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"FOR OUR FANS" That's the phrase that appears on the screen at the close of _Sense8_'s series finale. And, man: truer words. Because of course, the globe-hopping series,
known for its lavish production quality, its travel budget, its proudly earnest and crunchy _we-are-all-connected_ sci-fi conceit, its crack fight choreography and, yes, OK, let's get
it out of the way up front, its _deeply sexy_ polyamorous psychic orgies, was canceled by Netflix after two seasons. Following a fan outcry, Netflix agreed to let the Wachowskis return to
this gleefully weird universe to wrap things up with a two-and-a-half hour episode. The episode in question is, ultimately, a victory lap. It does everything the series did, just ... moreso.
It's also blissfully unconcerned with catching viewers up on various aspects of the show's mythology, so you might want to freshen up by watching the last few episodes of season
two, because the finale hits the ground running. Or at least ... it seems to. Watching it a second time, you remember how much this show always loved having its characters explain things to
each other. They're a talky bunch, our cluster of eight main characters, and the finale outfits each one with his or her respective hangers-on, inviting viewers to play a game of
"Which tertiary comic-relief character will get the 'Wait, I don't understand,' line?" in every scene. The plot, such as it is: The cluster has come together, minus
Wolfgang (Max Riemelt), who's been captured by the evil corporation that's dogged our heroes from the outset. They set up a meet to exchange him for their prisoner, the evil
scientist known as Whispers (Terrence Mann). Along the way, there will be pulpy fight scenes, jaw-dropping international scenery and light comic moments — often within the very same scene.
The show's odd tendency to follow a bloody shoot-out with a scene showing our heroes languidly enjoying a sensual feast together is dutifully indulged here, not once but twice. Such
tonal whiplash — imagine a Nancy Meyers movie suddenly breaking out in the middle of _Atomic Blonde_ — plays hell with any sense of real tension, but those of us who love this show
aren't watching for the suspense. We know things will work out OK, because this show has been wearing its heart on its sleeve from the jump. It's that openness, that earnestness,
more than its high-concept premise, that inspires the fannish devotion this show enjoys. The Wachowskis have infused every scene with a matter-of-fact queerness that goes beyond employing
queer characters and actors. This show roots for the other, the underdog, the oppressed, the hunted. At its core, it's about nothing so much as the awesome, terrifying, life-changing
power of empathy. If you could experience the world from another's point of view, it argues, you would become, inevitably, a better, fuller, person. Sure, yes, maybe you could also kick
a bad guy in the throat without mussing your bangs, as Doona Bae does here with such verve and alacrity. But your heart would be opened, your life enriched. Don't think I'm
excavating the show's subtext to find that message. One of the most charming things about _Sense8_ is the degree to which it exists in a subtext-free zone. Those talky, talky characters
are forever mouthing statements of principle whose political implications are more like explications ("Neutrality in the face of such evil is complicity.") Now: Why isn't
such clunkiness annoying? I keep asking myself that. Maybe it's just that it's coming from a place of such defiant, unconcerned, abject _sincerity_. The Wachowskis don't care
if you make fun of their earnestness — hell, they've already thrown in six comic-relief characters to do that themselves. Cynics aren't welcome, in their world, because cynicism is
antithetical to everything this show espouses. Cynics cut themselves off from the world, which allows them to see others as less-than-human ... and exploitable. In _Sense8_, refreshingly,
cynics are the bad guys. Did I mention that the final image of this weird, wonderful, swing-for-the-fences series — the one that greets our eyes just before the fade-to-black, and that
"FOR OUR FANS" title appears — is that of a sex toy, resting on a bedside table, after having been ... toyed with? And that said sex toy is rainbow-colored? It's not how I
would have predicted _Sense8_ would end — all bang, some whimpers — but I can't say it doesn't feel kind of satisfyingly inevitable. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit
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