Along with many broken hearts that need mending, Netflix has an army of angry subscribers to reassure. The tears continued long after the credits rolled for the season two finale of "Sense8." To put it simply, fans went zero to 100 real f**king quick. To all the Freaks and Geeks fans: now we know how you feel.
Netflix had expressed their goal to double the amount of original content in 2017, yet pulled one of the most unique original series that they've produced. The addition of such openly political, yet emotional work represents a bold and positive direction that could potentially influence future content brought to Netflix. Viewers were still left struggling to accept its cancellation, as well as the epic cliffhanger that we're forced to end on.
Despite the broad selection of content that Netflix currently offers, none rival Sense8's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. From a criminal in Berlin to a pharmacist in Mumbai, the series forces each character into the others' shoes, underlining the importance of compassion as well as cross-cultural understanding, both of which seem absent from the world today.
The series didn't gather as big of a following as other Netflix originals such as "Stranger Things" and "Orange Is the New Black", but "Sense8" resonated with its fans in a much more meaningful way. Its celebration of differences and promotion of equality leaves viewers with more than just the entertainment aspect, which has clearly raised questions as to why it was canceled in the first place. Fans grieved the cancellation via Twitter, which was ironically announced on the first day of Pride Month.
Creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who are also responsible for "The Matrix", "V for Vendetta", and "Cloud Atlas", are the storytellers behind this progressive series. After coming out as transgender in 2012, Lana was awarded the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign where she recalled, "When I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn’t find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others. If I can be that person for someone else then the sacrifice of my private civic life may have value."
The trending #RenewSense8 and #BringBackSense8 are part of the determined efforts to bring it back, along with the demand for a proper ending. They even started a petition to renew the show, where nearly half a million people have signed. Even still, Netflix tells us to say our last and final goodbyes as we're left in an eternal state of wonder over what could have been...
