TELEVISION REVIEW: Sense8: "Who Am I?" Puts Will and Whispers Front and Center [PREVIEW]

Sense8 is one of those shows where you have to jump in whole-heartedly and accept that it’s going to be cheesy and ridiculous. If you don’t keep that in mind, then you won’t be able to appreciate its charms, of which there are many: gorgeous visuals, tight editing, a complex and mysterious overarching narrative, and earnestly lovable characters. Of course, Sense8 also has its weaknesses: the show’s dialogue ranges from awkwardly expository to melodramatic, and the plot often seems overly-convoluted, leaving the viewer unsure of how much of a handle the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski have on the whole thing. It’s certainly not a show that you can watch without starting from the beginning, so this review will make not a whit of sense unless you’ve seen both season one and the Christmas special (which is apparently being counted as the second season premiere).

http://www.slashfilm.com/sense8-season-2-images/

 As we begin Sense8’s long-awaited second season in earnest, things basically pick up from where the Christmas episode left off. Will (Brian J. Smith) has become the central character, for better or for worse, as it is his mental link with Whispers (Terrence Mann) that puts the Sensates in danger and sets the stakes of the show: if Whispers finds any of the Sensates, he will lobotomize them—or worse—for nefarious reasons. In a particularly satisfying reveal, however, we learn that Will and Riley (Tuppence Middleton) have managed to turn this connection back on Whispers as they work to figure out who he is and what his ultimate plan is. Once a clean-cut police officer, Will has sacrificed his normal life and his health to protect the other Sensates, drifting in and out of a drugged sleep to manipulate the telepathic connection. When the tables are turned, predator and prey become more fluid categories, and this shift certainly starts off season two with a bang...

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