Sense8 season 2: Riley becoming Will's caregiver, Lito losing work and other things to expect

Netflix's Sense8 finally returns for a second season on 5 May. Having been kept in suspense for almost two years, fans can hardly wait. But as it's been such a long time between seasons, it can be difficult to remember what happened previously...

Originally conjured up by Matrix creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Sense8 centres on strangers from all around the world, who become mentally connected to one another following a joint vision of a woman's violent death. They discover that they are sensates; beings who are able to communicate, sense and use each other's knowledge, language and skills all through their new-found powers. But things don't look so optimistic when they learn a man called Whispers is hunting them down and looking to harness their power for his own personal gain.

Ahead of Sense8's comeback, IBTimes UK recaps what each character was up to at the end of the show's first season – as well as what to expect when we meet them again...

Will (Brian J Smith)

Season one: Towards the final episodes, Will inadvertently made eye contact with Whispers, which opened up his mind to the baddie and, in turn, put the seven other sensates in his 'cluster' at risk. In the Christmas special, Will made lover Riley keep him in drugged, semi-conscious state to stop Whispers getting a hold of where and the group were.

Season two: "He is [awake]. But it's more, like Lana called it, a 'fugue state,'" Smith revealed to IGN. "His contact with Whispers in the last episode creates a lot of problems, but something that I wasn't expecting is that it also creates a lot of opportunities too.

"[It's] super raw as he's really able to tap into some of this subconscious Sensate stuff which involves going into memory and into the past. He's trying to solve mysteries that happened a long time ago that are affecting what happen now."

Riley (Tuppence Middleton)

Season one: Riley had one of the most tragic backstories of all of the sensates, which was revealed in the first season's later episodes. Brought to her in a vision, Riley remembers that she previously lost her husband and their infant daughter in a blizzard while travelling to the hospital to give birth back in her homeland. In the finale, another sensate named Yrsa almost convinced her to end her own life on the basis that she was "hexed" having lost so many people in her life. But Will managed to persuade her differently.

Season two: "It's a massive role reversal this season, because after having been kind of saved herself, she becomes more of the caretaker of the two," Middleton told IGN. "She has to be strong and practical and put all of that emotional stuff behind her and really come through for Will and the whole cluster, because she was at a very vulnerable point in her story and her life when we last saw her."

Lito (Miguel Angel Silvestre)

Season one: Lito's biggest storyline throughout the previous episodes was coming to terms with his sexuality. Despite being in a happy relationship with Hernando (Alfonso Herrera), Lito has never come out publicly through fears of ruining his acting career. That changed in the later episodes when he embraced who he really was.

Season two: "Lito's facing a new era of his life, and he's accepting his darkness, his light, and it will make him more real and have more meaningful relationships and performances as an actor," Silvestre told Pride Source. "With [his] relationship [with Hernando], beautiful things will happen, but at the same time when you face Lito not having work, that makes a huge change in how you behave. When your dream goes away. There will be many surprises.

Nomi (Jamie Clayton)

Season one: Having faced her own battles towards the beginning of the first season, Nomi teamed up with Will to save Riley from the clutches of Whispers. She also becomes an instrumental part in Lito's coming out – encouraging him to live a more authentic life.

Season two: "You get find out the origins of BPO [the Biologic Preservation Organization, which hunts down potential sensates, and persuade to join their cause or face death], and what they're doing. Now that the eight of us know what's going on more, Season 2 really takes off with a bang," Clayton teased to NewNowNext.

In terms of Nomi however, she was quick to confirm that the character will continue to have "the most honest relationship in the series," as opposed to Lito and Hernando who "love each other but [are] still struggling."

Sun (Doona Bae)

Season one: After discovering her brother's embezzlement and recalling her mother's dying wish for Sun to protect her father and brother, she chose to take her brother's place and confess to his crimes so he can remain out of prison and her father's company can survive the scandal. However, when he visits her in prison and claims that their father – who was going to confess the truth to the police – committed suicide, Sun sees through his story and accuses him of murdering their father so he couldn't tell the police of his own involvement.

Season two: Bae has remained much more quiet than other cast members about Sun's involvement in Sense8's second season but, according to Screen Rant, fans should prepare to see her kicking-butt alongside the usual suspects, Will and criminal Wolfgang.

Wolfgang (Max Riemelt)

Season one: Despite their shared kiss, Wolfgang horrifies Kala by murdering his mobster family members and revealing that when he was a boy, he killed his abusive father. Given Kala's reaction, Wolfgang concludes that he and Kala will never have a future and encourages her to go ahead with her marriage to Rajan.

Season two: "Killing my whole family, certainly has some consequences," Riemelt explained to IGN. "I have to deal with these other people who like to take over Berlin and I have to find my place in this crime dynasty of Berlin gangsters."

Kala (Tina Desai)

Season one: Kala's story is integrated heavily with Wolfgang. Aside from their romance, she also plays a part in helping save Riley from Whispers.

Season two: "On every level, it's complicated because there's no finality to anything because we're sensates," Desai told IGN. "I think it was more of him taking responsibility and caring so much that he wouldn't want to put me or my life in jeopardy because of how too much of his life would become after that action," she said.

Capheus (Toby Onwumere)

Season one: We last saw Capheus standing up to crime lord Kabaka, whom he previously worked for, due to the brutality of his escapades. However, he later shows mercy and saves his former boss from his enemies, the Superpower Gang.

Season two: According to Inverse, "Season 2 will also be a whirlwind for Capheus". In a recent interview with the publication, Onwumere teased that the character will get a new love interest, be involved in "the political arena" and "have a really interesting [visit with] Wolfgang."

He continued: "Let's say [Capheus] might need Sun, Will, and Wolfgang a little more. Sun will be needing me [too]."