Mark Watches ‘Sense8’: S02E01 – Happy Fucking New Year. – Part 2

In the second half of the first episode of season 2 of Sense8, the New Year arrives. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Sense8. 

Trigger Warning: For discussion of homophobia. 

I like what Sense8 believes about people. 

I’m gonna start there as I talk about the second half of this special, which made me cry a LOT. Sense8 doesn’t flinch when portraying the worst of people, and we see examples of that in Lito’s story, in Volker Bohm’s pursuit of Wolfgang, in Whisper’s torment of Will, in Sun’s struggle with her horrific brother. People can be terrible, and they are terrible. Regularly. But what does that say about the world? About the people who inhabit it? At the end of the day, Sense8 shows us the incredible capacity that humans have for connection and love, however that love may manifest. It does so in metaphor—through the sensate cluster—and literally. Because Bug doesn’t have this ability, and neither does Nomi’s family, and neither does Rajan or Silas or Jela, and yet, these people all express a gorgeous love for those around them. And to me, that’s at the heart of BPO and Whispers’s true evil: they do not want people to express love or experience connection as the sensates do. We’ve seen commentary on this show in that same vein: Why do people hate what they don’t understand?

Over the course of the second half of this episode, there are numerous stories being told, but what I came to love about this is how deeply they are tied in these central themes, despite that very different things are unfolding in the sensates lives. Whispers’s pursuit of Will is frightening enough, but the writers make this a million times more intimate by filtering it through his relationship with his father. It’s about family at the heart of it, and Whispers knows that. What’s more disappointing and heartbreaking than watching someone you love believe the worst things about you? Whispers goes after something emotional rather than logistical; he’s not as concerned with discovering exactly where Will is. It’s more effective for him to target that connection instead. 

This manifests differently for characters like Sun, Wolfgang, and Lito, each who have stories dealing with those they love and respect. So much of Joong-Ki’s torment involves isolation, too. Every step of the way, he tries to isolate his sister. I mean, Sun is literally in isolation in prison, and after she got a bit of revenge on Joong-Ki, he tried to return the favor. But what subverts his intentions? Family. Over and over again, the sensate cluster is a beautiful example of a found family. But this script takes this one step further, since we also see family in the other women who are imprisoned with Sun and who welcome her with open arms when she is finally able to leave solitary confinement. 

Wolfgang, on the other hand, is finally “reunited” with Felix, who awakes from his coma, and one thing I loved seeing in these two is how damn affectionate they are. To Wolfgang, Felix is his family, and while there are definitely other motivations for him not wanting to get back into organized crime, I also felt it was clear he didn’t want this life for Felix either. It’s a protective act to try and stay out of this. This is contrasted with the violent and terrifying “family” of Volker Bohm, one where extravagance is rained down upon members when Volker wants to make people feel like they belong. (Or to recruit people, too.) But in single moment, that affection can be revoked, as we see when Bohm sends men to take out Wolfgang for rejecting him. 

And then there are stories of more traditional romantic love. While Kala’s feelings for Wolfgang haven’t gone away (THAT SCENE IN THE SNOW, OH MY GOD), I was so happy to see Kala celebrate Rajan and give him a chance. I really do think that she loves him, but she loves Wolfgang, too. And quite possibly in a very different way! (Poly poly poly POLY POLY PLEASE. THE SOLUTION IS RIGHT THERE.) This special, though, moves Kala closer to understand herself and the complicated things that are happening to her. I’m okay that this is moving slowly because this issue needs time. 

Anyway, I mostly wanted to save Lito’s story for last because it was the one that broke my heart the most. Many of you who have been following me for years (HI, TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY COMING UP) are familiar enough with parts of my story to know why this SHREDDED MY HEART TO PIECES. Being outed is terrible; being rejected by people who used to like you or be friends with you until they find out you’re gay is also… a thing! A real thing that happened a lot and still happens today. Here, we see Lito experience the immense loss that was promised to him when he refused to stay in the closet. And I thought it important that the housing association used legal means to do so. I say that because so often, straight folks think that homophobia is only a person-to-person thing. They are often unaware of how homophobes use the state, use the law, use these incredibly powerful systems to damage people in as cruel a way as possible. Lito didn’t just get kicked out of his home; he was evicted, and all of his and Hernando’s belongings were seized. Everything they owned was stolen from them.

And yet, from this ugliness comes beauty. I am deeply, deeply in love with Lito’s mother, and again, if you know anything about me, you know how important it is to see positive representation of mothers of queer children. I love how his mother frames this as a tragedy with multiple fronts. Her son is hurt, and so much is stolen from him. But she isn’t sad or disappointed in him. She’s disappointed in all the “friends” who claimed to care about her, but who left her alone once Lito was outed. So she embraces her son for exactly who it is, and it is easily my favorite scene in the entire special. 

In a close second, though, is Daniela’s confession that she cannot recognize her own family in Lito’s. HI, THIS IS SO DEEPLY RELATABLE. Gods, I remember my first Thanksgiving away from my own family after I got kicked out. The family I lived with seemed almost alien compared to my own. They were so nice? There was no arguing or fighting? We didn’t eat in silence, in fear that if we said the wrong thing we’d be snapped at or insulted? WAS THIS HOW FAMILIES REALLY WERE??? 

Y’all, this was such a good special and, for me, a great re-introduction of Sense8 and why I enjoy it. I hope we see a bigger story for Capheus in the rest of season 2, though! AHHHH THERE’S A WHOLE SEASON AND A MOVIE LEFT. I’m so happy!

The second half of “Happy Fucking New Year.” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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