"So here we are, the end. No more secrets, no more lies."
— Jonas
"Amor Vincit Omnia" is the Series Finale of Sense8. Although billed as the twelfth episode of Season 2, it was it was commissioned to wrap up the series following its cancellation in October 2017. This episode was then released on June 8, 2018.
Will, Riley, Sun, Lito, Capheus, Nomi, Kala, and their closest allies have rendezvoused in Paris in their plot to rescue Wolfgang, who is currently in BPO's custody. They attempt to piece together the organization's history and plan to exchange Whispers for Wolfgang despite a plea from a sensate-sympathetic faction of BPO to kill Whispers instead. However, Lila interrupts their planned exchange and takes Whispers for her own negotiations with the chairman. The cluster travels to Naples to get Whispers back, but Kala is shot during the operation, allowing Lila and Whispers time to escape. Just as Lila meets the chairman, however, Jonas uses a prototype of Angelica's drone technology to remotely kill him. Jonas then destroys the laboratory holding the lobotomized sensates, killing himself in the process. Wolfgang shoots down the helicopter carrying Lila and Whispers.
The episode then cuts to all the characters celebrating Nomi and Amanita's wedding on the Eiffel Tower.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Aborted Arc: Some of the subplots are either quickly wrapped up or ignored in order to fit in as much content into a 2.5-hour episode as possible.
- Book Ends: The rainbow strap-on that we see at the end of Nomi and Amanita's first scene is prominently displayed in this episode's last scene.
- Back for the Finale: Several minor characters, including Yrsa, the Old Man of Hoy, Nomi's drag queen friends, Puck, Gunnar and Sven, and Nomi's family make reappearances in this episode.
- Battle Couple: Sun and Detective Mun get a Relationship Upgrade into this, and kick the asses of many BPO mooks.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: The Old Man of Hoy would prefer shooting himself in the head to being captured and tortured or lobotomized by BPO, especially since his capture would put the Archipelago at risk.
- The Big Board: The cluster has one in one of the Parisian safehouses where they attempt to make sense of BPO's history.
- Bonding Through Shared Earbuds: Riley puts on a Depeche Mode song and the sound is shared by the seven people she shares a Psychic Link with. But to show that their individual significant others (and other members of the inner circle like Daniela and Bug) are part of the True Companions now, headphones are passed around (and Capheus puts it on in the car he's driving with Rajan) so everyone, sensate or no, is jamming to the song at the same time.
- Boom, Headshot!: The ultimate fate of BPO's chairman — Jonas uses an old prototype of the drone tech to have a 'zombie' shoot him in the head.
- Call-Back:
- Wolfgang once again uses a rocket launcher to take down a foe. Lampshaded by Felix who comments it was included in his roster of weapons for old times' sake.
- The doctor who treats Kala's gunshot wound is the same one who treated Rajan in the first episode of season two.Rajan: He's practically family.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The taser Rajan picks up is never used in combat, but is instead used to revive Kala.
- The rocket launcher Fuchs gives Wolfgang via Felix is used to shoot down the helicopter carrying Lila and Whispers.
- Coordinated Clothes: Sun and Detective Mun wear matching denim shirts and dark pants while pretending to be married tourists.
- Contrived Coincidence: Mun was tracking Sun's burner phone, but just happens to locate her as she's cornered by BPO mooks. The only possible explanation is that he noticed police sirens and figured that Sun would be the cause, since trouble usually followed her.
- Creator Cameo: Lana Wachowski can be seen dancing among the guests at Nomi and Amanita's wedding reception.
- Crowded-Cast Shot: Try crowded cast orgy.
- Dance Party Ending: Close, but the spirit is there. The episode's second to last sequence is the cast having fun and dancing at Nomi and Amanita's wedding reception.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Subverted and defied by Kala after she is shot by Lila. Wolfgang and the rest of the cluster are mourning her limp body before she appears to them, asking if they really are just going to let her die in Wolfgang's arms. She then walks them through her own first aid procedure and eventually survives the whole ordeal.
- Distressed Dude: The cluster has to rescue Wolfgang.
- Drugs Are Good: Nomi's mother takes a pot brownie and suddenly has a favorable view of her daughter again.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: How are we reminded that the cluster is in Paris? Have Amanita point out the Eiffel Tower, of course.
- Exposition Cut: After the cluster deals with the BPO attack, Rajan asks what's going on. Cut to him looking dumbfounded as the other characters nod to confirm that everything they've told him about sensates and BPO is true.
- Extra-Long Episode: Two and a half hours long, compared to prior episodes which were around 45 minutes long.
- Everybody Lives: Except for the bad guys and Jonas, everyone in the cluster, along with their loved ones, gets to live happily ever after.
- Gay Paree: The first act takes place in Paris. While the conceit of the plot disallows the characters from enjoying the city too much, a few remarks are dropped about how romantic it is. Nomi and Amanita later get married on the Eiffel Tower.
- Give Away the Bride: Amanita walks down the aisle on her mother's arm with her three dads walking behind them. Nomi is given away by Bug instead of her parents.
- Grand Finale: For the show as a whole. BPO is taken care of and the main characters' arcs are mostly tied up.
- Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: Diego left Chicago and shows up in Naples wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Jonas uses Angelica's old prototype to kill the Chairman before sacrificing himself to blow up the lab holding the 'zombies'.
- Hidden Depths: Daniela knows her way around guns because of her time with Joaquin. She can also speak French.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: Nomi's mother tries a pot brownie at the wedding which finally opens her mind enough to stop using Nomi's deadname and embrace her daughter.
- Last Episode, New Character:
- The Lacuna, a neutral council of sensates of which Bodhi is a member, is introduced in this episode, which happens to be the series finale.
- River El-Saadawi, daughter of one of BPO's founder and one of the highers-up fighting to return the organization to its initially benevolent goals, is also introduced in this episode.
- Impartial Purpose-Driven Faction: The Lacuna, a neutral group of sensates who don't take part in global sensate affairs, preferring to pass on knowledge instead. However, BPO's activities have led them to be Neutral No Longer.
- It Works Better with Bullets: The Old Man of Hoy plans to kill himself rather than be taken by BPO but Kirsty reveals she's removed the bullets and tells him to keep fighting and escape with her.
- Latin Lover: Bug tries to invoke this by dropping French and Italian phrases while in Paris and Naples, as they are 'love languages'. Amanita mentions he once tried Spanish. He is less than successful, at least until the reception.
- Living MacGuffin: Whispers, who is treated as a bargaining chip by the clusters and has very little agency by himself.
- Magical Defibrillator: A taser, along with CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable, is used to revive Kala. (This is a very bad idea in real life.)
- The Main Characters Do Everything: The global sensate movements are alluded to but ultimately, much of the legwork to take down Whispers and the Chairman is done by the main cluster. Puck and a couple of other sensates help out in Naples in particular.
- Manly Tears: Wolfgang weeps as he cradles Kala's body.
- Meet Cute: Amanita's parents describe Nomi and Amanita's first meeting to the Markses — Nomi was looking for an obscure book* at the bookstore Amanita was working at. Amanita was shelving returns, and it turns out that she was holding the book Nomi was looking for. They comment that it was a great metaphor for love.
- Meet the In-Laws: Subverted. Mun tells Diego that Sun introduced him to her family, and Diego responds that it must now be serious between them. Since Sun's only remaining blood relation is her treacherous brother in prison, however, Mun actually just means her dog.
- A Minor Kidroduction: The episode starts with a flashback to a young Wolfgang and his mother.
- Mission Control: Nomi, Amanita, and Bug act as surveillance, hacking, and general catch-all computer needs while the rest of the cluster is on the ground.
- Mood Whiplash: This episode tends to sequence tense, plot-heavy scenes before lighter scenes of the sensates enjoying themselves. One example is after the cluster realizes that Lila has foiled their plan, the scene cuts to them eating at a beautiful villa in the French countryside.
- Must Have Caffeine: Nomi gets a little cranky when she's woken up by Lito's exercise routine and the entire Clsuter start making demands for her attention.Nomi: Nomi's not doing anything until Nomi gets a fucking cup of coffee.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
- Sun's subplot is wrapped up by the Korean police somehow managing to convict the Corrupt Politician covering for Joong-ki, bringing down Joong-ki in the process.
- Kirsty Stromness, the seemingly harmless old lady in the Old Man of Hoy's care, apparently "[laid] waste" to BPO platoons.Hoy: If it was a film I wouldn't have believed it.
- Oh, Crap!: After Rajan shows up at the apartment in Paris he tells Kala he received an email from some medical organisation.Rajan: I just remember three letters, BP-
(knocking at the door)
Will: OH SHIT! - Parental Incest: Wolfgang's mother was his older stepsister. It's also heavily implied that his father's relationship with her was not consensual.
- Planning with Props: The protagonists plot out the exchange of Whispers for Wolfgang using a map and model vehicles. Bug is excited that he gets to be part of one of these scenes.
- Polyamory: Kala ends up with both Wolfang and Rajan, who are only too happy to be with one another as well.
- The Power of Love: A Central Theme, given the series. The sensate main characters and their allies (human and sensate alike) are able to accomplish their goals despite their differences through the power of love.River: ... For all the differences between us and all the forces that try to divide us, they will never exceed the power of love to unite us.
- Prisoner Exchange: The cluster plans to exchange Whispers for Wolfgang. Lila has other ideas. Also conversed, as one of Lito's films where a hostage exchange is performed is discussed by the characters.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Daniela delivers one to Whispers after he goads Amanita into attacking him and dropping the syringe with the Blocking solution.Dani: I know your kind. Men that mistake cruelty for strength. Living your petty little lives, so limited. We both know that if I were to pull this trigger, not a single person would shed a tear. The smallness of your kind of life is nothing to fear only to pity.
- Relationship Upgrade: Now that Joong-ki is behind bars and Sun is exonerated, there’s nothing really stopping Sun and Detective Mun from getting together, and they are shown to be a happy couple in the ending.
- The Reveal: Angelica tried to kill the Chairman.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Kirsty knew all along that her husband and the Old Man of Hoy were sensates.Hoy: You—you knew? About Homo sensorium?
Kirsty: I was Angus's wife for 40 years. You can't love someone like I loved Angus and not know a thing like that. - Scenery Porn: Naples and the surrounding countryside are very pretty.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: In a sense. Lito (along with Daniela and Hernando) leaves the Forcella before the shooting starts, and Felix is shot and has to be taken out of the action. Both are frequent sources of comic relief. In Felix's case, this happens right before Kala is shot.
- So Crazy, It Must Be True: Rajan believes Kala when she gets him up to speed with the sensate conspiracy, because he can't believe that all these international strangers working with her would act as they are if it were a lie.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Shortly after his Dramatic Unmask, the Chairman is unexpectedly shot through his head from offscreen.
- Speedy Techno Remix: The Magnetic Fields's "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" is first played at the reception before segueing into a more upbeat, techno-infused cover.
- Sex Montage: The final sequence is a montage of the couples laying down to have sex with each other after the reception before the psychic connection kicks in again.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Kala has to talk down Wolfgang after the latter puts a gun to his head. She does so by threatening to do so herself so he has to stop her.
- Title Drop: Dropped by Hernando while mentioning Virgil during the cluster's staged "tour" of Naples.Hernando: Love conquers all things.
- Trojan Horse: Hernando mentions they need a Trojan horse to get to where Whispers is being held. This translates to having the cast pretend to be a group of tourists.
- Unfazed Everyman: The sensates' supporting cast (Hernando, Daniela, Mun, Diego, Rajan, Felix) all of whom save Amanita and Bug were previously Locked Out of the Loop, take their loved ones being members of Homo sensorium psychically connected to seven different people and off to take down a Nebulous Evil Organization surprisingly well, and even directly help in their efforts.Rajan: Can you believe yesterday I thought the worst thing in my life was being subpoenaed for a corruption trial, and today I am heading to Naples to stop a nefarious organization from using a secret human species, which my wife is a member of, as suicide assassins.
Capheus: What was that, Rajan?
Rajan: I said things change so fast. - Unspoken Plan Guarantee: The exchange plan at the Parisian nightclub is explained to the audience, so it naturally goes awry when Lila intervenes. The cluster infiltrating the Forcella, on the other hand, is unspoken, so it mostly works save for a few snags.
- The Watson: Is the opening sequence with the cluster conversing while seamlessly switching between two safehouses too confusing? No worries, because Lito is explaining it all to Hernando and Daniela.
- Wedding Finale: The villains are all defeated, so Nomi and Amanita get married in Paris at the end of this episode.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: As a consequence of this being the very last episode, a lot of plot threads are either hastily tied up offscreen or left hanging.
- The outcome of the elections Capheus was participating in is never revealed, with his supporting cast merely showing up in a video call near the start, and in person at the wedding.
- We don't see Kala's family at all. They're mentioned to be questioned by BPO in the beginning, but that's all we hear about them. They don't even show up to Nomi's and Amanita's wedding. Similarly, Rajan mentions the investigation he's involved in, but we don't get to hear the outcome.
- Wrap It Up: This Extra-Long Episode was commissioned in order to resolve the major plotlines of the show after it was cancelled after two seasons.
