Netflix UK TV review: Sense8 Season 2, Episodes 10, 11 and 12
Review Overview
Car Chase
8Telepathic Torture
9Mirrorball Hotpants
8Chris Bryant | On 16, May 2017
Warning: This contains spoilers for Episodes 10, 11 and 12. Watch along with our binge-reviews of Sense8 Season 2 here.
Netflix’s sci-fi epic concludes with three episodes that embody the exploration of empathy Sense8 always set out to be. The Wachowskis’ & J. Michael Straczynski’s adventurous cerebral drama has once again scoured the globe in search of uninhibited love, learning and links between total strangers in opposing circumstances.
With the final three episodes focusing mainly on Capheus’ political ambitions, Nomi’s gender identity, and Lito’s role-of-a-lifetime, as well as the ever-present threat of Whispers, Sense8 ends its second season much as it has carried it out: with limitless compassion, unity, and a huge injection of adrenaline.
It should go without saying that Sense8’s principle cast are a supremely talented ground of individuals. These episodes especially showcase Miguel Angel Silvestre’s colossally passionate performance as actor Lito, whose presence not only provides one of the great identity tales of the show, but also the bulk of the heartwarming comic relief. Alongside him, Doona Bae’s powerhouse performance as stoic force-of-nature Sun Bak is brought to a head with a Matrix-esque car and motorcycle chase (this time with added mirrorball hotpants, which the Wachowskis must’ve omitted first time around). The finale’s violent closing minutes alone prove that where new, diverse and talented casts are concerned, Sense8 can step into the ring with Orange Is The New Black any day.
While the finale is undeniably nail-biting, the final 15 minutes contain as much story as the previous 40, bursting at the seams with plot and losing some of the tension in the process; brilliantly emotional torture-scene aside, Will’s tricky rescue plan loses some of its cleverness with the minimal length of time it was given on-screen.
Overall, though, Sense8’s second season is resolved as magnificently as it deserves. Teeming with mindfulness, diversity, and powerful messages of love, the second season also brings an element of danger and extremity to the show’s healthy heart. Delivered in binge-watchable form, Sense8 does not have the scope of the small screen: it has the scope of a philosophical text. Finishing with a trio of chapters demonstrating the Sensate’s teachings at a higher level for them, the show can only be considered a resounding success and a burgeoning example of science-fiction done astonishingly well.
All episodes of Sense8 Season 1 and 2 are available to watch exclusively on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.