Sense8 Series Finale Review: Amor Vincit Omnia (Season 2 Episode 12)

Sense8 has always been the kind of show where the journey was more important than the destination.

Sure, the series has got serious sci-fi elements built in, thanks to the whole telepathic cluster thing, and the involvement of a shadowy corporation bent on turning the sensates into deadly weapons.

Yet, even with all the occasionally outlandish plot twists going on, at its heart Sense8 is a story about connection. It’s a story about love. It’s a story about the families we find and make for ourselves.

In a time marked by nothing so much as division and strife, Sense8 reminds us that we are stronger together, and the things that connect us to one another will always be more powerful than those that push us apart.

Television can’t offer a better lesson in 2018, for my money.

People often throw the idea of “fan service” around as a negative thing. But here, it definitely isn’t. Here, Sense8 swings for the fences, trying its best to give its fans everything they could have asked for in one final outing with the cluster they love.

And for the most part? It really works.

Clocking in at over 150 minutes, the finale is everything that made the show itself great, just cranked up to eleven. It’s incredibly indulgent, including long-awaited romantic moments (Nomi and Amanita’s wedding!), exciting action sequences (Will’s assault on a BPO helicopter with a grenade launcher!), the return of a few familiar faces (Angelica!), and a whole lot of hope.

(In case it’s not on the nose enough for you yet: The name of this episode – Amor Vincit Omnia — translates as “Love conquers all.”)

From a technical standpoint, the Sense8 finale does what it needs to do. It wraps up the bulk of the big ticket plot questions and gives every major character a generally complete ending.

Granted, a two-and-a-half-hour feature isn’t exactly how I wanted this show to go out. It deserved a third season, and the chance to fully explore the twisty BPO conspiracy beyond bullet point highlights.

But, on some level, maybe we’re better off. The science behind how the clusters worked, how their connections formed and what exactly BPO’s experiments entailed were always the show’s weakest points.

By forcing that part of the story into what is essentially fast-forward mode, there’s no time for things to get too confusing. This episode gives us just enough in the way of answers to be grateful for the larger emotional resolutions elsewhere.

The finale begins as the gang comes together to rescue Wolfgang, including all the sensates and their lovers, friends and other various posse members. As a result, we finally get to see Dani, Hernando, Amanita, Bug, Rajan, and the rest get the chance to meet and interact.

However, thanks to the truncated time period the finale has to work with, we don’t get to see as much of, say, Hernando or Rajan wrestling with the truth of their partner’s abilities as we probably should.

In a different world, a third season of Sense8 might have had time to explore the interesting issues raised by the cluster’s embrace of these “normal” human characters.

How do the non-sensates feel about their friends/significant others having these gifts? How do they relate to the rest of the cluster? Is anyone bothered by it? What does their adjustment to this new reality look like?

The finale gives us a glimpse of what those stories might have been, as Wolfgang, Kala, and Rajan eventually form what appears to be a polyamorous relationship, while both Dani and Hernando seem easily accepting of Lito’s sensate status.

Sense8 Finale

In a full season, one might expect a longer arc detailing just how these people sort out what they are to one another, and how much of themselves and their relationships they are willing to share.

But in the end, this story — like many of the others — simply reinforces the principle that’s been at the heart of Sense8 all along. Love makes us stronger, in every possible iteration and permutation. Even when it comes in packages we never expected.

 Much like the show itself, however, the Sense8 finale isn’t perfect.

While it’s entertaining to finally have the entire cluster located in the same physical place, their new communal living situation means that we’ve largely dropped many of the show’s individual character arcs.

With everything else going on, we don’t have time to see much more of Capheus’ political campaign, Lito’s acting career, Wolfgang and Kala’s plan to run away together or Rajan’s mysterious business issues that necessitated the purchase of the Paris apartment in the first place.

Granted, none of these things are particularly relevant to the main story about Whispers, BPO or rescuing Wolfgang, but they were important beats for these characters. It feels strange to drop them, or paper over them with throwaway one-off lines.

Furthermore, Sense8 was always at its best when the cluster was able to positively impact one another’s lives – or even save them – all while being on different continents.

Bringing the group together has plenty of upsides, but it’s hard not to feel that those gains definitely require giving something up.  Luckily, despite that facy, the trade-off still feels worth it in the end.

Why? Because the heart of this show has never been more apparent.

The love these characters have for one another, the relationships they share, the strange family they’ve formed —Sense8 leans into the inextricable connection of the human condition in a way that no other series before it has managed.

It’s messy, sure. It’s also beautiful.

Much like the group’s singalong to underrated Depeche Mode classic “I Feel You” – which technically takes place in three different places and in three different vehicles – “Amor Vincit Omnia” is over the top and dramatic and it doesn’t entirely make sense.

But it’s still strangely perfect in its own way.  And there aren’t many finales you can say that about.

Thanks for the glorious ride, sensates.

What did you think of the Sense8 finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Sense8 is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

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