The complex ancient stories of Greek mythology – often rigid and unapproachable to modern readers – are intended to explain humanity’s diverse circumstances. In the new Netflix show ‘Kaos’, which revolves around the fall of the Greek gods, creator Charlie Covell paints a portrait of immortals who give in to their base desires, insecurities and obsessions. While the eight-episode series illustrates the dangers of power and greed, it falters due to bulky storylines and tiresome characters.
“Kaos” begins with Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) eagerly awaiting the demise of the increasingly cruel Zeus (Jeff Goldblum). Bound to a rock and forced to endure having his liver gouged out daily by an eagle, Prometheus reveals that he and Zeus were once close friends. Their friendship soured after he dared to rebel against the king of the gods. Now hanging from a boulder, Prometheus explains that the expulsion of the most infamous Greek god will bring with it a prophecy and a number of unsuspecting people.
The audience first meets Goldblum’s Zeus in the gardens of his palatial estate on Mount Olympus. Put on a white short set with rhinestone-encrusted lightning bolts, he happily watches the Olympia Day celebration in the city of Krete (broadcast live on his television) with his conniving sister/wife Hera (Janet McTeer) and his crazy son Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan). Zeus is initially happy with the celebration, but that changes when the statue honoring the gods is revealed, completely covered in feces. The targeted attack sends the sky and thunder god into a downward spiral. The disrespect and a new wrinkle on his forehead prompt Zeus to remember his own prophecy, which reads: “A line appears, order diminishes, the family falls, and chaos reigns.” This prophecy is a fate that Zeus desperately tries to avoid.
On Earth, three people are bound by the prophecy of Zeus. Eurydice, aka Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), tries to muster the courage to leave her rock star husband Orpheus (Killian Scott). Meanwhile, Ari (Leila Farzad), whose father is the president of Krete, begins to see some major cracks in his leadership style and in society’s worship of the gods. Finally, Caneus (Misia Butler), who has been dead for ten years, is forced to live among the living and the dead in the underworld – led by Zeus’ brother Hades (David Thewlis) and his wife Persephone (Rakie Ayola). . However, a chance encounter with a stranger changes the trajectory of his afterlife.
“Kaos” has a similar tone to Netflix’s horror series “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Unfortunately, this drama struggles to remain compelling throughout. While all of the gods, including Zeus’ younger brother who lives on a yacht, Poseidon (Cliff Curtis), are intriguing on the surface, as the story progresses, viewers discover that there is nothing interesting about them. They are selfish, evil and focused solely on their own desires.
Furthermore, while a flashy, egotistical Zeus is entertaining, even Goldblum, a master of humor and absurdity, cannot make the character convincing enough for the audience to worry about his downfall or reign. McTeer, Rizwan and Curtis are all strong, but the characters themselves lack complexity and imagination. Instead, these gods are just versions of rich, disgusting people we’ve seen repeatedly on screen (and in real life).
The episodes are usually overlong, meandering and contrived, but episode 6 has some interesting themes. As Caneus, Ari and Rinny discover their prophecies and connections to the gods, flashbacks from their childhood illustrate the dangers of mindlessly following rituals without true faith or context. Additionally, “Kaos”’s depiction of the underworld and people traveling from Earth through the frame to renewal is visually stunning to watch, and a testament to Dick Lunn’s spectacular production design.
Ultimately, ‘Kaos’ fails to surprise because the story collapses under the weight of its own ambition. Several storylines stand alone before ramming together towards the season’s anti-climatic end. The gods rarely used their powers in a snicker-worthy or exciting way. More than anything, viewers wonder why their petty squabbles should worry us at all, especially when there’s already so much going on on Earth.
“Kaos” premieres on Netflix on August 29.