"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Sense8 Season 2 Finale: Love



The name of the 2 and 1/2 hour Season 2 finale of Sense8 on Netflix, Amor Vincit Omnia or Love Conquers All - or, more precisely, passionate, erotic love - was indeed the dominant theme of this powerful and joyful episode, though it inevitably had plenty of violent threads of human nature as well. 

Actually, erotic love was always the theme of this extraordinary and deeply original series.  People who literally share each other's thoughts have to be in some kind of love with one another, and if we're talking about a cluster of eight such people, the possibilities are beyond counting.   In Sense8, these entail most combinations known to humans, with the additional overlay of homo sensate and homo sapiens in many of the relationships.

Indeed, the clear message of Sense8, all along, is that we humans on the other side of the screen, we viewers, would do better if we exulted in or at least accepted all kinds of erotic love.   Given the world we live in today, love in any form is certainly something we could use more of (sounds like that Jackie DeShannon song), and there's no reason that could not include carnal pleasure.

Meanwhile, the dialog has its customary wit. "I've been staring at the screen so long even my glasses are sore," Nomi says early on.  But when the screen with Sense8 was done, my eyes were yearning for more of it.  There a lots of fun examples of a better life through telepathy, such as Will speaking French through Riley, later reciprocated by Riley knowing how to use guns via Will.  And sex isn't the only pleasure of the flesh in this luscious episode - there was a scene of eating pizza in Napoli, and I would've run out and gotten any kind of pizza, the pizza in the scene looked so good, but it was too late.

As for the violence, it was enjoyable, as always, to see our team utilize each other's talents in the battles.  But in case you haven't yet seen this, I won't tell you who survives or what happens to the bad guys of both sexes.

I will say that this ends with some great music, and an orgy, and hey, you can't go wrong with that.  As I said in my very first review (see links below), telepathy is rarely shown in science fiction movies or TV shows, and Sense8 would've been welcome for that reason, alone.  But the series did much more than that and I predict it will become a classic.


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