Entertainment

This 'Sense8' Organization Might Not Be As Sinister As It Appears

by Caroline Gerdes
Netflix

The highly anticipated second season of the Netflix sci-fi drama Sense8 hit the streaming platform of Friday, May 5 — nearly two years after Season 1's June 2015 premiere. Sure, there was a Christmas special this past December, but it served as almost a standalone episode. Season 2 of the series brings back and expands upon the mythology of Season 1, most of it centered around a singular mysterious organization. What's BPO on Sense8?

BPO stands for Biologic Preservation Organization on the series. The organization crosses international borders, is involved with many national governments, and appears to be incredibly well-funded. BPO studies human genetics, including mutations, and, as a result, the organization is hunting the sensastes. When they catch them, the sensates are studied, tortured, lobotomized, or killed. TL;DR: they are the bad guys of Sense8.

And the chief villain of this terrifying — possibly secret? — government group is Whispers. Remember Mr. Whispers? He's a sensate using his ability to track down the series' protagonists. When viewers left off in Season 1 and the Christmas special, Whispers had infiltrated Will's mind, causing him to resort to drugs to stay unconscious and keep Whispers away.

Murray Close/Netflix

There are ton of unanswered questions fans were hoping Season 2 would address about the Biologic Preservation Organization and Whispers. While dystopian or sci-fi entertainment has taught TV fans that government entities make for good villains, fans are curious about the BPO's motivations. Yes, picking apart supernatural brains or using mutants or heroes as lab rats is a staple of the genre, but viewers are unsure what the BPO's motive is with the sensates. And with new information about some members of BPO who want to help and support sensates, their purpose is even more unclear.

Hopefully other questions will be answered as the show continues, like what happened to Whispers' cluster? What is Whispers' true identity? And, how much power does he have over the titular Sense8 cluster?

The tables turn when it comes to who is in power during Season 2, as the trailer shows Will confronting Whispers and saying, "You think you're hunting us? We're coming for you." It looks like the gang is taking on the BPO and could be, fingers crossed, on the winning side. But do they know for sure that BPO is entirely evil?

Murray Close/Netflix

Season 2 reveals that there are individuals working in the organization who don't believe that sensates are dangerous. A man named Richard Wilson Croome tells Will that the perceived threat of people who can communicate in that way was heightened after the events of 9/11.

After Season 2, there are still plenty of unanswered questions about BPO and its link to the sensates. Whether they're all good or all bad, they're definitely invested in the future of the cluster and others like it.