Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, join your cluster to discuss the Sense8 series finale, “Amor Vincit Omnia,” which premiered on Netflix in the United States on Friday, June 8, 2018.
Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but not necessarily a review. After all, while we are all individuals, even mutual love of something (or hate) can come from different places: you may find everything from critique to fangirling to maybe even hate-watching.
Now, join J.L. Gribble, Venessa Giunta, and Shara White as they talk about the Sense8 series finale. [Note: Spoiler-free for the series finale, but it’s probably best if you’re caught up on the show until then!]
J.L.: I shouldn’t feel cheated. Honestly, this series finale was more than we should have expected once the announcement came that Netflix had cancelled Sense8 for the obvious budgetary reasons. But I do feel cheated, because despite being over two hours long, this series finale covered material that should have taken two or three more seasons to explore.
So, it’s an interesting dichotomy. I feel selfish for complaining about what we did get, while at the same time, I wanted so much more. Either way, I absolutely believe the creators did what they could with the time and budget they had to wrap up as many lose ends as possible. The main one, of course, being Wolfgang reunited with his cluster. But everything else felt jumbled and unclear, from the weird technological corporation trying to use sensates for their own ends, to the shadowy organization running the corporation, to the equally shadowy organization within the sensate community. And let’s not even get started on some of the smaller plot lines that get short shrift, such as Kala’s relationship quandary.
Before you think I hated every minute of the finale, I absolutely did not. Seeing the cluster and their allies work together was a joy, especially the filming tricks that demonstrated how closer proximity did not mean the director and editors were ready to cop out on how the cluster’s sensate abilities allow them to communicate. There did seem to be a strange emphasis on reuniting the entire cast, including supporting characters from the previous seasons, but better to go out with a bang when you know this is your only shot.
And as a parting gift, we got the moments that made Sense8 stand out from the rest of the crowd. The requisite orgy, of course, but also the fabulous montage of everyone celebrating a down moment to shared music. From the first season, that was what hooked me on this ridiculous show, and I’m glad I got to see it come full circle.
As for the rest? Well, I suppose that’s what fanfiction is for.
Venessa: Oh, Sense8. I miss you already!
I wrote last year about Why the World Needs Sense8. Everything in that post is still true.
I was devastated when Sense8 was canceled, which is not an emotion I would ever have over a typical television show. But when Netflix announced they would be doing a 2-hour finale to give fans closure, I admit to experiencing some bittersweet joy. Joy because we would get a finale. Bittersweet because it was a finale.
The show ended up clocking in at about 2.5 hours. From a writing perspective, there were a lot of spots that I wouldn’t call ideal in a television show. More than once, a character spent time explaining some event that happened or why this person did that thing and what the ramifications would or could be.
Because of the abrupt cancellation of the show, a lot had to be packed into a short amount of time to wrap up many plot lines, so this was to be expected, I suppose. But it really underlined how much depth this series had (and would have continued to have) and how intricate some of the subplots were. And, of course, this contributed more to the “bitter” part of things for me.
Much of the finale was dedicated to wrapping up the action thriller plot of Whispers and the BPO, the organization hunting sensates in order to weaponize them. So there were, of course, lots of chases, gun battles, and explosions.
But I never watched Sense8 for the thriller aspects of it. Don’t get me wrong — I love a good exploding bus as much as the next girl. But I watched Sense8 for the characters, for the interpersonal relationships, and for the way the show looked at how those relationships form and what they become — or can become.
To me, these things are what the show is all about. Humanity. Love. Connection. Creating the relationship webs in your life that bring you the most joy.
In the finale, we get reunions and reconnections, new relationships and the strengthening of existing relationships, as well as the creation of non-normative relationship structures simply because they make the people in them happy, regardless of orientation and gender.
These are the parts that touched me the most.
We are told throughout our lives that we must adhere to this structure or achieve those goals, love this sort of person, have that sort of life. We are constrained by societal, community, and often familial expectations.
Sense8 celebrates the ability to create what we want, to be whom we are rather than who we’re told to be. It tells us we have the freedom to live the sort of life we want to live. And that it is okay to be us.
And this contributed to the “joy” part for me.
Because that is the sort of world I want to live in.
Shara: What can I say? I’m so glad we have an ending. And I’m so glad that it left me in tears and a giant smile on my face, because that was the most Sense8-est Sense8 to have ever aired. The finale, and ultimately, the show, was all about love, and despite the flaws of the actual plot, so many good things happened that I don’t even care.
And there were flaws: I think there were at least three seasons’ worth of story lines in the Sense8 finale, but when life hands you lemons (or when Netflix abruptly cancels your show), you make lemonade (or you make due with the time you’ve got left).
It’s not to say some things couldn’t have been cut. Without spoilers, there was a scene in the forest that had me tilting my head a bit, and there’s so much that I wish could have been expanded. I was also interested in the chances taken and not taken with the show. In hindsight, given the message of the finale, I’m not surprised. Indeed, I’m even a little happy about it, but I will always be curious as to how things would’ve played out if the show had been able to run its natural course.
Sadly, some characters got the short stick: with the notable exception of Nomi, Kala, and Wolfgang, I don’t think anyone really got much screen time, though poor Capheus and Lito really got the short end of the stick. There just wasn’t enough time to resolve all the plot threads left over from season two, and that’s a shame.
Sense8’s end is bittersweet: it was a unique, powerful, and challenging show, one we may not see replicated for a long time. I loved the ending. I loved that we actually got an ending. I just hate that it got cut so short. What a cast. What a story. I can’t wait to watch it again.
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