TV Writer Izzy Tobin reviews Netflix’s Kaos finding it to be an interesting amalgamation of Greek myths told in a refreshingly entertaining way
As someone who lacks knowledge on the Greek Myths, Kaos is an amalgamation of many of the Greek tales told in a simplified and modernised yet extremely entertaining manner. Creator Charlie Covell provides eight comedy filled episodes with drops of gore and an underlying sense of eeriness.
This dark comedy enlightens viewers on the age-old stories of the Greek Gods as well as unveiling misconceptions about some of the figures. As a viewer, you will learn about power and politics laced together with themes surrounding death, gender, modernity and morality.
From the beginning of episode one, we meet the narrator Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) who introduces us to his former friend Zeus (Jeff Goldblum), the king of Gods. Prometheus unfolds the story throughout the series as he hangs, chained to a mountain whilst an eagle continuously pecks at his liver under Zeus’ order. Dillane portrays the ex-friend of Zeus as a character of secrecy and slight smugness whilst he oversees the downfall of the gods, behind Zeus’ back.
Jeff Goldblum encapsulates Zeus, but not in the way one might expect. Goldblum blatantly speaks of his love for power and violence but with a sense of dryness and style as he strolls through Mount Olympus in his tracksuit, displaying his suave mannerisms. This is further met with insecurity tantamount to his need for omnipotence which spirals throughout the series.
Goldblum brilliantly plays a character full of desire and greed
Goldblum brilliantly plays a character full of desire and greed to portray the Zeus we know from the myths, with elements of comedy and debonair which may make viewers feel conflicted on whether to somewhat like this destructive, status-seeking god.
Alongside Goldblum, Janet McTeer gorgeously plays Goddess Hera, wife and sister of Zeus. Hera is the sly, seductive goddess of marriage and women which is ironically contradicted by the unhappy marriage we see between Hera and Zeus from episode one which later builds on his insecurity.
One God that stands out is Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan), God of pleasure and festivity. He is caring towards the humans contradicting the other god’s lack of regard for humans. He is the type of God you would want to be friends with as his morals and party-animal spirit make him fun and charismatic.
His morals and party-animal spirit make him fun and charismatic
Down on earth, Kaos displays the human world as cultish, showing humans to be fear-mongered into honouring the Gods with ignominy of the gods leading to consequences such as extreme weather being sent from Zeus at the snap of his finger. As well as this, devotion to the Gods leads to entrance to the underworld controlled by God of Death, Hades (David Thewlis) and resulting in reincarnation. This shows us the darker side of Kaos, skilfully in balance with the comedic side, as humans will commit violent actions only to please the gods.
Prometheus speaks of three defiant humans whose stories unfold throughout the series. Eurydice, known as Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), is the first human we meet in the series alongside her husband Orpheus (Killian Scott). After Riddy’s death, Orpheus tries to save her by entering the underworld. Her story coincides with Caeneus (Misia Butler), who has been living in the underworld and forms a strong relationship with Riddy.
Caeneus is an eye-opening character who stood out tremendously in Kaos. Butler displays queer-representation and trans-masculinity and openly discusses gender transformation in the series. This restoration of trans-representation in western television is another reason why Kaos is so important. This is displayed in a subtle yet powerful way allowing viewers to understand the modernity of trans and queer representation.
Later, Ariadne (Leila Farzad) is introduced as the President of Crete’s daughter. Her story evolves interlinking with many Greek myths and we learn about her conflicted interests between family, morals and the Gods.
Riddy, Caeneus and Ariadne will become of most importance throughout the show as Prometheus unpacks their stories filled with plot twists and cliff-hangers, making anyone want to binge watch the entire show in one day. Covell cleverly creates a sense of connection between viewer and character by treating both human and God as individual and telling their stories so in-depth so no character’s story is impoverished.
Overall, despite the benefit of enlightening oneself on Greek mythology, the organised messiness of this television show keeps viewers on their toes with twists, turns and pure utter ‘Kaos’.
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