Sense8 yet again
Aug. 7th, 2015 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightWell, I finished it.
Spoilers behind cut
The last two episodes were in no way a let-down (except maybe for the lack of Lito in ep 11), even if the Capheus/Wolfgang showdowns with their various nemeses did get a little too bloody at times for my taste (Wolfgang is not wrong to tell Kala he's a monster, although I don't agree with his conclusion that she should therefore marry Rajan). I'm glad to learn finally why Riley had such a deathwish. It made it a lot easier for me to like her. In fact, the trauma of her experiences were so well portrayed I was in floods of tears while watching it.
And learning to like Riley was actually important to me, because I feel like liking all eight of the Sense8 is important. They come as a package.
That was partly the reason why it's taken me so long to watch the whole series (the other reason being lack of time). Apart from Riley, I loved all the characters so much I was scared stiff one of them was going to die, to the point of being almost scared to watch the next episode. And by the end of the final episode I felt the same about Riley (and it was touch and go right to the end whether she would survive).
There's still no definite word on a second series. In most ways, I'm all for it. Some characters - Sun in particular, but also Kala - have been left in very bad situations (except when they're visiting each other and thus can be elsewhere), and it would be a shame if we never saw how they got out of them. On the other hand they are all most definitely alive, and if there's a season 2, I can't help feeling the ante will have to be upped and that won't be the case by the end of it. At the very least, we'll lose one of the great supporting characters like Amanita, Hernando or Daniela.
We'll see. In the meantime, I'm going to watch it again, and this time I'm just going to enjoy it, from the wonderful scenery (Iceland looks amazing!) to the great (if sometimes rather pretentious) set pieces, to the wonderful (well, I think so) characters. And like I said in my last post about the show, if anyone cared to make a series just about Lito, Hernando and Daniela, I'd happily watch it, for one.
One of the best TV shows I've seen all year. Ranking it alongside Agent Carter, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Americans.
Spoilers behind cut
The last two episodes were in no way a let-down (except maybe for the lack of Lito in ep 11), even if the Capheus/Wolfgang showdowns with their various nemeses did get a little too bloody at times for my taste (Wolfgang is not wrong to tell Kala he's a monster, although I don't agree with his conclusion that she should therefore marry Rajan). I'm glad to learn finally why Riley had such a deathwish. It made it a lot easier for me to like her. In fact, the trauma of her experiences were so well portrayed I was in floods of tears while watching it.
And learning to like Riley was actually important to me, because I feel like liking all eight of the Sense8 is important. They come as a package.
That was partly the reason why it's taken me so long to watch the whole series (the other reason being lack of time). Apart from Riley, I loved all the characters so much I was scared stiff one of them was going to die, to the point of being almost scared to watch the next episode. And by the end of the final episode I felt the same about Riley (and it was touch and go right to the end whether she would survive).
There's still no definite word on a second series. In most ways, I'm all for it. Some characters - Sun in particular, but also Kala - have been left in very bad situations (except when they're visiting each other and thus can be elsewhere), and it would be a shame if we never saw how they got out of them. On the other hand they are all most definitely alive, and if there's a season 2, I can't help feeling the ante will have to be upped and that won't be the case by the end of it. At the very least, we'll lose one of the great supporting characters like Amanita, Hernando or Daniela.
We'll see. In the meantime, I'm going to watch it again, and this time I'm just going to enjoy it, from the wonderful scenery (Iceland looks amazing!) to the great (if sometimes rather pretentious) set pieces, to the wonderful (well, I think so) characters. And like I said in my last post about the show, if anyone cared to make a series just about Lito, Hernando and Daniela, I'd happily watch it, for one.
One of the best TV shows I've seen all year. Ranking it alongside Agent Carter, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Americans.
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no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 07:16 pm (UTC)I really hope, they bring the show back. It really was a very special gem, especially characterwise.
My favorites remain Lito, Hernando and Daniela. I really loved it, when Lito went to get her back with Wolfgang's help. :)
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 07:24 pm (UTC)Other favourite bits were Sun's conversation with the women in her cell in the prison, everyone listening to the song Riley was listening to in London, everyone watching the fireworks, Kala making a bomb to help Wolfgang, Wolfgang/Lito's fight with Wolfgang's cousin, the Nomi/Neets scene where Nomi escapes from Whispers and Neets screams at the police guy in the toilet. Etc, etc. I could go on for a long time. ;)
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 08:18 pm (UTC)I was going to skip this altogether after finding Jupiter Ascending so utterly crap, but I guess the Wachowskis put a lot more heart and soul in this story...
I'm guessing if there's a s2 Will will spend at least the start of it in a coma, which won't hurt either, diversity- and interesting character-wise.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 08:50 pm (UTC)It took a while because she spent so much of the series being rather passive and depressed, but the revelations in the last couple of episodes put that in context, so the only remaining quibbles I have about her character are the ones raised by
Anyway, if there is a season 2, I hope she'll be a little more proactive.
I agree there were some lazy cliches, but I always felt the show's heart was in the right place, and Capheus's story especially felt quite grounded to me. Did give me a bit of a shock, though, to see the scene where Silas Kabaka takes Capheus away from Amondi's birthday party to see how he deals with people who displease him. That place where he chopped off the poor bloke's hands was all that's left of the revolving restaurant in the KICC building where I was taken in 1977. ;)
I also agree it seemed odd that everyone recognised Sun as Korean straightaway. I don't think that would have happened.
Mind you, I think the worst lazy cliche was the last one - the one about men loving fast cars so much they'll be so distracted by the sight of a beautiful car going up in smoke you can get away with anything behind their backs. ;)
Still, as I said, I think the show's heart is in the right place, and it looked bloody fantastic!
I'm guessing if there's a s2 Will will spend at least the start of it in a coma
You think so? Why is that?
Must admit, I'm still not sure how the fact that Will looked at Whispers works out. Does that mean Whispers can see what Will sees? It can't do, can it, or he'd know the identities of the rest of Will's cluster already. And what is Whisper's deal anyway?
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 09:09 pm (UTC)That bugged me too, though it's pretty strongly hinted that her father, being a bit of a hippy, named her Riley after the Who song he plays to her when they meet at the airport. And IIRC, that ban on non-Icelandic names only became law in the early 90s, though I may be wrong about that. But yeah, there's really no reason they couldn't have an Icelandic actress with an Icelandic name. Then again, there's no reason to have a Brit playing Neets either, and I didn't really mind that... I've missed Freema on my TV.
Mind you, I think the worst lazy cliche was the last one - the one about men loving fast cars so much they'll be so distracted by the sight of a beautiful car going up in smoke you can get away with anything behind their backs. ;)
That's not a cliché, that's real life! (And also the best joke of the whole season.)
You think so? Why is that?
Well, as long as he's awake, Whispers can supposedly see everything he sees. So until they fix that I suppose they'll either have to keep him sedated, or find some way for him to interact with them without seeing, hearing, smelling or feeling anything, which would make for bad TV...
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 10:04 pm (UTC)Really? That's true? I mean, okay, I know that men are supposed to have a natural affinity for cars (which is weird, because cars aren't exactly natural), but I thought that was way OTT. I'll revise my opinion on the strength of what you say, though, and go with Sun being the martial arts expert as the laziest cliche in the show (though she was awesome in all those fight scenes).
Well, as long as he's awake, Whispers can supposedly see everything he sees.
But can he? I don't think he can see the other members of Will's cluster. He didn't seem to be able to see Jonas when Angelica was talking to him, and he'd clearly looked in Angelica's eyes at some point. And yes, he knew what Jonas looked like, but it seemed like they'd probably met before.
I dunno. It was confusing. I need to rewatch it.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-07 10:18 pm (UTC)Sun being the martial arts expert as the laziest cliche
And East Germans being some sort of Russians. Really, most of the characters have a strong helping of cliché, but the writing is good enough that they transcend that. For the most part.
For most of the Mr Whispers storyline, I was just thinking "You know, this plot wasn't all that original when Orphan Black did it either..."
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 10:35 am (UTC)Yeah, it is pretty OTT. I do know guys who would react exactly like that, but... Then again, I like that the show has two LGBT women use a dumb cliché about how the Straight White Default Hero works to forward the story, as opposed to how it usually works.
That was pretty great, I agree - as was Will's reaction when they told him to break the fuel line and he realised they were right. ;)
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Date: 2015-08-08 12:28 pm (UTC)Even when names of foreign origin have been accepted on to the list of allowed names they have to follow the rules of Icelandic language, as in you have to be able to conjugate them as Icelandic names. Many female names in Icelandic end with -ey, so that's not far fetched. But Riley still wouldn't have made it. For one the English pronunciation of Riley is too far from it's spelling. For it to be pronounced as the English Riley it would have had to be written Ræley.
The actress not being Icelandic only really bugged me when she was singing Icelandic songs because her pronunciation was so often off. And since everyone else who was supposed to be Icelandic actually was, it was even more noticeable. But other than that, and the name, I wasn't too bothered. :)
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Date: 2015-08-08 12:46 pm (UTC)My mistake. Sorry.
Iceland did look amazing. I want to go there more than ever now.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 07:02 pm (UTC)Just to grasp at straws, is it ever outright stated that Riley is her actual official name, as opposed to a nickname? We never had laws as strict as that in Sweden, but my dad has spent 60+ years going by the "nickname" his parents insisted is his real name, even though the priest refused to enter it into the official parish records. Could she be, say, Ragnheiður "Riley" Gunnarsdóttir?
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Date: 2015-08-09 11:51 am (UTC)And hey, I grew up in Sweden and am pretty ignorant of Swedish history, plus this isn't something that comes up every day so no shame about it at all. I had to google quite a bit myself to even find anything about it, most writings about early name laws focus on the family name debate since it was such a big deal. I actually have a family name myself although not a made-up one but from my great grandfather who was Norwegian and got my great grandmother pregnant, leaving a son behind. But me and my sister had to fight for it, and last time I got a passport they once again screwed it up, making it a middle name instead of a part of my last name. Same with my kids. Bloody nuisance.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 09:21 pm (UTC)Also, I am still reeling from going on Tumblr for the first time in months just to look for Sense8 stuff and finding myself in tune with most of the posters on there (not all, one Tumblr was warning that the show was 'triggery' and not for everyone). How long, I wonder, until the backlash sets in?
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 02:40 am (UTC)I felt the same way! And I never loved the show more than when they were all together, each bringing strengths and skills I hadn't even realized they had, such as Riley's ability to take suffering and keep going, or Lito's ability to lie cleverly, or Wolfgang's ability to do the cold thing that needs to be done. The synergy is so beautiful, and it hits my team love button so, so hard.
Hmm. I really need a Sense8 icon.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 10:37 am (UTC)For lack of icon makers on LJ (or anywhere these days), I've been making my own. They're not that great, I know, but you're welcome to snag one if you want. Until you can find something better.
I did find a lovely pic of all eight of the main cast in the boat at the end, but was unable to turn it into an icon that kept them all in it so I ended up having to make separate ones.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 11:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 12:09 pm (UTC)Equally, if you don't like them, please don't feel obliged to take any. I only make icons for new shows I'm fond of (or, in the case of Game of Thrones, for the latest season) because hardly anyone else is doing it these days. Fandom is on Tumblr (so they tell me) and they don't use icons there.
no subject
Date: 2015-08-08 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-10 09:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-10 05:18 pm (UTC)Also,
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Date: 2015-08-11 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-11 01:45 pm (UTC)