The Show

Sense8 is a Netflix original series. It is a sci-fi American drama which centers around eight main characters who are “reborn” into a cluster of eight. They are mentally connected with the seven other people in their cluster sensates have the ability to access each other’s strengths, thoughts, feelings, skills, knowledge, etc. A cluster is the group of eight sensates. This cluster is located all over the world from USA to Nairobi to Korea. They all lead very different lives and can be connected.

Major Characters

Sun Bak (Doona Bae) is a South Korean woman who works for her father and co-works with her brother in an executive business. She also makes the decision to take the fall for her brother’s mistake in their business which results in her being imprisoned. Sun was also a thriving underground boxer. Aml Ameen portrays Capheus who is a Kenyan man and has a bus to transport people all over Nairobi. He uses this money to help pay for medicine for his mom’s AIDS medicine. Nomi Marks born as Michael Marks is portrayed by Jamie Clayton. She is a trans lesbian, who is also a strong feminist who embraces her sexuality and gender. Her biggest contribution to the cluster is being a hacker and blogger. Kala Dandekar, or Tina Desai is an Indian woman who was raised to be independent and currently works a s a pharmacist. She is to be married soon, but she will marry a man she does not love. Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton) is an Icelandic DJ who lives in London and overcomes being abandoned by her now ex-boyfriend. She also is trying to overcome her past; she thinks she has been hexed. Max Riemelt, or Wolfgang Bogdanow is a safe cracker who lives in Germany. Wolfgang carries the burden of not liking his father who passed away. Lastly, Miguel Angel Silvestre plays Lito Rodriguez, a gay closeted actor. Lito covers his sexuality by saying he is dating a woman. Will Gorski played by Brian J. Smith portrays a Chicago cop who is haunted by the unsolved murder of his father.

Supporting Characters

Each main character has their own story and their own separate life. Their are many supporting characters who make a big impact on the show. For example, Amanita who is Nomi’s girlfriend, is a huge ally to the sensates. She helps them throughout the whole show and never accuses them of lying or being crazy. Another example would be Hernando, Lito’s boyfriend. He is Lito’s supporter, but is also in a way, Lito’s issue. Lito does not want to come out as being gay. Although Hernando thinks he should, Lito refuses to for the sake of his career. All-in-all, for each main character, there are a set of supporting characters which make a huge impact on their lives and their story.

Season 1, Episode 3: Smart Money is on the Skinny Bitch

The episode starts by showing two little kids together, a boy and a girl. The girl is telling the boy not to look. The audience then previews a man, later known as Whispers, cutting and opening someone’s head and examining their brain. Will Gorski then wakes up in a hospital from this dream. In the previous episode he had been in a car accident, which results in Will being in a hospital. While this is happening, Daniela, Lito’s cover-up, discovers him and his boyfriend. He asks her to keep secret. He fears that he will not be as famous and successful if people discover he is gay. Meanwhile, in London, Riley hears a man play the piano and gives him lots of money; she find his music beautiful. Later she reveals that she misses her father, a pianist, to a friend. Meanwhile, as Kala’s marriage is getting closer she begins to grow more nervous because she doesn’t really love this man. She is simply marrying him to please her parents. While this is happening, Nomi is in a hospital locked in with no choice to leave. Amanita, her girlfriend, then causes a fire that offsets the surgery they were going to do on Nomi’s brain. Nomi soon breaks out and finds Amanita and they return to their home to find people had been through their house and had taken many of their belongings. In Nairobi, Capheus and a friend go to a market to buy AIDS medicine for his mother. They buy it at a very cheap price and later as he continues onto work, they come to a stop at a dangerous spot and are robbed of everything. Capheus then follows him with his bus,without the passengers, and then beats up the guys and gets the medicine back. However, Sun helps him with her expert hand-to-hand combat skills. Will also shows up during Capeus’ fight to help him use a gun, since he is a policeman. Back in Seul, Sun is ignored by her father whenever she tries to see him. She then gets angry and realizes she wants to start boxing again. She goes back to her teacher and soon fights against a man who at first does not want to fight her, but the ref then tells him, “Smart money is on the skinny bitch.” While she is in the ring, she is also in Nairobi helping Capheus defeat those men. The episode ends with the referee putting Sun’s hand up stating she won the match.

What Stood Out

First of all, it is very different than many other shows. It brings many controversial issues to attention. It gives many people a new light and a new way of thinking. It isn’t the normal or cliché sci-fi where it’s usually a white person with no real or relatable problems. However, on this show, people have real problems. People all over the world can relate to since the show includes culture and people of color. It includes issues like marriage in India, being in the closet, and having financial problems.

Why to Watch

If you haven’t watched Sense8, what are you waiting for? It’s time you hop into this bandwagon and watch Sense8. The best part is that since it airs on Netflix, you can watch it anytime on virtually any device you would like.