Episode six of the Netflix series, KAOS, picks up with Orpheus continuing his journey throughout the wilderness of the underworld without any food or water. Riddy and Caeneus are also in the underworld, still processing the sight of petrified souls. As Riddy gets closer to Caeneus, audiences are revealed Caeneus’ back story, explaining how he betrayed the gods. He explains that he was born among the Amazons and that boys were not allowed there when they turn fifteen. For Caeneus, things were a bit more complicated for him because he was born female but transitioned into a boy. Because of this, he betrayed the gods, and was punished by the Amazonians. Through this conversation, they also find the revelation that they share prophecies.
In the land of the gods, Zeus is still wary of the prophecy of his downfall. His new plan to test the prophecy’s strength, is to defile a prophecy. Through a conversation with Prometheus, Zeus decides to have President Minos kill his son, due to the details of Minos’s own prophecy. Zeus’s thought process is that if Minos can outlive his prophecy, Zeus, a god, can outlast his own.
Hades and Persephone visit Zeus, Hera, and Poiseden to bring news and concerns. Hades explains that the underworld can no longer hold any souls becoming overwhelmed, which may cause a huge disruption within the underworld. Zeus takes Hades’ word as insult and publicly punishes him. Zeus’s rash actions towards his own brother increases the other god’s concern and worry for the realm, seeing that he is becoming like his father, Kratos.
Orpheus continues his journey through the underworld, which is shown as a barren desert. He later comes across is big test within this desert. Orpheus is tested with cool water, though if he drinks, he may never see Riddy. Through moments of temptation and internal monologue, he rejects this water, ultimately allowing him to pass the test to further submerge into the underworld. He quickly reaches his destination to see Riddy, though this reunion isn’t warm, but rather awkward due to Riddy’s new love triangle.
Dionysus also faces his own troubles since Orpheus’s human was found to survive his journey through the underworld. As Poseidon explained earlier in the season, Zeus would be extremely upset if a human returned from the underworld where he would even kill the other gods. With this, Dionysus’s goes to Poseidon for advice only to find him and Hera in the middle of an affair.
The conclusion of this episode shows that Dionysus is now going to have multiple issues in coming episodes. Riddy also must face more problems now as well, along with a troubling love triangle. Importantly, audiences now know that the water in the realm of the gods are the souls of those who are petrified. Souls are never renewed, they’re turned into immortality for the gods. Despite the series being critiqued over its abundant storylines, this episode is able to balance all of the critical moments. The mix of background stories and the chaos growing between the gods has successfully set the stage for the last two episodes of the series. Episode six also had a great moment of diversity by respectfully including a trans character and their transition story, which many movies and series shy away from. Overall, the series KOAS is a growing favorite on Netflix. Hopefully it can live up to the season-long build up and have a successful season conclusion.
Rating: 8/10