‘Kaos’ Reigns, But Not in the Best Way (Review)

Ambitious in its premise, Kaos attempts to revisit Greek myths in a modern setting but doesn’t quite succeed in its delivery.

Although this may be less true for television, as it definitely seems to happen more in recent literature, I was very much looking forward to seeing this concept applied to television as well.

“A line appears, the order wanes, the family falls, and Kaos reigns.” These words have been haunting Zeus (a hilarious Jeff Goldblum) even in modern times. Tormented by multiple insecurities and the very real possibilities of the end of his reign, Zeus becomes increasingly paranoid that the end of the world as he knows it is coming and those around him will soon betray him, including his wife Hera (Janet McTeer), his brothers Poseidon (Cliff Curtis, of Murina) and Hades (David Thewlis, of The First Omen), and his son Dionysus (Nabhaam Rizwan). Unbeknownst to him, three humans are also connected by the very same prophecy: Ari (a brilliant Leila Farzad), whose father is the King of Heraklion, Caneus (Misia Butler), a tormented young man, and Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau) who is struggling with her feelings for her boyfriend Orpheus (Killian Scott).

My favourite thing about Kaos is the use of the music, which cleverly blends modern tunes with classical music to create an excellent mix of old and new. With its premise, this is what the entire show is meant to be about, and the music is the one element that the show truly nails. Most of the time we see the Greek Gods on screen, especially Zeus and Hera who represent the majority of the Greek pantheon in this show, they are accompanied by classical music. On the contrary, all the scenes with the humans feature modern music, especially with Orpheus who is very cleverly written as a musician in this version of the myth.

The only exception is Dionysus. the bridge between the human world and the gods. This is very evident in the intentional use of the music, but also in the entirety of Dionysus’ plot: he is the one who helps Orpheus reach the Underworld and the only God in Kaos who seems to show an interest in humans. However, as fascinating as this may be, it doesn’t feel honest or true to who Dionysus is described to be in Greek mythology. If anything, this plot would have worked so much better with other characters from the classical myths: Hermes, for example, who does help Orpheus in the original myth seems to be a better fit for this storyline, or even Prometheus who is known for his connection to humans.

Generally speaking, this is not only true for Dionysus. One of the biggest problems I had with Kaos was the characterisation of the Greek Gods and mythological figures. The show often seems to forget that it is based on actual myths that some people in the audience are going to be not only aware of but also very familiar with. Admittedly, the classical myths are many and vary among each other, but ultimately some key elements always remain, especially in who the Gods are. In this sense, the Netflix series isn’t able to handle the very rich history behind their characters.

Eurydice, Hera, and Poseidon feel particularly betrayed by this version as, they could very well be replaced with any character from the classical myths and nothing would actually change for the audience. The subplot involving Hera, Zeus, and Poseidon is entirely uninteresting in the overall scheme of things, but also does not seem to fit either of the three characters involved, which would have once again worked better with other Greek Gods the show does not include, namely Hephestus, Aphrodite, and Ares. When it comes to the Greek Gods, in fact, Kaos does not include the entirety of the Greek pantheon but rather only five of the best-known Gods.

This is particularly disappointing, as one of the things that could have set this apart is specifically the presence of the Greek Gods. Including all of them was, of course, impossible in an eight-episode season, but I would have loved to see more as a lot of the most prominent ones are excluded or not mentioned at all. Overall, Kaos eventually falls into a very monotheistic and Christian-inspired dynamic that sees one prominent God rule over all the others rather than fully embracing the many unique facets that came with religion at the time. Needless to say, none of these fits with the culture and myths of Ancient Greece. This is also true of the whole concept of death which entirely misinterprets the classical understanding of the Underworld.

Unfortunately, there is not much else to Kaos apart from its clever use of music. The Greek myths it is inspired by are not present in this modern retelling if not for the characters’ names and some clever references here and there. This simplistic use of Greek myths makes most of the plot twistsseem unsurprising and predictable to those of us who know even a little about the Greek myths used in Kaos. The pacing of the show is also not entirely successful as the last few episodes feel too slow and essentially like a promo for a potential season 2 of the show rather than actually moving the plot along in any meaningful way.

The premise of Kaos is incredibly promising, but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. With a high production value and some very good comedic moments, it is a shame that the Netflix show fails to engage with the rich and complex canon of classical myths in this new retelling. Sadly, it seems that the series prefers creating its own stories and narratives over existing ones, which goes against the entire purpose of having a retelling if the original story is not even present in the first place.

Kaos will be released globally on Netflix on August 29, 2024. Read our review of Netflix’s The Decameron!