Let’s get straight to the point: KAOS nailed Greek mythology perfectly.
No notes, no added fluff, only hard-hitting (dare I say objective?) facts.
I usually don’t go straight into my verdict, but if my opening line convinced you enough to log onto Netflix and binge-watch this, then by all means. But if you need a little nudge, read on to find out why this will be my talk of the town for days, weeks, months probably.
KAOS brings Olympus and Krete to the modern world. Gods spy on their humans through televisions, highlight rusting relationships through telephone lines, and humans fight for a spot in the Underworld through a pub quiz game.
Jeff Goldblum plays the narcissistic and neurotic King of the Gods, and begins the series panicked due to a prophecy. What starts as torturing humans to beget worship turns into an alienation within his own family, the effect of which ultimately trickles down to Earth.
The series’ greatest strength is making Greek mythology digestible in eight episodes. As an avid Greek myth fan since the fourth grade, the tales are not easy to digest. The stories did away with a lot of moral conduct, especially since the Olympians were born from the same father, so to speak. The first episode highlights that Hera (Janet McTeer) is both Zeus’ wife and sister, a topic no longer strange to commercial viewership since the dawn of Game of Thrones.
Admittedly, I approached the series with caution because of the potential Game of Thrones treatment. While it had a great story, its voyeurism and focus on sexually explicit scenes serve as distractions more than plot drivers. But I was glad to see that showrunner Charlie Covell did away with that and showed the sex through a more PG-13 lens.
Zeus and his problematic thirst for power may have been the main story, but all the other “side” stories? They worked. They did not serve as plot fillers at all, but were little pawns to the greater fulfillment of this series.
The Minotaur story? Glad to see it revisited, but I wish Pasiphae (Shila Ommi) had a bigger role. Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) and his punishment? Glad to see justice served cold. The Fates and the Furies? Glad to see them shine. Orpheus (Killian Scott) and Eurydice’s (Aurora Perrineau) love story? Sad that there wouldn’t be a Hadestown reprise, but anything is still possible. Although, it was beautiful to see how they did the “looking back” story through a different lens.
While Goldblum served as the initial hook, KAOS reeled in a powerhouse of actors I beg you to praise, too. McTeer as Hera played the goddess of marriage with a delightfully manipulative approach, likened to Kevin Spacey’s Francis Underwood in House of Cards. She was cold, devoid of emotion and quick-witted, which benefitted her during Zeus’ more impulsive moments. She was my favorite out of all, with Leila Farzad’s Ariadne a close second.
Speaking of strong women, Corvell served female justice compellingly, too. Greek mythology was always particularly unkind to women, especially since their purpose for existence were muse, mate or mistress. But in the series, Eurydice questions this purpose when she falls out of love with her husband Orpheus, a global rock star. Was she only born to be his muse, or does she serve as part of a bigger plan?
The world-building is brilliant in every way. I love the Easter eggs that are peppered throughout the series, like the cereal names in the grocery, how Eurydice meets her untimely death and that the Underworld is a black-and-white factory, complete with corporate, capitalist welcome videos.
This series also led me to discover that Eddie Izzard actually goes by Suzy now, and she plays Lachesis (or Lacey) with a dead-pan yet comical straightforwardness. It’s wonderful to see a rework of the oldest transgender myth – Caeneus. Played by trans actor Misia Butler, Caeneus was an Amazonian woman whom Poseidon sexually assaulted and wished to become male. But in this series, they swapped that storyline out entirely and gave his role a shining new purpose instead.
KAOS was right to rely on its characters to drive the story, because all of them served their parts beautifully. Who knew I could have sympathy for Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan), the god of pleasure and wine? He, for me, had the greatest character development of all and turned his thirst for validation into utter disgust for his father instead.
Overall, KAOS is true to its word – chaotic and messy. The gods are selfish, the Earthlings are its puppets, but there is a greater plan in the making. Like Caeneus’ parting words to Eurydice in the Underworld, “all the best things in life are human.” We’d love to see it.
KAOS is currently streaming on Netflix.
