Olympus is out of control!
Charlie Covell's reimagining of Greek mythology makes for proper entertainment. Kaos carries itself with flair and poise based on choice casting, buoyant adaptation, and accessible scriptwriting, telling stories as old as time in a modern setting.
Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) lives atop a mountain in present-day Crete, with his wife Hera and a fleet of servants dressed as ball boys. When his gold watch goes missing, he shoots a handful of the boys as casually as a man shooting balloons in a fair to win a toy prize. He is after all the wrathful Greek god ruling Olympus. A king's robe is swapped for a designer house coat which he lounges and sashays in, in his sprawling lawns and palace. He smites the rest of the humans with catastrophes with more pleasure than getting rid of his cookie cutter domestic staff. If he is not pleased with humans for their indifference to him and lack of pleas from humanity to the great god, storms and famine are only at his fingertips like an orchestra conductor leading musicians playing a symphony.
Things are looking worse for the humans now. Their indifference has turned into disrespect and revilement of him. All the gods, in fact, are sort of getting cancelled around earth. It makes him uneasy up in his gilded palace. A prophecy starts gnawing in his mind that foretells ambiguously of the end of his rule. Could it be true? Could the end of his endless power be near?
Prometheus, nailed to a mountainside and getting his insides pecked by an eagle, is the narrator of this time of upheaval in Olympus. While he is serving this punishment handed down by Zeus for stealing fire, Prometheus “the forethinker” has one last trick up his sleeve. He is aware of an ancient prophecy of Zeus’ downfall which will come true when three humans fulfill their destinies: Euridyce, Caeneus and Ariadne. This forms the plot of Kaos and departs from traditional Greek mythology.
Bickering Greek gods, flawed and having all the human traits that we call weaknesses are fodder for the show Kaos. The creator Covell has manipulated some of the fascinating tales from Greek mythology so adeptly that this show has the germs of becoming a cult classic. Covell has managed to launch age-old fables into a completely different direction in some cases.
You might know of Euridyce and Ariadne. Their myths are somewhat common. Euridyce is known for her tragic love story with Orpheus, the legendary musician of Thrace. Araidne was the daughter of King Minos who kept a minotaur in a labyrinth beneath his castle. Caeneus is not heard of a lot but in the show all three emerge as protagonists with compelling stories that are reinterpreted for the show.
In Kaos, Ari (Laila Farzad), is the headstrong daughter of President Minos. She repudiates the gods who her father follows. She lives under the shadow of guilt; she had a twin brother who, she is told, she smothered in their crib. Minos, like Zeus, is obsessed with thwarting his prophecy of doom. In Minos' case, his first-born will end his life, the prophecy says. His only surviving child is Ari. She may rebel against him and his politics, but she is also a devoted and loving daughter to him. In the Greek myth, the minotaur is Ariadne's half-brother; in the show, he turns out to be a much closer connection and the revelation of the family's darkest secret. It turns out to be the most compelling plot line of
Kaos.
The climax of the minotaur, Ari and Minos story is depicted artistically. Zeus is hosting a family barbecue to watch, on a surveillance cam, Minos do his bidding and kill the minotaur (for Zeus believes every action now has one reaction which is to avoid his end). Unbeknownst to Minos, Ari is down in the labyrinth to see the minotaur. In the darkness of the maze, and the hour of fate, all three collide and each meets their destiny. And the gods watch from above. On TV.
In the tale of Orpheus and Euridyce, the lens is turned away from the musical charmer and the show magnifies the role of his object of love, Riddy. Far from being just a poor nymph who falls prey to her abductor and dies too soon for her time, Kaos’ Riddy is given agency to choose or spurn Orpheus’ love. Jer character trajectory is mystifying as viewers will keep wondering if Riddy will follow the path of the Greek myth or carve a new one written by the show creator.
Riddy feels stuck in her marriage to Orpheus yet is shuffling along because she doesn't quite know how to end it. After she passes to the Underworld, the meek, unsure Riddy learns to be more self-assured, with nothing to lose and zero effs given. Orpheus does come in search of her though, and you'll have to see what she decides about him.
When you've got Goldblum in the lead role half your problems are taken care of. Your audience will have an easy focus or attention. When you have him play a god, well, he will rise to the occasion.
The lesser known face that lends a sparkle of magic to the entire show is Nabhaan Rizwan who plays Dionysus. From his get-up (frosted spiked hair and mish mash of colourful bermudas and lacey shirts) to his bug-eyed nonchalance, Rizwan will amuse you in each of his scenes. His comedic timing and nuanced expressions are one of the best elements of this whole debut season. That's a hard gem to find, a millennial actor who can hold a candle up to a towering Goldblum.
Janet McTeer, an OBE actor, is unshakeable as Zeus’ scheming Queen Hera. Her portrayal of the goddess generally associated with cruelty, jealousy, pettiness and strange and awful punishments upon her rivals nudges Hera’s persona to assume dimensions of a powerful queen. She is by no means overshadowed by her male counterpart. In Kaos, Hera is very much the woman behind the powerful man, keeping her own secrets and wielding her own sovereignty while mollycoddling her increasingly insecure husband. The face off between the god and goddess is a twist at the end of the season which heightens the tension and has you at the edge of your seat.
While Hera is adapted into an empowered and all-knowing Queen for the modern retelling of Greek mythology, a lesser known fable of Caeneus is expanded and elevated to narrate a transgender story arc. In Ovid's Metamorphosis, Census was a woman who changed into a man to protect herself from male violence. Covell has given this story an edgy reconfiguration. Misia Butler, a trans actor, plays Caeneus who is stuck in the Underworld after being killed by Amazons for transitioning into a man. Kaos’ Caeneus identifies as male and shows agency to transform their own body.
Euridyce “Riddy” forms a bond with Caeneus in Hades and this story arc is one of the surprising successes of Kaos. Once Riddy reached the Underworld, the pace of the show began to lag and I was preparing to check out. This is the space where you may also grow weary of the little bit of cheesy humour that creeps into the show from time to time. However, the cast has to be given credit for even delivering lame jokes demurely enough that it stops you before you roll your eyes at such dialogue. Simikad, with Caeneus and Riddy, the mundane conversation between the two new friends is delivered sweetly and crafted to develop into something meaningful. Both Riddy and Caeneus find their individuality and purpose together.
Kaos is highly recommended for some solid acting which is not too serious and comedy which is not on the nose.