Last night my wife and I got tickets (via GLAAD) to a preview screening of the Sense8 finale in LA. We spiffied up, hopped in the ol’ hybrid, and went up through the wonderfull traffic hell of the 101 and the 5 to get to corner of Sunset and Vine. Cue the giggle fit.
Not Press, Just Fans
There was press there, but we’re not (yet) on the GLAAD press list, so we went as fans. Members of the international cluster that make up the Sense8 fandom. Thanks to LA traffic, we missed most of the red carpet, but the majority of the cast was in attendance and they were more that happy to greet everyone and wave and smile. They’ve probably seen the finale a few times, but they were as excited as we were, and as glamorous as expected.
What’s Going On
Before the showing, which started a little late, we had people behind the show come out and talk to us about how much the show meant to everyone.
And then they told us all to get our phones out because we were about to see something amazing and we should share it with the world. It was Linda Perry, from Four Non Blondes. Singing. You know what song.
Can you believe this? – M #sense8 pic.twitter.com/e612Zmiiz8
— LezWatchTV 📺🏳️🌈 (@lezwatchtv) June 8, 2018
She then invited everyone up on stage and the whole damn audience sang that song.
A whole audience for the #sense8finale and we sang you know what song. – M #sense8 pic.twitter.com/4PRYeV89fb
— LezWatchTV 📺🏳️🌈 (@lezwatchtv) June 8, 2018
We Love Lana
My wife, who is absolutely not a Sensate, watched the whole thing and liked it. She liked JMS (she’s a Babylon 5 fan), and she and I both think that Lana Wachowski is one of the greatest directors in our time. The way Lana can frame a scene, to keep you on your toes, is mind blowing. She absolutely understands how you film for screen, breaking the mould from the static framing you see on most TV shows, and embraces the angles and shadows.
A lot of directors rely heavily on musical cues. They play a riff, or a song, and you know you’re supposed to feel. Or they lean on writing that is meant to be evocative but often comes across as cheesy. Lana doesn’t do that. She cuts back and forth between scenes, using our own encapsulated memories as an example. We don’t (usually) remember a scene, we remember the moments, the snippets of life.
For a series like Sense8, where you never quite know where someone is (because the Sensates can be in multiple places at once), she capitalizes on that. Lana leaves you wondering “Was he there or is that in her head?” You can’t help but think about who has to be in what room at what moment, and instead of doing it in a way that confuses you to the point of annoyance, she lets you live in the uncertainty and the moment.
She makes it like life.
The Audience Loved It
Most people in the audience had not seen the finale. Those of us who had, you could tell because we laughed a second early, or got excited when we knew what was about to happen.
But so did the audience. When Lito screams about carbs or Nomi says she needs a ‘fucking cup of coffee,’ everyone laughed. When Sun and Detective Mun talk, everyone cheered. When Felix showed up, we hooted. We loved the hell out of that show, and we’ll love it again and again.
While the series ends ‘For the Fans’ they meant it. And we did too.
Will We Get Another Sense8?
This question is two-fold.
Will we ever get another episode or season of Sense8? Honestly I don’t think so. I’m not sure I want one. I think this finale really does bring me an ending and a final chapter on the series. I feel like it ends and I feel happy for what we got.
For me the bigger question is will we get another show like our beloved Sense8? I don’t mean will the Wachowski’s make something else (because that answer is yes). I mean will more people embrace this kind of wild storytelling, with innovative expressions of family and world class cinematography? Will we get more shows where everyone is queer? Will we get more risky content? Will we get more quality content?
I hope so. I really hope we see something like Sense8 again. I want to see this again and again and again. I want this to be the start of a new era where television sheds its skin and embraces it’s future. We see it with shows like Into the Badlands and Vita, where creators throw out the book and tell us an old story in a new way. We see it when a show like One Day at a Time reminds us that it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’re from, but that we’re all the same in our hearts.
I’m sad that Sense8 is over.
I’m excited to see the future.
Go Watch The Finale
Let #20gayteen continue and watch the Sense8 finale.
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