YMMV / Sense8

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• Adorkable: Kala has her moments, especially in Season 1 when Wolfgang starts to spontaneously appear around her in the nude.
• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Is Nomi's mother's treatment of her only due to transphobic bigotry, or is she actually in league with BPO? Or did they just take advantage of her views to get permission for the lobotomy?
    • By the end of the series, the second option seems least likely.
  • One could argue that fan favorite Daniela is actually creepy and invasive, because she took pictures of Lito and Hernando having sex without their knowledge or consent and with the implication that she was going to masturbate to them later, even if she had no intention of making them public. Swap the genders of all parties and the fandom's reception of the scene would probably be quite different. Some also find the fact that Daniela masturbates to Lito and Hernando having sex, or simply kissing while dancing salsa, quite creepy as well.
• Anvilicious: The series's desire to promote its aesops and positive messages can sometimes lead to an oversaturation of aesops, with characters occasionally just blurting out opinions without much context or subtlety.
• Badass Decay: In season 2, for Whispers. After spending the whole first season as an unstoppable force of nature with the backing of a global megacorp, ending with having two-way access to Will's brain, a situation which lasts for several months and takes a heavy emotional toll on the cluster, he finally makes a mistake and Will is able to get the upper hand. The result is immensely satisfying. This goes even further in the finale special, as he spends the whole thing as someone's prisoner and gets ignominiously blown up right after seeing his boss shot in front of him when it seemed like he'd finally gotten some power back.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Most of the sensates are well-liked by the fanbase, with the character closest to splitting the base being Riley. Is she a sympathetic, tragic figure whose musical background cements her as The Heart of the cluster bringing everyone together, or is she a boring, mopey Damsel in Distress who can't contribute any skills and constantly needs to be rescued?
  • Nomi, to a lesser extent. Is she a well-realized, nuanced depiction of being trans, in a medium without very many of those (and in a specific chunk of the medium with almost none), or is she a cartoonish character with an incredibly Anvilicious plot that dominates the show at the expense of the other characters? (If you fall on the latter end, do not claim that her being a trans character is the reason for this.)
  • Lila: a mysterious, sexy badass villain, or just a plainly irritating and tired cliche?
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The reveal in the finale movie that Wolfgang is the product of his (implicitly underage) mother being raped by her stepfather. It's never once brought up again and doesn't seem to affect him at all, and very much comes off like the Wachowskis had a plan to do a lot more with it before the cancellation, and simply couldn't bear to leave it out entirely despite no longer having the time to do anything with it.
  • On the other hand, it retroactively gives deeper context to his previous statements about his father.
• Broken Base:
  • Some fans have taken issue with the fact that despite how admirable the show's portrayal of gay and trans characters is, it could use a lot more work on things like Capheus and Sun's storylines that lean heavily on stereotypes of the races and countries involved without doing much to subvert them. And then there's Will's portrayal as basically the white savior of Chicago, waging a heroic single-handed war to clean up the south side even while other black people like the nurse in the first episode don't have any hope for it. Others argue that the point of this is to start out with the characters in stereotypical stories and settings, taking the audience off guard when we later delve into the Hidden Depths of both. Of course, how well this is pulled off is the topic of some heated debate.
  • The recasting of Capheus in Season 2. Many fans were understandably upset as Aml Ameen's joyful performance gave Season 1 a lot of its heart, but several people involved with the show have also spoken up about how it's a relief to not have to deal with him anymore, though details on exactly why are scant. At the very least, everyone agrees we can be thankful the Wachowskis didn't simply kill him off, like what happened to Tank in The Matrix after their similar feud with his actor.
    • With Toby Onwumere's first appearance as Capheus during the Christmas special, some fans enjoyed his performance and are looking forward to seeing him be more fleshed out in the second season, while others just can't reconcile him with Aml Ameen, as Onwumere's understated and quieter performance is a departure from Ameen's sweet and exuberant portrayal of the character. And there are some who think that Onwumere physically can't match Capheus, if only because the bigger, taller, and more muscular Onwumere looks like he doesn't need Sun's (or anyone's) help kicking ass. On the flip side, there's also a group of viewers who believe that Ameen would have been physically unconvincing in the sex scenes or politician storyline.
• Complete Monster: Dr. Milton Bailey Brandt, aka Whispers, is the most prominent figure of BPO and known in Sensate circles as "The Cannibal" for having hunted down his seven clustermates and consumed them to grow stronger. Allying with BPO, Whispers hunts Sensates and takes them to torture, dissect, and lobotomize, with many dying and others left as drones Whispers can project his consciousness through, with one victim being a 10-year old girl. Introducing himself by hijacking one such body's mind to murder his superior at BPO, Whispers is relentless in hunting the Sensates and trying to erase their minds in his bid to forever cheat death.
• Critical Dissonance: The first season was a big hit with viewers, but professional critics were much less kind. Though this is a pretty easily explainable case as only the first three episodes were released for reviews, and many fans agree the show took a bit longer to really hit its stride. This has led to accusations that the traditional methods for reviewing TV shows simply don't work for Netflix shows that have entire seasons released at once. Critics were much kinder to the Christmas special and the second season that followed.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Many of the side characters are well liked, but especially:
  • Amanita, a proactive Badass Normal who rescues her girlfriend and helps the team. She is also unconditionally supportive and accepting of Nomi, and being played by cult favorite Freema Agyeman helps.
  • Hernando, a sweet, snarky and intelligent Manly Gay. It's easy to see why Lito has fallen in love with him. He also has a built-in fanbase as his actor, Alfonso Herrera, was part of a popular Latin American pop band.
  • Daniela, embraced by fans as One of Us due to her Yaoi Fangirl tendencies. Her Hidden Depths and touching friendship with Hernando and Lito also help her case.
  • Hoy, thanks to the extremely surprising casting of Sylvester McCoy and the show actually resisting using him too much.
  • Detective Mun, for being a hunky new addition who believes in and supports Sun, despite them being on opposite sides of the law.
  • Nomi's sister Teagan made a good first impression on viewers by being the only family member to respect her transition and use proper pronouns and generally just being a kind and likable person. Many were pleased to see her get an increased role in season two and more focus put on her and Nomi's relationship.
• Fandom Rivalry: Among all the shows that were renewed when Sense8 wasn't, fans of the show came down the hardest on 13 Reasons Why, mainly due to the fact that the latter had completely adapted its source material, and as a result, there was seemingly nowhere to go to justify a second season.
• Fanfic Fuel: The resolution of Sun's personal story had to be relegated to a brief news report that Detective Mun managed to bring down the whole conspiracy all on his own, with the exact nature of this Offscreen Moment of Awesome left to our imaginations.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The show is hugely popular in Brazil - about 70% of its Netflix exhibitions come from there. In acknowledgement, the producers not only shot an episode at the São Paulo LGBT Pride Parade, they also made a special extra episode for them after the series' end.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • In episode 6 Kala believes that Wolfgang is a demon sent to punish her. 5 episodes later, Kala gets to see just how dark Wolfgang is.
  • Capheus' whole role as the most optimistic of the group who acts as The Heart of the cluster, when his original actor was apparently anything but and was replaced after the first season.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: Nomi's story was already plenty moving with how it was clearly inspired by Lana Wachowski's experience as a transgender woman, and then it doubled with the reveal between seasons one and two that both Wachowskis were trans, with Lily simply being closeted at the time.
• LGBT Fanbase: The series has developed a strong LGBT fanbase, as shown by the prominent coverage of the show on queer websites like The Advocateand Out.com. This is helped by the series containing two lead characters (Nomi and Lito) who are canonically LGBT, positive representations of gay and lesbian relationships, the strong, recurring theme of fluid sexuality and pansexuality across the sensates, and an actress (Jamie Clayton as Nomi) and show creators (the Wachowskis) who are openly transgender women.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The announcement of the show's renewal took so long that after a while fans plastered every announcement of a new Netflix series with "That's great, now can we get another season of Sense8?"
  • Lito's "I SEE YOU VILLAIN!".
  • Sarcastically saying how risky any new move by Netflix is, after the CEO said how proud they were of the risks they were willing to take literally one day before cancelling one of their riskiest shows.
• Narm:
  • This is more the fault of the viewer than the producers of the show, admittedly. In "What's Going On", the eight all sing along to "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes. A good portion of the audience may be more familiar with the song from this internet meme, which makes the entire sequence unintentionally hilarious.
  • Lito's description of the first time he gave Hernando a blowjob: "it was like the Holy Communion". This occurs in an otherwise very serious scene where Lito is reflecting on his breakup with Hernando and discusses his sexuality with transgender character Nomi.
  • In general, the series never shies away from groanworthy Cliché Storm dialogue, which can have this effect on viewers.
  • The insanely blatant Lampshade Hanging on Capheus' new actor, as he's first seen with the sun blotting out his face, then from a distance, then from behind as Jela says he looks different. Finally we get a close-up of Toby Onwumere's face as he says he has a new barber.
  • As the entire cluster sees the graffiti on Lito's apartment building as the word they feel most attacked by, it can seem pretty silly that Kala puts "virgin" on the same level as the likes of the f- and n-words.
  • An intentional example according to Lana Wachowski, the Christmas special had a lot of aesops, and not all of them are delivered with subtlety, occasionally making it feel like an overstuffed after-school special.
  • Nomi knocking herself out by tripping on her high heel. It's clearly thrown in to cover for Jamie Clayton not being able to make it to the filming of the big cluster vs. cluster fight a few minutes later, and as blatantly artificial as that sounds (though on the plus side, it also allows for a scene where Amanita gets to talk to one of the other people in her girlfriend's head for the first time).
  • In the Brazilian dub, whenever Nomi says "Meu nome é Nomi" ("My name is Nomi"), the word "nome" (name) is pronounced just like her name "Nomi".
  • While the show's closing psychic orgy sequence is a strangely heartwarming way to send the show off, it ending with a Squick-inducing close-up of Nomi's cum-covered strap-on kind of kills the moment. It doesn't help that, not counting the behind-the-scenes reel shown over the credits, this is the final shot of the series.
  • The sex scenes in general can fall into this for some viewers. They're supposed to emphasize the characters' relationships and provide Fanservice, but the combination of Slow Motion, gratuitous length, and (with a few exceptions) lack of impact on the plot makes them pretty eye-roll-inducing after a while.
• Narm Charm:
  • Lito's rescue of Dani plays all the film making tropes that had been mocked in the scenes with his movie career absolutely straight, including his spitting out a cigarette with the noise of a gunshot. But the emotion is actually earned, as the scene isn't just about the physical rescue but his finally standing up and proudly asserting his identity as a gay man.
  • A lot of Lito's romantic sappy lines come across this way, but it's justified in that his character is very dramatic and passionate (and an actor whose lines are coming from the over-the-top movies he frequently stars in). This also applies in-universe, as Hernando will point out when a line Lito thinks is ridiculous actually holds a lot of hidden depth.
  • Nomi and Amanita's conversation regarding no one ever defending Nomi's identity before is genuinely dramatic and heartfelt, but the quick cutting and dialogue, while realistic, does not give the viewer enough time to react.
  • The psychic orgy between all eight of the sensates in the Christmas Special may be out there if it was any other show but given the context, it is actually a pretty heartwarming way of showing how close each of the members are becoming.
  • The tense scene where Will escapes from a museum being locked down features Lito screaming and throwing a fit (while sharing with Riley) in order to run interference. It's hammy, over the top, and completely undermines the tension of the escape. It's also thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Even the other members of the cluster seem to be awkwardly enthralled by the display.
  • Sun wearing nothing but sparkly underwear for most of her climactic confrontation with her brother seems like it should completely kill the mood, but the combination of Doona Bae's performance and the direction still makes her look like death incarnate and creates a thoroughly enthralling scene.
  • The "What's Up" scene is unintentionally hilarious because the song is such a meme, but that just makes it more fun (and even rather sweet). Sing along!
• One True Threesome: Rajan/Kala/Wolfgang is all but stated to go this way in the series finale, with all three legs getting scenes together, especially as part of the final scene.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • The bouncer that Sun beats up to get to her brother in "What's Going On?" is played by Ma Dongseok who's now better known for his roles in Train to Busan and Eternals.
  • The BPO security guard in the finale to Season 1 is a person who likes a certain song. All together now: "PLAY JAJA DING DONG!"
• Romantic Plot Tumor: While Wolfgang was given plenty to do in the first season outside of his budding intracluster romance, some detractors have complained that his arc in the second season is almost completely overtaken by the forbidden Love Triangle involving him, Kala, and Rajan. That he is the only source of interaction with Lila led to some sore feelings from those who were intrigued by the latter's cluster and were interested in getting to know a new batch of sensates, only for them to barely get any screen time in favor of resuming the Kalagang scenes. It gets so glaring that Wolfgang can eventually be expected to show up in nearly any given Kala-focused Mumbai scene.
• Signature Scene: Crossing over with Signature Song, so far each season has a major scene based around "What's Up" by 4 Non-Blondes. In Season 1, Wolfgang's karaoke performance becomes the first time the entire cluster shares a single experience, and in Season 2 Riley uses a performance to reach out to other clusters after they decide to confront BPO directly.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: The show takes its sweet time establishing each of the eight cluster members before the first season plot arc really starts to take hold. As such, the viewer spends many episodes simply waiting for the characters to realize the premise of the show.
• Squick:
  • We get some very explicit shots of babies crowning while the sensates witness their births, and later when Riley flashes back to having her daughter.
  • When Mr. Kabaka cuts off his ex-henchman's hands, it's probably the most graphic and shocking depiction of a dismemberment on mainstream television. To be fair, Netflix is not television. It's the internet and, ergo, has looser restrictions.
  • The camera does not cut away when Wolfgang empties an entire magazine from his pistol into his uncle's head. Multiple point-blank gunshots to the head results in some serious gore.
  • The show's many, many sex scenes can get pretty graphic to the point of grossing some viewers out. The shot of a dripping wet strap-on on the series finale is particularly egregious.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: In the Season 2 finale, the need to preserve the twist that Will is actually in the room with Whispers rather than Visiting means we miss what should be the huge moment when most of the cluster meets in person for the first time, plus Amanita meeting them all.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Nice as the story about Nomi's sister supporting her transition is, by telling it at the wedding Nomi basically proves her mother right that she would make the event all about her.
• Win Back the Crowd: After the critical and commercial failure of Jupiter Ascending, the reputation of the Wachowski siblings was at an all time low. Thanks to the positive reception of this show however, they have started to regain some of that reputation back.
• The Woobie: All of the eight have suffered or are suffering. Kala, Nomi (especially in the first four episodes), and Riley (especially in the last three episodes) are standard woobies; Wolfgang is a bit more of a Jerkass Woobie, given his criminal behavior; Sun aims to be a Stoic Woobie throughout her familial neglect and taking the fall for her brother's embezzlement; Capheus is an Iron Woobie throughout his struggles to care for his mother yet never lets the world bring him down. Lito has his Gayngst and fears of being outed, while Will has his childhood trauma and may have to spend the rest of his life in a medical coma to keep from endangering his new family. In fact, each of the characters had some problems solved because of their powers manifesting while all of Will's problems are caused by it.

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