Sense8: Let's talk about all of season 1 

'Sense8' recap: 'I Can't Leave Her'

'Sense8' recap: 'Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes'

is made for a full-season recap. It’s slow-burning narrative and general lack of hand-holding when it comes to storytelling means that a lot of the show’s themes and layers don’t really come into focus until you’ve consumed most of the season. It’s a show that needs unpacking. Sure, there’s the pure enjoyment of watching the plot unfold, of just sitting back and reveling in the glee of the fight scenes and plot twists. But the show has so much more going on underneath the surface that makes the whole season all the more enriching. (Spoilers for the entire first season lay ahead, folks).

The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, across 12 episodes, crafted a season of television that was at turns ambitious, funny, and thrilling. While action-packed setpieces were the climactic focus of so many episodes—the pseudo-prison break in the finale being the most exciting of them all—it was the thematic work that truly makes

stand out and leaves a lingering feeling long after the finale cuts to the credits.

is particularly powerful when it’s musing on themes of power, gender, identity, and sexuality. On a larger plot level

tells a story about a group of people with special powers who are being hunted by an agency that has immense power and influence. On a more thematic and ambitious level though, the show explores what it means to be human.

is a celebration of the human experience. It suggests that every person from every walk of life is complex, and that it’s necessary in a world of cynicism to see beyond the surface and see what lies underneath. There’s a sense of empathy that runs through the first season. The sensates being able to experience one another’s emotions is not merely a fun plot device, but rather a progressive philosophy. Every character, from Nomi (who is transgender) to Lito (who is gay) to Will (who is a young cop), no matter how different, share something in common: They’re human.

One of the first season’s most endearing tendencies is the way in which the sensates never really balk at their newfound powers. Will doesn’t cringe when Lito caresses him during that beautiful orgy sequence; Sun never hesitates to put her life on the line and kickbox the enemies in order to save a friend; Kala opens up to Wolfgang in a way she can’t with Rajan, the man she’s supposed to marry.

pushes a philosophy that the world would be a better place if we all just tried a little harder to understand each other. It would be a better place if we talked openly about privilege, sexuality, and class, if we explored transgender issues and religious devotion with an open mind.

was at times dull, its exposition dominating too many scenes in a single episode. But with the whole first season behind us, it’s clear that

, in its best moments, is both unique and powerful. It boasts a vision and a worldview that’s progressive and optimistic, and in a world where our television dramas are typically dark and cynical,

is a breath of fresh air, its first season a staggering meditation on the beauty and complexity of the human experience.

Episode 12, “I Can’t Leave Her”: They saved the best for last. The most exciting and ambitious episode of the season.

Episode 6, “Demons”: When it all starts to come together (orgy pun definitely intended).

Episode 10, “What Is Human?”: That final scene, where the sensates experience their birth, is beautiful. One of the more thematically sound episodes of the season.

Episode 11, “Just Turn the Wheel and the Future Changes”: The show ramps up the pace and barrels toward its finale.

Episode 5, “Art is Like Religion”: A fun, fast-paced episode anchored by that glorious movie shootout scene with Lito.

Episode 9, “Death Doesn’t Let You Say Goodbye”: Perhaps the most contemplative and emotionally devastating episode of the season anchored by that scene with Lito, Hernando, and Nomi in the museum.

Episode 4, “What’s Going On?”: The final montage in this episode, set to “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes, is one of the season’s most memorable and touching moments.

Episode 7, “W.W.N. Double D?”: An episode that muses on power and privilege in interesting ways, focusing on two of the season’s most underused characters, Wolfgang and Kala.

Episode 3, “Smart Money’s on the Skinny Bitch”: The plot threads start to come together and the visitations become more fun and obvious.

Episode 8, “We Will All Be Judged by the Courage of Our Hearts”: A slow-moving episode that mostly works to set up everything that follows. A placeholder before the ramp up to the finale.

Episode 1, “Limbic Resonance”: A disjointed premiere, but one that’s thrilling in the way it refuses to hold the viewer’s hand and walk them through the plot.

Episode 2, “I Am Also a We”: Here, the show is still finding its footing. It’s an episode that lacks the fun confusion of the premiere and also the cohesion of the rest of the season.

Any theories as to the story of season 2? Whispers will likely play a more prominent role. Maybe a season that digs into the backstory of BPO more? There are a lot of options.

Can Kala and Wolfgang find some common ground, or is their relationship doomed?

What was your favorite moment from this season? I go back and forth between the orgy sequence and the scene where Nomi escapes Amanita’s mother’s apartment with the help of Capheus, Will, and Sun.

Is there still any chance Jonas is a bad guy, in cahoots with Whispers? It seems like he helped the sensates as much as he could, but maybe there’s more to him than we think.

Who wants to know more about Angel? I know I do!

If the show gets a second season, what would you like to see more of? What worked for you in this first season and what would you change?

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