I see you. It’s Wednesday night and the kids are finally, FINALLY in bed.
I see you. You’ve got your big girl glass of merlot and while you’re waiting for the wine to soothe away the stress of the day you’re wondering what you’re going to do with your night.
You might consider re-reading Outlander for the hundred-thousand-millionth time, but no, you’re just not in the mood to deal with sexual assault every ten pages. You’re tired. Someone has been trying to talk to you about Jake and the Neverland Pirates ALL. DAY. LONG. You need a break from gold dubloons and pixie dust. You might think about watching an episode of Game of Thrones that you have DVR’ed because you heard Michiel Huisman is naked for a few minutes (he is and it is GLORIOUS), but again you’re definitely not in the mood to read about repeated sexual assault, let alone WATCH it god damn it.
WHAT TO DO?
Well let me tell you what to do. You need to watch Sense8.
You need to do this right away. Fire up the Netflix, distract your husband with some sports or Blurtlander, pour yourself another glass of wine, and get ready to fall into your next obsession.
If you’re like me you probably watched the trailers for Sense8 and thought WTF.
I mean what in the actual fuck are they going for here? You might even watch the first two episodes and still clutch your head and say OMG am I going crazy? I still have no idea what the hell is going on!
I feel you.
But here’s the thing. If you decide to stick it out–and you most definitely should– you’ll be thanking me later. Yes, you might even want to name your first born after me. (It’s Lindsey with an “e” by the way.) You will love me because once you get to episode 6 you will get this:
WARNING: NSFW! NSFW! There is sex and nudity and gay sex and hetero sex and orgy sex and just plain hotness, so proceed with caution.
WE ARE ALL DANIELA. All of us. Every single one. And that song—it’s Demons, by Macy Gray btw. You might want to add it to your “personal” arsenal—it’ll bring back happy memories every time you listen to it. Also, if you’d like to watch that clip a few thousand times, go ahead, that’s normal. We’ll be here when you get back.
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So now that you see what I mean.
Here are the eight reasons why you need to watch this show right now:
8. Nomi: Played by Jamie Clayton, Nomi is a transgender woman who was born a man (her mother still insists on calling her Michael), but who has transitioned to female. She is a hacktivist (a hacker who breaks into a computer system for political or social reasons) living in San Francisco. She’s been to juvy and has a fabulous girlfriend named Amanita who uses a rainbow dildo to get Nomi off in one of the opening scenes. LEGEND. Nomi is the one who will use her crazy cool black market spy gear to take on the bad guys: Whispers and his legion of evil sensates who are hunting them down to lobotomize them.
7. Wolfgang Played by Max Riemelt, Wolfgang is a German locksmith and thief whose father and uncle are involved in organized crime in Berlin. With his best friend Felix, played by the wonderful Max Mauff, Wolfgang, Wolfy to his friends, cracks his uncle’s un-crackable safe and steals his stash of diamonds. Let’s just say Wolfy is a badass. Watching his scenes is like watching a Russian mafia action movie, in the best possible way. Also, he’s HAWT. Like really hot. And naked. A lot. Win/win.
6. Kala: Played by Tina Desai, Kala is a wicked smart chemist/pharmacist living in Mumbai and is engaged to a man she does not love. She is sweet and innocent and funny and philosophical and when she meets Wolfgang through their psychic connection she (and he) is in big trouble.
5. Will: Played by Brian J. Smith, Will is an earnest, do-good Chicago cop. When Angelica (Daryl Hannah) gives birth to their pod of 8 sensates before killing herself to keep them safe from Whispers, she is inside a church in Chicago. While investigating her death Will runs into Jonas, a wanted terrorist who was a part of Angelica’s pod and wants to help Will and the others survive. The only problem? Jonas is captured, first by the Feds and then by Whispers himself, putting Will’s pod in serious danger.
4. Riley: Played by Tuppence Middleton (that shit is straight out of Dickens), Riley is an Icelander working as a kickass DJ in London. She’s on the run from her past, her truly tragic, heartbreaking past, and has fallen in with the wrong crowd. When she returns to Iceland to escape her present troubles she has a nervous breakdown that leaves her vulnerable to Whispers. Also, her and Will? Yeah they’re falling in love. Cutest.
3. Capheus: Played by Aml Ameen, Capheus is a Nairobi bus driver who has a super healthy obsession with Jean-Claud Van Damme (his bus is named after him). In order to procure drugs for his mother who is dying of AIDS Capheus is forced to go to work for a local crime boss. With a little help from his sensate friends, namely Sun, Capheus is able to act out every Van Damme fantasy he has ever had and get himself out of trouble. He is the idealist, the perpetual optimist, and you will live for his smile.
2. Sun: Played by Bae Doona, Sun is the baddest bitch there ever was.
She is the CFO at her father’s company and a kickboxing aficionado. Every time one of her pod is in trouble? Sun steps in and saves the day. She IS Van Damme. She’s got father issues and takes the fall for her addict brother who has been embezzling money, which lands her in jail where she basically owns the joint. I want to be Sun. She is EVERYTHING.
BUT WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO WATCH SENSE8?
1. LITO
Played by Miguel Angel Silvestre, Lito is a famous Spanish telenovela actor living in Mexico City. In order to keep up appearances for his career Lito keeps his homosexuality tightly under wraps. Which is hard because he is dating the incredibly amazing Hernando (Alfonso Herrara). Lito and Hernando’s chemistry is electric, they easily have all the most sexy scenes, but at the same time they are so loving and sweet with each other you will just want to die.
When Daniela (Erendira Ibarra), a fellow actor, finds out his secret and offers to be Lito’s beard in return for Lito protecting her from an abusive boyfriend many high-jinx ensue. This threesome will quickly become your favorite part of the show. Also, not to piss off Jamie, but I think Lito gives Arrow a run for his money in the sexily-removing-his-lover’s-glasses department. Just sayin…
Why I loved it: Sense8 is unique. It has an amazingly diverse cast with characters taken from across the race/class/sexual spectrum and it’s shot all over the world (Berlin, Nairobi, Seoul, London, Iceland, Mexico, Mumbai, and the US). The backstories are rich and detailed, the characters fully drawn and well acted. It’s inclusive; there is something for everyone here.
I will make you a promise: if you can make it through the first few episodes, which are undoubtedly confusing, you will be hooked on these characters. In the final episodes when all eight of them really start working together to save one of their own who has been captured by Whispers, it is AWESOME. You get a glimpse of how amazing subsequent seasons will be. (NETFLIX RENEW THIS SHOW!)
