Amor Vincit Omnia. Love Conquers All Things. How do we love? Why do we love? Can love evolve? What makes Lana so fascinating is how deeply unafraid she is of sentimentality or of being perceived as cheesy (which Sense8 most definitely is) but it's by far the most charming thing about her and Lilly. The deep, staggering sincerity that every single line of dialogue is spoken by "Sense8's" actors, the way Lana guides those lines and actors with such generosity and tenderness, the fearlessness of being so emotionally vulnerable in her writing is what makes the writing work, her passion for what she writes and the unabashed, blunt emotion that she carries in all her writing, no matter how cheesy it may get, is what always makes her writing work. And she and Lilly have been smart enough to surround themselves with collaborators who support that sentimentality and optimism in an increasingly cynical and smug film industry. Lana is also a filmmaker who has changed drastically in their art and Lana herself has discussed this. Her earlier work was far more controlled and rigorously storyboarded when she was in the closet. She felt like she needed to have obsessive control over her art because she didn't have that control over her own body, gender, and ability to stick within the status quo. But since she's come out, her work, her filmmaking, her art has transcended really any standard film conventions in regards to how they are shot and written (but most importantly, shot). It's something far more emotionally intuitive and fluid. Something free. It's not about following strict cinematic rules of storytelling anymore for her. It's about capturing an idea, a theme, a feeling in its purest, most untamed form. A beautiful moment or emotion that may not have even come to fruition without emotional in-the-moment intuition. As Lana has become more emotionally and spiritually free, so has her art. And I think that's absurdly beautiful and intensely moving. I don't think I've ever been as consistently moved by a show as I have been by "Sense8". It is absolutely one of the pieces of art that has emotionally affected me the deepest, that has changed my life the most profoundly. I really don't know what it is about the show that gets me so much. It's so open and sincere and unafraid of sentimentality or being seen as cheesy. And I feel like we live in a culture that promotes cynicism and snark far too much, especially in our art. And to see a show that acts in complete opposition of that, instead lowering our defenses through genuine overwhelming empathy, it by extent feels like a safe haven for emotion and trust, a place where you can feel and experience without shame or embarrassment. And that's where its true beauty lies, I think. That's where the Wachowski's true beauty lies. The final moments of the show are a kaleidoscopic entwining of bodies set to Ludovico Einaudi's "Experience", and I can think of a better piece of music that encapsulates the meaning of "Sense8". "Sense8" is art and cinema as untamed expression and celebration of the experience of joy, of vulnerability, of sentiment, of spiritual understanding, of tenderness, of catharsis, of humanity, of the great expansiveness of the unknown mystery that is life and facing it with compassion and something far beyond kindness; love. "Sense8" is about love. Love that transcends gender, race, sexual orientation, geography. It's about something so raw and untouchable that not even the most ferocious forms of oppression can stomp it out. In the words of the show, "Love is not something we wind up, something we set or control. Love is like art: a force that comes into our lives without any rules, expectations, or limitations. Love, like art, must always be free." Love must always be free. Art must always be free. Life must always be free. We must always be free. Because, at the end of the day, they all coalesce into one. "I am also a we". And that's why love conquers all things.