‘Kaos’ Series Review: Jeff Goldblum as Zeus rules this dark Netflix comedy

A still from ‘Kaos’

Myths explain life’s mysteries, both small and large, through stories composed of human gods, pious men, beautiful women, and evil, lonely monsters that soothe our primal spirits. including Charlie Covell ChaosThe Greek gods probably cohabited with humans in Crete in the 80s, considering the presence of sat and rotary phones, boxy televisions and computers.

It’s Olympia Day and Zeus (Jeff Goldblum), king of the gods, sits in his palace with his wife Hera (Janet McTeer) anxiously awaiting the start of the celebrations, which include a human sacrifice (for real) and the unveiling of statues supposedly dedicated to the glory of the gods. . Zeus’s son Dionysus (Navan Rizwan) is partying to his heart’s content, but his father wants him to be taken seriously.

Prometheus (Stephen Dillane), who has his daily reanimated liver pierced by a vicious eagle, for the crime of giving men the gift of fire, introduces the narrator and three main players of this darkly comic fantasy.

There’s Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau) – she likes Riddy – who wakes up on Olympia Day to realize she’s in love with her musician husband Orpheus (Kilian Scott); Ariadne (Leila Farzad) or Ari, daughter of the president of Crete, Minos, (Stanley Townsend) who is burdened with the guilt of killing her twin brother Glaucus (Fady Elsayed) when he rolled over her in his sleep as a baby; The third main player is Kenius (Miesia Butler) of the underworld.

The desecration of the statue by the Trojans, who were vanquished after their defeat in the Trojan War and a scar on his forehead, drove Zeus mad, imagining a prophecy that his doom was about to come true. Meanwhile, as Reedy plans to leave Orpheus, he is killed in an accident, prompting Orpheus to travel to the Underworld to retrieve him.

A still from ‘Kaos’

While knowledge of Greek mythology is good and adds an extra dimension to the proceedings, complete ignorance does not detract from enjoying this smart show. The music, from Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’ to ABBA’s ‘Gimme Gimme’ and Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘Don’t Fear the Ripper’, is fun, as is the brightly lit Costa del Sol, where the show is originally shot. But these are just the icing on the cake of razor-sharp writing and eye-catching performances.

In his track suit and colorful, silky dressing gown, Goldblum as Zeus is the epitome of the unflappable tyrant who turns out to be exactly what he didn’t want — his father. McTeer is the proud and scheming Hera, always one step ahead of the foolish men, including Zeus’ brother Poseidon (Cliff Curtis). His habit of feeding the tongue drawer by whispering confessions to the Tacitus and their shame and guilt is absolutely terrifying and pathetic.

Then there’s the black-and-white Underworld where, as the spirits cross the River Styx, they’re told to summon Hades (David Thewlis), King of the Underworld, for an orientation video. His wife, Persephone (Raki Ayola), loves the deeply bored and overworked Hades, and dismisses the story of his keeping her against her will in the underworld as a vile lie spread by Hera. “I’m allergic to pomegranates,” she says firmly.

A still from ‘Kaos’

There is Medusa (the goddess of the shrine), a guardian, who shows Prue, a fangirl, one of the snakes from her head to prove that she is the real Gorgon. Charon (Ramon Tikarum), the ferryman, makes the ultimate sacrifice for love, while eating biscuits from a Ziploc bag, and one of the Fates, Lachesis (Suzy Izard) or Lachie, demands Zeus’ watch to let Orpheus go. the underworld

Prophetess Cassandra (Billie Piper) can see the future and no one can believe her. Daedalus (Matt Fraser) is the architect of the labyrinth where the Minotaur stalks, imprisoned by its secrets. Chaos It is a story of love and the death of love, family and power, faith and loyalty as it is of gods, myths and demons. Eight episodes zip into a psychedelic vortex of love and longing, prophecy and prayer. Now if only The Weird Sisters would tell us about Season 2!

Kaos is currently streaming on Netflix