I re-watched Sense8 over the last couple weeks. The first time I watched it, I marathoned episodes. This time I could pay closer attention to character development, and I noticed that Riley is the only one in the group who doesn’t have a defined “thing”—an ability that she uses to help other people in the cluster.
The other sense8s each have their own strengths:
- Will – detective skills, fighting, knowledge of police procedure
- Nomi – computer hacking
- Lito – lying, discovering secrets
- Kala – medical skills, chemistry
- Wolfgang – fighting (even killing)
- Capheus – driving
- Sun – fighting (especially calm under pressure)
Riley doesn’t have a skill that’s called out specifically. Maybe that means it’s something we’ll see in season 2. Or maybe Riley’s skill is subtle and interwoven into everything else. I think of Riley as the comforter. She appears to Will when he’s worried or lonely. Riley appears to Sun when she is in prison and upset. In the finale, it’s Riley who takes care of Will after he sees Whispers. With Will, Riley shows an ability to have a deep connection with someone (even between sense8s) and maybe that’ll extend to the rest of the cluster in season 2.
