Kaos Season 1 Review – A chaotic and uniquely stylized good time

Episode Guide

Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 4/5

Netflix are never one to shy away from trying their hand at different genres. We’ve seen over the years a variety of programmes on the streamer, with some weird and wonderful shows becoming mega hits, like Stranger Things.

Kaos isn’t going to be the next Stranger Things but it is a uniquely styled and well written series that will stand out as one of the better offerings this year. In essence, the show takes elements of The Sandman, American Gods and Legion, and blends that in with a dash of Guy Ritchie for good measure. The ensuing result is a chaotic medley of different influences that all work together with a fun, frenetic energy. 

The show bounces between comedy, drama and mystery, while centering around a modern reinterpretation of Greek myths and legends. The maniacal patriarch, Zeus, is portrayed as a proper megalomaniac here, and while he rules over Olympus and his kingdom with an iron fist, there are those in the shadows who want to dethrone him. Step forward Prometheus.

Prometheus is our narrator and he’s eternally punished for initially defying Zeus. Since then, he’s tried to befriend the King of the Gods, while also staving off a rather hungry bird from picking at his innards while chained to a cliffside. He’s worked on his plan across thousands of years and now is the time it’s coming to fruition.

This plan involves 3 humans and a prophecy. Our trio includes disillusioned Riddy who wants to leave her boyfriend Orpheus and finds her life turned upside down when she runs into a crazy woman at the supermarket. There’s also Caeneus who happens to be one of the handlers working in Hades’ Underworld. Finally, there’s the president’s daughter Ariadne, who is very much alive and well and (for those who know their history) has a bigger part to play when it comes to love and a certain minotaur.

Across the 8 episodes this prophecy starts to take shape, with a story that jumps between the living and dead realms. The story essentially works as a first act of a much larger narrative though, which is a bit of a shame given the trigger-happy executives over at Netflix tend to cancel a good number of shows before they take off. (Yep, still salty about 1886 guys, sorry!)

What is here however, is certainly worth checking out. The characters are nicely realized across the runtime, with some compelling arcs for the majority of players. Sure, there are a couple of one-note inclusions that don’t really do much (like Dionysus who’s basically a vehicle to move characters from Point A to Point B). One of the bigger stand-outs though happens to be Zeus himself, and Jeff Goldblum brings him to life in the best possible way. He’s clearly having a lot of fun here and that’s plain to see in the way he delivers the dialogue.

Meanwhile, the drama involving the human characters keeps things interesting, with a love triangle woven into the fabric of the show for good measure. Ordinarily this would feel like a contrived point but it’s actually wrapped up in themes of purpose, love and despair. What’s particularly nice to see here though is the creative way all the Greek myths have been warped and distorted for modernity.

All the changes make perfect sense and within context of the show too. There’s no shoe-horning things in for the sake of it. Ariadne and the labyrinth for example is one of the more creative inclusions, with the latter reimagined as a prison complex underground. Meanwhile, Olympus is very much a hedonistic paradise… but only for Zeus and not those around him. Rather than the fluffy family man we saw in Disney’s rendition, the true Zeus is shown off in all his maddening glory here. You really get an understanding around how crazed he is, and why there’s this scheme to take him down.

Stylistically, Kaos deserves a lot of props too. The show creators have clearly taken cues from series like American Gods and there’s a great use of colour and monochrome, specifically that of black and white. The latter is used to depict the Underworld and it adds a small but effective touch so you can easily distinguish the two areas. Similarly, the unique costuming and diverse representation included for various Gods never feels shoehorned in and instead, a natural fit to the world.

Of course, the point of contention here once more falls back on that cliffhanger ending. Without word on whether this will be returning, Kaos feels like a high risk recommendation – but one worth taking the plunge for. Its clearly not a cheap series, given the aforementioned visual design, but the story and characters more than make up for that investment. Regardless of a renewal or not, Kaos is a chaotic and uniquely stylized show that’s well worth checking out.

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