Nomi Marks, Sense8

Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton)

Sense8 is a sci fi drama centered around eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly became “sensates”; human beings who are mentally and emotionally linked.

Nomi Marks is one of the sensates, a political blogger and “hacktivist” based in San Francisco. She is a transwoman who lives with her girlfriend Amanita. Nomi shares her consciousness with seven other people, her cluster. The cluster allows her to feel what they are feeling, converse with them even when they are on the other side of the world and even control their bodies or let them control her body. The first season focused on Nomi becoming aware of her connection with the other people.

At a pride parade, Nomi fell unconscious. She ended up in the hospital, where her transphobic mother told her that she wouldn’t let Amanita see her. Her sister tried to run interference between her mother and Nomi, defending Nomi, though that aspect was not the focus of Nomi’s storyline. Nomi’s “doctor” told them that her brain had an illness that compromised Nomi’s sense of reality, and she would need a lobotomy. It later turned out Nomi’s doctor worked for BPO, the organization which hunted down sensates. Her family believed Nomi was sick, and kept her in the hospital against her will. Amanita staged a breakout for Nomi, and the two began investigating everything that was happening.

Nomi and Amanita investigated the company, the doctor, his previous patients, and Whispers. The two found out that all of the doctor’s previous patients were diagnosed with the same fake illness as Nomi. They turned out to be other sensates, who had been lobotomized. Nomi and Amanita laid low until one of the people in her cluster, Will, approached her in order to save another cluster member, Riley. Riley was caught by the same people that tried to get to Nomi in the hospital. Nomi used her hacking skills to help Will save Riley along with all other cluster members.

Season 2

In season 2, Nomi and Amanita started investigating an early species, Homo Sensorium, with abilities similar to sensates, thought by fringe evolutionists to have existed before they were wiped out by Homo Sapiens.

Their relationship continued throughout the season, while the sensates got more used to visiting each other and appearing in each other’s lives. Amanita and Nomi were hiding out in San Francisco on Bug’s (Michael Sommers) boat, handling all the hacking needed by the others.

In episode 2×05, Bug came up with the idea of “e-death” for Nomi, to wipe out any electronic traces and records of her, including law enforcement records, allowing her and Amanita to move back in their apartment. In episode 2×06 Nomi thanked Amanita for being supportive and selfless, and they visited with Amanita’s mother and 3 dads (episode 2×07).

In episode 2×09, they attended Nomi’s sister’s wedding, and her mother continued to call her “Michael” but her father referred to her as “his daughter” for the firs time. In the season finale, Amanita and Nomi both proposed and got engaged.

The show was cancelled after season 2.

Female love interests:

• Amanita (Freema Agyeman, lesbian, regular)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

No male love interests

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Female (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.