Trying to Make Sense of the Overloaded 'Sense8'
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the first seven episodes of "Sense8" on Netflix. Tread lightly if you are concerned about spoilers for the first seven episodes.]
There's a lot going on in "Sense8," the new Netflix sci-fi drama created by the Wachowskis, the brother and sister duo who brought us "The Matrix" trilogy, "Cloud Atlas," and, most recently, "Jupiter Ascending." If you've seen any of their films, then you may not be surprised that "Sense8," the siblings' first attempt at a TV show, is overflowing with ideas.
But for a show that focuses on themes and ideas that most sci-fi programs and films gloss over, and has eight main characters, who live in eight different locations across the globe, "Sense8" moves incredibly slow -- so slow that there is no way it could exist on a major network, or even on cable. Netflix is the perfect home for "Sense8," because it lends itself well to the growing, and mostly young, audience who are addicted to binge watching TV. If the Wachowskis' program had aired on, say, NBC, it would surely be nixed after episode three, where the main characters are still getting to know each other and are trying to figure out what's going on with them.
Though "Sense8" is incredibly beautiful (more on that later), the pacing is off, resulting in a lot of fluff and excuses for drawn-out and overwrought scenes.
But the central ideas of "Sense8" are great. It's easy to understand why Netflix picked up the project: On paper, "Sense8" sounds ambitious and fascinating -- and it's helmed by some of the most talented people in the film industry. Additionally, the show has one of the most diverse casts on TV (save for "The Walking Dead," "Orange is the New Black," and a few others). Eight people from all walks of life are represented, including a transgender woman hacktivist living in San Francisco, a closeted gay heartthrob actor from Mexico, a bus driver from Nairobi, and so on. These eight seemingly random people are mentally and emotionally connected after Angel Turing (Daryl Hannah) kills herself in the first episode.
The execution of the premise is both where the Wachowskis, and co-creator and writer J. Michael Straczynski (who brought us "Babylon 5"), succeed and fail, however. It's initially a lot of fun to watch these eight people live their everyday lives and experience the "sensate" phenomenon. In the first few episodes, little things happen, and the main eight characters catch quick glimpses of Angel's death, or see each other in a mirror or on the opposite side of the street.
These moments snowball, and soon they are transported to each other's locations. In one scene, Sun Bak (Doona Bae), a South Korean businesswoman and underground kickboxing champion, finds the chicken Nairobi bus driver Capheus (Aml Ameen) is handling on her desk. But in the blink of an eye it's gone. In probably one of the most memorable moments of the season, a number of the sensates are horny, turning almost all eight people on. The scene erupts into a massive orgy between all of them, which is one of the most risque things I've seen on TV in some time.
It's amusing to watch the sensates react to their new sensations. Most are baffled as to what is going on, but some accept what's happening, like Chicago cop Will Gorski (Brain J. Smith) and Icelandic via London DJ Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton). But it gets old around episodes four and five, when the cast is still confused. Like when Kala Dandekar (Tina Desai), a pharmacist and a devout Hindu living in Mumbai, continues to see Wolfgang Bogdanow (Max Riemelt), a locksmith and thief from Berlin, over and over, and is still surprised each time. It's not fun re-watching a magic trick when you know the secret.
Nevertheless, things pick up when the sensates realized their powers: They're able to access each other's skills, both physical and mental. They can speak different languages, use each other's intelligence, and kick some ass when needed. These scenes, which in the first seven episodes come far and few between, are bursts of energy, filmed beautifully, recalling the Wachowski's innovative "bullet time" visual effect from "The Matrix" and even the spiritual filmmaking in "Cloud Atlas."
In one scene, a gang is attacking Capheus, but he unknowingly uses Sun's fighting skills and Will's police training to take them down. The scene is cut up into moments that show Sun and Will replacing Capheus for just a few seconds, and the effect is visually stunning.
"Sense8" is beautiful filmed, thanks to the Wachowski's excellent eyes. And thanks to what must have been a hefty budget -- the show was shot on all eight locations: Nairobi, Seoul, San Fran, Mumbai, London, Berlin, Mexico City and Chicago. But the show's glossy, sleek, and sexy look doesn't save it from its odd pacing and sometimes confusing tone.
The show also has a problem with writing. The entire first season, which contains 12 episodes, was written by the Wachowskis and Straczynski, and at times the dialogue between the sensates and their friends, family and partners is clunky and cringey. It's that overdramatic and gushy / mushy tone that oozed out of "Cloud Atlas." At best it's earnest, especially when coming from Nomi, who feels like an avatar for Lana Wachowski (who made her first public appearance as a trans woman in 2012), and at worst it's slightly embarrassing.
For all of its slow-moving and clumsy faults, "Sense8" gets better with each episode. Though the sensate's major conflict, a mysterious being called Whispers (an evil sensate who is trying to destroy the eight main characters), is hardly mentioned and doesn't even show up until episode seven (that's more than halfway through the season, for those who are keeping score), there's enough to latch on to in the first few episodes, whether that be LGBT rights, family drama, acceptance, politics or identity.
"Sense8" may be a beautiful but clunky show, but it has a lot of promise. If the Wachowskis and Straczynski can pull off the second half of the season, by realizing the medium of television isn't the same as film, and move things along, then Netflix could have another hit on its hands. But right now, the jury is still out.