The Fantasy Review’s review of Kaos, Season 1, Episode 1.
This review of Kaos, season 1, episode 1 is essentially all positive. I recently watched the full series over on Netflix and fell in love with the stories, the characters, and the dark comedy of it all.
This was a brilliant first episode, and things only get better from here.
Here is my review for Kaos, season 1, episode 1.
Spoiler-filled Review of Kaos, Season 1, Episode 1
Let Me Introduce… Zeus in a Tracksuit
“My name is Prometheus. Some of you may have heard of me. Don’t worry if you haven’t.”
Kaos is so good, this opening scene had me hooked for the rest of the season. Also, yes, that is Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and he’s amazing in this show! Oh, and the soundtrack!
“Power can give a man many things. Taste is rarely one of them.”
Not only do we get humor here, seeing the random shit Zeus has around Mount Olympus, but it’s also a characterisation of both Seus and Prometheus in one simple statement. Zeus values power, and doesn’t care much what he does with it, so long as it is his. Prometheus looks down his nose at this, even as a prisoner.
And then we get the introduction to Zeus, which is essentially Jeff Goldblum strutting about in a tracksuit and he looks, as Prometheus quite rightly put it (if sarcastically), “extraordinary!”
Zeus is in a very good mood today, with it being Olympia, the day the mortals present a human sacrifice to him for everything he does for them. Prometheus is a genius with his quips, warning us not to like or trust Goldblum’s happy smiling face, because he (Zeus) is a “transcendent, unmitigated bastard.” I had to look it up, but it means bad.
And then we are introduced to the plan to bring this “bastard” down, with a Hustle/Ocean’s 11-like track in the background, and I shit you not, I got chills.
Today’s the Day, Riddy – Your Love is Dead
So, the plan involves three humans. Time to get the gang together. In Kaos, episode 1, we meet the first of these humans: Eurydice, or, as they call her in the show, “Riddy”. Any Greek mythology nerds will know her story is not a fun one…
Aww, and we meet Dennis the kitten too. What an absolute cutie. I sure hope nothing bad happens to him.
After watching the full series, it is strange that Prometheus comments upon Riddy having other things on her mind, saying “matters of the heart, I think you call them,” when he surely has similar matters of the heart hanging heavy on his chest?
Riddy goes to the shops to get cereal and these Olympian brand names are brilliant! My favorite is Achilles’ Heels. At the shop we meet Rose Tyler, no… Bad Wolf, no… Cassandra. Anyway, she also doesn’t have a happy story in Greek mythology. This might just end up being the darkest comedy show you watch this year.
Riddy worries she’s a bad person for not listening to her husband, so Cassandra says something weird and runs off in the most hilarious way, down the aisle. But we see Cassandra again, outside the shop, apprehended for shoplifting.
Then Cassandra says: “Everyone’s a thief…Everyone steals. Even the gods steal Especially the gods. They’re stealing our souls.” Well, I think we have the twist of Kaos wrapped up nicely. That was quick!
If you’re wondering why Cassandra has a quick rant about people not listening to her telling them about the horse and the people inside, it was Cassandra who tried to tell the people of Troy not to accept the false gift at the gates. No one listened to her, as is her curse from Apollo; to be able to tell prophecies but to never be believed.
And then we get a prophecy from Cassandra, well, two: “Today is the day” which is ominous. And, “Your love is dead,” which is actually brilliant and I didn’t notice this the first time I watched this show.
Hera Tries to Pacify Her Brother/Husband
The scene of Zeus casually slapping his hands about, making it rain, watering crops, is exactly how I see myself playing the Sims. You’re welcome!
But, uh oh, something isn’t quite right with that circular water fountain… Nevermind, here is Hera, played by Janet McTeer who is mind-blowingly brilliant in the role. She’s in a beekeeper’s outfit with a full beat of makeup and there is nothing more terrifying – do you know who those bees are???
Prometheus does tell us a bit too much. I mean, sure, it’s a fast way of learning the water fountain is called the Meander and it’s a divine structure. “As long as it flows, Zeus reigns.” I do think we could have gotten a lot of that information from context, though.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
And another introduction: this time it’s Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) partying hard on Earth, but it looks like the fun has worn off. When the fun stops, stop.
I love his t-shirt in this introductory scene. I know that’s a weird thing to say, but did you notice the print of Pan? Dionysus is the God of Madness, Wild Frenzy… that kind of thing. Well, Pan, among other things, is associated with sex, which fits right in with where Dionysus is hanging out at that moment, but Pan is also god of free-form musical composition.
If Dionysus has an affinity for Pan, then this links in well for his storyline in Kaos. The music bit, not the sex bit. But I have no doubt, if there is a season 2, he will be doing the latter too.
Oh, and the club he was in is called PANOPEUS, which was both a real place in Ancient Greece, and mentioned a lot in the myths too. The place is believed to be named after the person, Panopeus, from mythology
The only link to Dionysus I can think of is Panopeus’ daughter, Aegle, might have been the reason Theseus abandoned Ariadne on Naxos, and Ariadne and Dionysus have an interesting tale in the myths (no spoilers for the show, though, so I will stop now!)
Dionysus is having an existential crisis, so he does what everyone does in his situation and asks the Falafel truck-owner for life advice. This genius recommends that if Dionysus doesn’t like his job, he should tell his dad how he feels and try to move into HR or something.
Human Sacrifice and Horse Poo
It’s at this point, we get some more exposition from Prometheus; this time, about Dionysus. He was once a demigod, son of Zeus and a mortal woman, but Zeus made him an immortal god. Hera turned his mother into a bee…
Dionysus found a lovely watch for Zeus’ birthday, but Zeus already had a nice one from Hercules, so he pretends (badly) to be grateful. Dionysus then steals Hercules’ watch. Well, that won’t come back to bite him, surely?
Zeus watches on the TV as a new statue or something is about to be revealed in his honor, but instead it’s a pile of poo and written on a wall it says “Fuck the Gods”. This, as you can imagine, makes Zeus mad – much like when I give my toddler the toy he wanted two seconds ago but now he’s changed his mind.
Hera pacifies Zeus in much the same way I talk my toddler down from destroying our home in those moments and I cackled watching it.
As Hera says, “You are king of the gods. Humans are not a threat to you,” we return to Riddy.
Sweet, Sweet Music
So, we meet the man Riddy clearly doesn’t love anymore and it’s her husband, Orpheus. He’s just written a song called Eurydice and has her face plastered on posters all over town, calling her his muse… #awkward.
Orpheus is a sweetheart, but he is coming on a bit strong and needy. Sure, that’s the point of the camera angles and the specific dialogue the writers chose, but it does a good job of showing how trapped Riddy feels, despite Orpheus not being a bad guy or anything.
My God, okay Prometheus, we get it – she doesn’t love him anymore and he doesn’t know about it! You literally just showed us all that in the dialogue, character actions and facial expressions, and camera angles – do we really need exposition from Stannis too?
After a quick canoodle, Orpheus rushes out to a gig and Riddy promises to be there in a tone of voice that is so high-pitched and unconvincing, Orpheus has to be an idiot to think everything is fine between them. But, to be fair, they did just have sex.
Those Pesky Humans
Zeus gives himself a pep talk. “I am King of the Gods!” but then a line appears…
The King of the Gods summons Prometheus from his torture (which he makes happen) and asks his prisoner if he is a good man. This show is fucking brilliant.
This relationship between Prometheus and Zeus is fascinating, because it took a long time. Zeus came to trust the man he kept prisoner and tortured every day, and Prometheus was patient enough to allow that trust to build, all the while plotting behind his captor’s back.
Zeus fears his prophecy is coming to pass. It reads:
A Line appears, the Order wanes, the Family falls and Kaos reigns.
The fact that this piece of paper and the writing on it looks highly generic and not special at all is brilliant. An empire brought down with a slip of paper written on by a bored receptionist.
Orpheus Just Can’t Quit
Orpheus is stuck in traffic, runs out for a pack of cigarettes, and a scary looking dude wants his autograph. Everyone loves him, and life is good.
We then have a brief clip of Riddy upset in the shower, contrasting his happiness, and she heads to see her mum.
Meanwhile, Dionysus goes back to the falafel van man and complains about his dad not taking him seriously, again. I love these scenes – they just show how naive the character is. I mean, if all his other siblings never hang around, doesn’t he wonder why he’s still there and they aren’t?
It’s because the other gods realised the truth about Zeus being a prick and just left, unable to put up with his nonsense anymore. Dionysus, however, still thinks there is some value to his father’s opinion.
The falafel van man tells Dionysus to find a purpose for himself, not his father, which is the start of some crazy stuff going down.
Priestess of Hera
It turns out that Riddy’s mum is a tacita, which is basically a priestess of Hera. They have their tongues cut out so they can’t reveal people’s secrets (even though they can still write?) and are essentially like priests giving confession, or whatever it’s called.
We learn that Hera keeps all the confessions in little drawers and listens to them to give her power. She’s terrifying.
While Riddy confesses to her mum that she doesn’t love Orpheus anymore and wants to leave him, Orpheus puts on one hell of a show with a song about Riddy… #awkward.
Learning some of Riddy’s history with her mum, spending her childhood praying for Hera to give her mum back to her, was heartbreaking. But it builds a stronger picture of who this character is, and why she might be happy screwing the gods over. They screwed her over first.
When Riddy asks her mum for advice, her mum only reminds her of her prophecy. Riddy then rants, saying “I defy the gods,” and “fuck the gods,” and there is a glimmer of pride in her mum’s face when she closes the confession booth door.
Orpheus Rocks Dionysus’ World
Dionysus hears Orpheus singing and is captivated, falling in love with the music and the love Orpheus has for Riddy. It is here he will find his purpose.
Riddy, on the other hand, is about to learn what Cassandra’s prophecy was all about. She gets hit by a vehicle and dies on the road. “I told you you’d leave him today,” Cassandra says, from the pavement next to the dead body.
We then get a reveal of Riddy’s prophecy and it is the same one as Zeus’, so that links Riddy to the fall of the family. Anyone not aware of the myths will be so confused right now!
Final Scenes of Kaos, Season 1, Episode 1
Orpheus learns of Riddy’s death and, understandably, stops the gig. We skip to the funeral where Dionysus attends and Prometheus teases some future reveals saying “Orpheus will do anything to get Riddy back. Anything.”
Dionysus stops Orpheus from shooting his own brains out on the beach, scares the crap out of the mortal, and gets shot himself. Luckily, he is a god, so nothing happens, but he has to explain to Orpheus who he is and that he wants to help.
It is at this moment we see a definite flicker in the water fountain. And so it begins.
