Crime
Grosse Pointe Garden Society
The seemingly charming members of The Grosse Pointe Garden Society hide their involvement in a murder in NBC’s drama.
On paper, being king of the gods sounds like a pretty good deal. A huge, gaudy mansion, a beautiful wife, a son that’s desperate to please him…Zeus, the Greek god of thunder, has it all.
Except for one, nagging issue: he’s also the subject of a prophecy foretelling his downfall at the hands of three mortals.
Down below Olympus, those mortals have problems of their own. Eurydice is beginning to feel more like a muse than a wife. Her husband Orpheus has no idea that his soulmate is falling out of love with him. Cassandra’s visions of the future have an annoying habit of coming true.
And the three of them are completely unaware that they’re prophesied to take Olympus down.
First, let’s talk about the minotaur in the room. In this modern retelling of Greek mythology, the gods of Olympus aren’t just real, they’re widely worshiped by those of the mortal world. People pray, confess their sins, make sacrifices, and are shamed for blaspheming, all when the gods don’t really care too much about them at all.
To be fair, Kaos very much presents itself as a fantasy — no one here is claiming that Zeus and Co. actually exist, let alone that they should be venerated — but its cynical attitude towards religion leaves a bad taste in the mouth. An elderly woman drinks poison to offer herself as a human sacrifice to Olympus, Zeus responds with only a passive remark about her shoes, and it’s hard not to wonder…is there a broader statement being made about worshiping a higher power here?
Add in some questionable commentary about marriage, individualism and prioritizing yourself over others (Eurydice becomes convinced she needs to leave Orpheus because “I’m not myself anymore, I’m his wife”), and these waters become murkier than the River Styx.
Thematic issues aside, there’s some adverse content you’ll have to deal with as well. Language, violence and sexual content (including between same-sex couples) make appearances in Kaos, among both gods and mortals. Future episodes also introduce the character of Caeneus, a mythological figure who was transformed from a women into a man. True to the myth, Caeneus is played by a transgender actor who was born female but presents as male. The Greek gods of mythology were never ones for moderation, and Kaos leans into that with gusto.
Kaos may start with a compelling premise that blends mythology with modernity, but that premise doesn’t get it incredibly far. This Netflix dramedy quickly trips and falls into a pit of questionable themes and content concerns more dangerous than Tartarus.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
When a celebration for Olympia Day goes awry, Zeus begins to panic over a prophecy predicting his doom. Meanwhile, Eurydice worries over whether to leave her husband, and Cassandra fears that another of her visions may be coming true.
A few suggestive references and sexual situations appear in this episode, in the grand tradition of the ancient Greeks. Dionysus, portrayed as a young man, parties at a club, where he passionately kisses both women and men. Shirtless men and women in revealing lingerie are shown. Orpheus and Eurydice kiss in bed while Orpheus is shirtless, and Zeus references having “celestial intercourse” with his wife Hera.
A few instances of violence and disturbing content also rear their ugly heads. During a ceremony honoring the gods, an old woman willingly drinks poison and dies on an altar, sacrificing herself to Zeus. Zeus sees this and instantly dismisses it. Prometheus, a character from Greek mythology who earned eternal punishment by offering humans the gift of fire, is shown chained to the side of a mountain while an eagle picks out his liver. We see a brief graphic image of the wound in his side. A woman is very suddenly hit by a truck, and we see splatters of blood on her face and the road. Orpheus holds a gun to his head, intending to kill himself, but is distracted by Dionysus and accidentally shoots him instead (being a god, Dionysus is unharmed, and no blood or injury is shown).
The Greek gods are worshiped throughout the episode. Characters repeatedly show their devotion by placing a palm against their forehead and saying “vero” (Latin for “truth”), reminiscent of saying “amen” after a prayer. Bystanders are arrested for blaspheming against the gods, and Eurydice goes to the temple of Hera to confess her sins to a “tacita,” a form of priest. Again, all of this occurs while the gods themselves couldn’t be less interested in the wellbeing of the mortals worshiping them, caring only that they remain under their divine control.
Orpheus drinks liquor at home and gets seriously drunk, then takes a bottle out to the beach with the intention of drinking more before he’s distracted. The f-word is used 20 times, while the s-word is used nine, d–n is used three, God’s name is taken in vain twice, and “b—-rd” is heard once.
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
The seemingly charming members of The Grosse Pointe Garden Society hide their involvement in a murder in NBC’s drama.
‘House of David’ brings David’s dramatic story to life, recounting the rise of his house and the downfall of King Saul’s.
Suits LA showcases this over-the-top legal franchise on the West Coast, where we find a world just as cutthroat as the show’s predecessor.
Matt Murdock says he’s changed. Wilson Fisk says he’s changed. But Daredevil: Born Again? It feels much the same as its Netflix predecessor—if not bloodier.
Our weekly newsletter will keep you in the loop on the biggest things happening in entertainment and technology. Sign up today, and we’ll send you a chapter from the new Plugged In book, Becoming a Screen-Savvy Family, that focuses on how to implement a “screentime reset” in your family!
