

Review:

First, this review is not based on just the pilot. Normally I’ll watch a pilot episode, decide if I’m at least mildly interested in the show and then give it three to six episodes to catch me. I would not recommend that for Sense 8, you really need to watch all the episodes to make that decision.

I loved Sense 8 and I’m on pins and needles waiting to hear if Netflix has renewed it. I’ve talked myself down several times already with assurances that Netflix is willing to try new things and was aware that the show was pitched as multiple seasons. Still, I’m on edge.

I can completely understand if you watch this and end up not liking it. Sense 8 is not for everyone. The pacing is slow, it’s very much an origin story, and it’s almost all character building.

I flip flop between who my favorite character is, Lito, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, is awesome and I love his partner. Van Damm, Aml Ameen, is hilarious and so much fun to watch. Then there’s Wolfgang, Max Riemelt, who’s the troubled bad boy that doesn’t believe he deserves love. There are some characters I don’t like as much, but none that I out right hate.

The pacing did get annoying at times. It was pretty slow for a show that is twelve episodes long. There was a lot of information that they were feeding you, though. I wished there was a bit more action and I thought the action they did show wasn’t on par with other Wachowski movies. Of course this wasn’t a movie and they had to deal with a smaller budget and actors who don’t necessarily have fighting experience.

I could easily see this becoming one of those things that people either love or can’t make it through. It’s almost like Jane Eyre in that the first three hundred pages can be a little dry, but then it starts to really pick up. The first eight episodes are a lot of information and unanswered questions, but by episode nine things pick up. A little. When it ends there are still a lot of questions unanswered, but they’ve also answered a fair amount too.

I really enjoyed this show and would highly recommend it, but I’m not going to be mad if you don’t like it. Just give me some good reasons, though.

5/5

EDIT: So happy this was picked up for a second season!