[QuickTidal]

Okay, I'm making a thread about this show, partially as a place to discuss it with those who are/have already watched....but also in the hopes of getting more people to watch it. I have some reasons why you should and I'll lay them out below.

First, synopsis (a bare bones one that doesn't give too much away):

The plot revolves around eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly become mentally and emotionally linked. The show aims to explore subjects that its writers felt science fiction shows, at least ostensibly, tend to ignore or skim through such as politics, identity, sexuality, gender and religion.

Reasons to watch that are above and beyond story, cinematography, music or the like...All 8 main characters are from different places, ethnic backgrounds, religions, gender identities ect. this is (it MUST be) THE most diverse show on television. Said main cast includes American, African, South Indian, Mexican, Korean, German, Icelandic characters (all of their specific stories take place in the location they are from (and are shot in all those places to boot!) and feature full side-casts in all those places, and the gender identities are not only diverse (with as many LGBT characters as straight) but this is one of the few times that a trans character has been played by a trans actress (Jaime Clayton). I can't help while watching it that beyond the fact that I love it...this is a HUGE step forward to inclusive and diverse media in the mainstream. And it gives me joy because every damned actor on this show is earning every scene. they are all phenomenal. Nomi (Jaime Clayton), and Capheus (Aml Ameen) especially are spellbinding in every scene they are in.

Okay, you ask me, what about the show itself? The story ect.?

Well, in typical Straczynski fashion, it's a slow burn to start with some table setting over the first few eps. But once it clicks into place, it takes off like a rocket with no signs of stopping. The best factor in the show, is that this main arc of these 8 people (called a Cluster) being connected by their senses is awesome, and IS explored as the show goes on on every episode...but it's the personal journey's that are in everyone's side stories with their lives and such that REALLY stand out as you go on. And each one of them is unique and interesting in its own right. So you could have an episode that is 90% NOT about the linked Cluster and the villain (a person nicknamed Whispers)...and it's still riveting and interesting for the full hour.

I think the wife and I were a bit blindsided by just HOW this show touches our buttons. It's largely about senses, and feelings, and intensities, and skills, and life, and the hard times mixed with the good. The way a song can make you soar even when your life feels super shitty.

Make no mistake, this show is a beast of an endeavor. Straczynski and The Wachowski's have a solid 5-year and Done plan/story for the show; providing Netflix obliges. This means that they have already prepared the beginning, middle, and end. I LIKE to hear that. NO meandering subplots. Nothing extraneous. Just good solid storytelling from beginning to end. It's a huge undertaking...but somewhere in around episode 4 it gets its claws into your flesh and won't let go.

It's gots the sexytimes. There are a fair amount of nude scenes, sex scenes, erotic stuff in general of the hetero and non-hetero variety.

The Wachowski's direct a number of eps themselves, but they have bought in some high pedigree to help in those duties in the form of Tom Tykwer (German director of RUN LOLA RUN, and PRINCESSS & THE WARRIOR), and James McTeigue (Asst. Director on The MATRIX films, and Director of V FOR VENDETTA). And they all bring to the table a VERY cinematic looking and feeling TV series, and add their personal style aspects to the mix as well. The music (both score and chosen songs) is above reproach, and an episode doesn't go by that I'm not just blown away: From The soaring KEEP It CLOSE by SEVEN LIONS Feat. KERLI playing over a fireworks sequence, right down to the Icelandic character Riley's father tinkling his Ukelele and softly singing TEENAGE WASTELAND. It's all perfectly chosen.

So basically it comes down like this. This is EASILY the finest (and ambitious) thing the Wachowski's have had their hand in since the first MATRIX, and the add of Straczynski makes this a no-brainer.

Watch it. Give it a chance over the first few eps to set the table. And then enjoy!

Here is a trailer to give a taste.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 23 June 2015 - 02:31 PM

[Vengeance]

I watched it. Once it got going in episode 2 I was really able to get into it. I will watch the next season as soon as it is out. Very good acting and a interesting concept.

Spoiler

There was a scene in the hospital when the doctor tilted his head and suddenly became really rushed to do the surgery. He must have been getting instructions from someone. Who? I don't think that it was Whispers. Because he sent the brain dead guy to kill the doctor, and the doctor freaked out when he found out that they had contacted whispers. I think that whom ever the doctor was talking to will come into play next season.

[Blend]

I've heard nothing but praise for this show, so it's on my shortlist, for sure! But you said:

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 01:29 PM, said:

this may be the first time (that I can think of; I'm probably wrong) that a trans character has been played by a trans actress (Jaime Clayton).

And all I could think was Orange is the New Black - is the trans character in that not played by a trans actress (Laverne Cox)? I'm pretty sure that she's trans in real life, not just the show!

[QuickTidal]

Blend, on 23 June 2015 - 02:22 PM, said:

I've heard nothing but praise for this show, so it's on my shortlist, for sure! But you said:

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 01:29 PM, said:

this may be the first time (that I can think of; I'm probably wrong) that a trans character has been played by a trans actress (Jaime Clayton).

And all I could think was Orange is the New Black - is the trans character in that not played by a trans actress (Laverne Cox)? I'm pretty sure that she's trans in real life, not just the show!

Awesome, I had no idea (I don't watch OITNB). I shall correct the initial post.

[QuickTidal]

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 02:12 PM, said:

I watched it. Once it got going in episode 2 I was really able to get into it. I will watch the next season as soon as it is out. Very good acting and a interesting concept.

Spoiler

There was a scene in the hospital when the doctor tilted his head and suddenly became really rushed to do the surgery. He must have been getting instructions from someone. Who? I don't think that it was Whispers. Because he sent the brain dead guy to kill the doctor, and the doctor freaked out when he found out that they had contacted whispers. I think that whom ever the doctor was talking to will come into play next season.

Spoiler

Agreed. I didn't notice that moment (I'll be re-watching soon), but it would certainly fit with Straczynski's MO of setting up a 5 season arc to planet seeds for the future. Also, do we think that Jonas is REALLY bad/working for Whispers? Or being coerced?

[Vengeance]

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 02:32 PM, said:

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 02:12 PM, said:

I watched it. Once it got going in episode 2 I was really able to get into it. I will watch the next season as soon as it is out. Very good acting and a interesting concept.

Spoiler

There was a scene in the hospital when the doctor tilted his head and suddenly became really rushed to do the surgery. He must have been getting instructions from someone. Who? I don't think that it was Whispers. Because he sent the brain dead guy to kill the doctor, and the doctor freaked out when he found out that they had contacted whispers. I think that whom ever the doctor was talking to will come into play next season.

Spoiler

Agreed. I didn't notice that moment (I'll be re-watching soon), but it would certainly fit with Straczynski's MO of setting up a 5 season arc to planet seeds for the future. Also, do we think that Jonas is REALLY bad/working for Whispers? Or being coerced?

Spoiler

I think that Jonas and angelica had turned on Whispers and were trying to get a sens8 created to combat him. It also wouldn't surprise me if part of his sens8 group is still alive and working either with him or against him.

[QuickTidal]

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 03:06 PM, said:

Spoiler

I think that Jonas and angelica had turned on Whispers and were trying to get a sens8 created to combat him. It also wouldn't surprise me if part of his sens8 group is still alive and working either with him or against him.

Spoiler

Yeah, I can't imagine that Jonas' entire Cluster is dead...and I agree he's PROBABLY not working for him...especially because he's strapped to a chair and electrodes when it LOOKS like he's lying to Will.

[Vengeance]

So I added spoilers to the title of the thread. I got tired of having to spoiler entire conversations.


Below is spoilers




You have been warned.








If you keep looking and haven't watched the show. Close this thread and watch it. Then come back

















Final warning. Spoilers below. No complaining about spoilers. Complainers will be flayed alive and there souls given in sacrifice to Abyss.

[Vengeance]

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 03:41 PM, said:

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 03:06 PM, said:

Spoiler

I think that Jonas and angelica had turned on Whispers and were trying to get a sens8 created to combat him. It also wouldn't surprise me if part of his sens8 group is still alive and working either with him or against him.

Spoiler

Yeah, I can't imagine that Jonas' entire Cluster is dead...and I agree he's PROBABLY not working for him...especially because he's strapped to a chair and electrodes when it LOOKS like he's lying to Will.

I was talking about Whispers cluster but yeah it is very possible that part of Jonas's cluster is still alive. There are 5 clusters that we know of.

Whispers
Jonas
Doctors (I don't think that he was in Jonas's cluster)
Other Icelandic women who's name I don't remember
The cluster that we are following.

[QuickTidal]

Wasn't the Icelandic woman a member of Jonas Cluster? I thought that's how she knew about him? It was she who mentioned that Angelique and Jonas were in love and that was abhorrent to the rest of her specific cluster? Wouldn't she have to have been in that Cluster to know of it?

Also, I had a notion to the layout of the cluster with that psychic-nervous system thingie that I can't recall the name that Jonas gave it when explaining...are the layout of clusters important? Are you more connected to the person directly next to you in the cluster assemblage than with the person two people over? I'm imagining it like the Kabballa Tree Of Life, a diagram. So for example the strongest links to first show up were between certain couplings. Will & Riley, Sun & Caphaeus, Kala & Wolfgang, Nomi & Lito....right? Those links are and seem to stay strongest...then as the show goes on and they learn to connect at will, then can move over to other cluster members and develop bonds (so Will begins to help Caphaeus, Wolfgang helps Lito [and vice-versa], Nomi and will problem solve together, and Capheus and Riley look at each others disconnected surroundings. I wonder if that's important...or if they are all connected the same to each other with no stronger links.

And do the mass events have any benefits/detriments? So the three we've seen so far that involve everyone are: Singing 4 Non-Blondes What's Going On, The Symphony with Riley's dad/all their collective births, and the Fireworks in Chicago. I've not watched the last ep yet (doing so tonight), so I can't yet speculate on Riley's nosebleed.

The more I dig into this show on a cerebral level, the more I find to enjoy speculating on.

Oh, and something my wife enjoys is that out of all the people around our sensates Amanita has ZERO issues believing Nomi about the cluster. She loves that their bond is so storng that Amanita would believe her if she said aliens were talking to her. I have a feeling Hernando will buy it too when Lito comes clean to him...but I wonder about other people...Will's partner especially seems like he'd be skeptical, Riley's dad, others?

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 23 June 2015 - 04:52 PM

[Blend]

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 02:30 PM, said:

Blend, on 23 June 2015 - 02:22 PM, said:

I've heard nothing but praise for this show, so it's on my shortlist, for sure! But you said:

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 01:29 PM, said:

this may be the first time (that I can think of; I'm probably wrong) that a trans character has been played by a trans actress (Jaime Clayton).

And all I could think was Orange is the New Black - is the trans character in that not played by a trans actress (Laverne Cox)? I'm pretty sure that she's trans in real life, not just the show!

Awesome, I had no idea (I don't watch OITNB). I shall correct the initial post.

You really should definitely watch OITNB - it's frikkin amazing (though I know you tend to lean more towards the Sci-Fi side of things, usually)!

[Vengeance]

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 04:48 PM, said:

Wasn't the Icelandic woman a member of Jonas Cluster? I thought that's how she knew about him? It was she who mentioned that Angelique and Jonas were in love and that was abhorrent to the rest of her specific cluster? Wouldn't she have to have been in that Cluster to know of it?

I thought that she knew about Jonas cluster because he and angelique were creating and tracking clusters for Whispers. She was afraid to be found out. Probably because then whispers would have access to her cluster. If she was of the same cluster as Jonas, Jonas would have already known of her.

[QuickTidal]

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 06:20 PM, said:

If she was of the same cluster as Jonas, Jonas would have already known of her.

Oh crap. That's a good point.

EDIT: Looked it up and you're right. Yrsa worked for BPO which was how she knew about Jonas, so you're right she was not a part of his Cluster, she only knows about him because she worked at finding sensates for BPO before quitting.

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 23 June 2015 - 07:50 PM, said:

Ep 4 is easily my favorite followed by Birth then Fireworks episodes.

Wolf is easily my fav and Lito is up there as well. I haven't not fast forwarded 2 males doing their thing since Six Feet Under on HBO. I haven't been invested in characters like this show brought out in me in a long time. I will be very upset if we don't get S2.

Also I'm a huge Wolf/Kala shipper.

Yeah, those are great eps! The first event that really won us over was the collective singing of What's Up by 4 Non-Blondes.

I loved the Lito helps Wolf scene, followed by the Wolf helps Lito scene...that just was so excellently done.

Aside from all else, the two most solid relationships on the show are Nomi and Amanita, followed by Lito and Hernando. You actively feel both bonds. Lito's despair at having lost Hernando is nothing short of heart breaking to watch...and it makes his ass kicking of Daniela's asshole ex SO much more gratifying. And yeah in that scene when Wolf takes over for Lito and takes that first punch like it was nothing? Oh man. SO awesome!

Wolf and Kala's relationship feels a BIT more earned than Will and Riley (though I still like Will and Riley) so when they FINALLY get to express those feelings, it's just a great moment.

That said, for Riley I feel like her relationship with her father is the one that gets me emotionally. I watch those scenes with him and I think to myself "Jeezus, that's the kind of father I want to be."

And yeah, I HOPE that the audience response (a staggering 91% on RT) will trump the mixed reviews from idiot critics and we will get a season 2. I think Netflix is more about eyeballs and such (they know who's watched what) than critics. That said, make sure to star the season will full marks on the Netflix app.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 23 June 2015 - 07:59 PM

[Vengeance]

QuickTidal, on 23 June 2015 - 07:59 PM, said:

Briar King, on 23 June 2015 - 07:50 PM, said:

Ep 4 is easily my favorite followed by Birth then Fireworks episodes.

Wolf is easily my fav and Lito is up there as well. I haven't not fast forwarded 2 males doing their thing since Six Feet Under on HBO. I haven't been invested in characters like this show brought out in me in a long time. I will be very upset if we don't get S2.

Also I'm a huge Wolf/Kala shipper.

Yeah, those are great eps! The first event that really won us over was the collective singing of What's Up by 4 Non-Blondes.

I loved the Lito helps Wolf scene, followed by the Wolf helps Lito scene...that just was so excellently done.

Aside from all else, the two most solid relationships on the show are Nomi and Amanita, followed by Lito and Hernando. You actively feel both bonds. Lito's despair at having lost Hernando is nothing short of heart breaking to watch...and it makes his ass kicking of Daniela's asshole ex SO much more gratifying. And yeah in that scene when Wolf takes over for Lito and takes that first punch like it was nothing? Oh man. SO awesome!

Wolf and Kala's relationship feels a BIT more earned than Will and Riley (though I still like Will and Riley) so when they FINALLY get to express those feelings, it's just a great moment.

That said, for Riley I feel like her relationship with her father is the one that gets me emotionally. I watch those scenes with him and I think to myself "Jeezus, that's the kind of father I want to be."

And yeah, I HOPE that the audience response (a staggering 91% on RT) will trump the mixed reviews from idiot critics and we will get a season 2. I think Netflix is more about eyeballs and such (they know who's watched what) than critics. That said, make sure to star the season will full marks on the Netflix app.

I believe that it has already been green light for a second season.

[QuickTidal]

That whole scene is brilliant...but I think Capheus belting it out while driving is the best! LOL And yeah this is the big Wolf/Kala moment.

But yeah, this is the first scene in the show that raises the hair on your arms and you know youre watching something special.

As to a Season 2...Netflix USUALLY goes off eyeballs views, not critics...and that shitty werewolf show HEMLOCK GROVE got a second season and it was legit awful (critics ANd viewers didn't car emuch for it).

I keep seeing the buzz building on SENSE8 due to word of mouth saying "Stick with this and it will reward you."

So Hopefully.

[Gnaw]

Vengeance, on 23 June 2015 - 03:46 PM, said:

Final warning. Spoilers below. No complaining about spoilers. Complainers will be flayed alive and there souls given in sacrifice to Abyss.

Gawd I hate spoilers.

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 25 June 2015 - 03:41 AM, said:

My least fav part is the dancing in Ep 2. That scene made me really want Ando to watch the show though so he could give us an Indian take. I mean is that dancing common there? I'd have to re watch scene but it seemed to random and took me out of the show that day.

It was a spin on a Bollywood movie dance sequence. Very common.

[QuickTidal]

Also, I found out the reason why the show was met with mixed reviews from the critics, while audiences seem to universally love it....Netflix only gave critics the first 3 eps to watch.

I could see feeling mixed about it after only 3 eps, especially because the 4th ep is "What's Going On?" is the first one where things start to come together...

But yeah, silly of Netflix to only give them 3 eps, when binging it is what makes it soar.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 25 June 2015 - 04:36 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Not reading through the thread as I have only got to episode 2 but from reading QT's original post and from what I have seen so far, I love this show! Haven't met an Icelandic character yet - I don't think? I did notice a bunch of Icelandic places on the music though (Gullfoss, Strokkur and the HARPA centre in Rekjavik.) Have I completely missed that character or have they not showed up yet?