Warning: This article contains spoilers from Kaos.
Season 1 of Netflix’s Kaos came to a satisfying conclusion while also leaving enough tantalizing questions and mysteries for a potential season 2. The prophecy that Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) feared and tried to prevent from happening takes shape in the Kaos season 1 ending, with the prophecy’s three humans in positions of power. Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau) is now a prophet who has returned to Earth after being dead in the Underworld.
Perrineau’s character will spread the horrifying truth about the gods and the Underworld with the help of Ariadne (Leila Farzad), who has become the leader of Crete. The prophecy’s trio is completed with Caeneus, who can renew souls in the Underworld’s Nothing. Zeus and his family are now the most vulnerable they have been since they became gods in the first place, as the rebellion against them grows stronger with the newfound power that Riddy, Caeneus, and Ari wield, yet many questions and mysteries still remain.
10
Where Are All The Other Gods?
Many Of Them Are Missing In Season 1
While Zeus, Hera (Janet McTeer), Poseidon (Cliff Curtis), Hades (David Thewlis), and Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) all play prominent roles in Kaos, the other Greek gods are conspicuously absent from the series. Some of them, including Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus, are referenced in season 1, but their whereabouts remain unconfirmed. Even on Zeus’ birthday and when all the gods are called to Olympus, they still remain absent from the story.
In Greek mythology, the gods took different sides during the war, as Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Hephaestus aligned with the Greeks, while Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and Aphrodite aligned with the Trojans.
The other gods’ absence may be due to the Trojan War. In Greek mythology, the gods took different sides during the war, as Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Hephaestus aligned with the Greeks, while Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and Aphrodite aligned with the Trojans. The Trojans were shown to be suffering under Greek rule, and Kaos’ version of this war and its lasting effects may have caused a division among the gods. It is also possible that the other gods have simply distanced themselves from Zeus due to his arrogance.
9
Who Did Hera Call?
The Mystery Individual Will Be Important In Season 2
Hera makes a call from a phone booth, and tells the unidentified listener at the other end of the line, “Darling, it’s mommy. Gather the troops. And make up the spare bed.” Since she is preparing to go to war, she most likely called Ares, who is the god of war, and one of her children in Greek mythology. It would make sense for Ares to be the one able to quickly mobilize troops for battle, and if it is indeed him, it will be fascinating to see how he is depicted in Kaos.
Hera is also the mother of Hephaestus.
Ares is not only a child of Hera but is also a child of Zeus. In episode 2 of Kaos, he is one of the children that Zeus calls during his birthday. Thewlis, who plays Hades, previously played the DC Extended Universe’s version of Ares in Wonder Woman, but Kaos‘ version of the character will feature a younger and perhaps more hotheaded version of the god, showing what Zeus’ children other than Dionysus are like in this modernized retelling of the mythology.
8
Why Does Dionysus Go To Ari?
The Two Characters Have Not Met Yet
In Kaos season 1’s closing montage, Dionysus is seen standing in front of the palace in Crete, where Ari now rules as the new leader. He is holding the half-filled bottle of Meander water that Zeus gave him and looks between the bottle and the palace, a clear sign of the inner conflict he feels about siding with the gods or humans. Why he goes to Ari specifically ties back to when he watches her kill her father, President Minos (Stanley Townsend), and Dionysus mutters to himself, “I think I’m in love.”
Instead of continuing to pursue pleasure, Dionysus is now interested in pursuing love, but Ari is unlikely to reciprocate these feelings, especially after the gods destroyed her family. Any romance between Dionysus and Ari probably will not work out, but Dionysus could be a powerful ally for Ari and the rest of the rebellion to have on their side. Dionysus officially choosing the humans over the gods would be a powerful statement of defiance against Zeus.
7
What Happens If The Gods Do Fall?
Who Or What Will Take Their Place?
Kaos has been focused on the unjust universe under the control of the gods and the rebellion that has been gradually forming against them, but there has not been much focus on what will happen if the gods do actually fall. This raises whether any kind of higher power would still exist, and if something or someone else would replace the gods. A universe where there is no higher power and humans exercise their free will sounds too good to be true for the mortal Kaos characters.
This also raises questions about what Kaos‘ universe was like when Zeus and his family were mere mortals, whether any higher power existed then, and if so, there is the question of what happened to them. Death existed before Zeus gave control of the Underworld to Hades and before the Frame was created, and the afterlife must have looked different then. Kaos is a retelling of Greek mythology, but the show has its own mythology to expand on as well.
6
Is Orpheus’ Story Over?
His Part Of The Prophecy Is Seemingly Completed
Orpheus’ (Killian Scott) season 1 story revolved around going to the Underworld to bring his wife, Riddy, back to the land of the living. With a great deal of help along the way, he succeeded, but Riddy already wanted to leave Orpheus before she died, and she still does not love him. The two characters bid farewell to each other in the season 1 finale and go their separate ways as Riddy works to dethrone the gods and Orpheus will have to figure out what is next for him.
Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) makes it clear in his fourth-wall-breaking narration that as important as Orpheus thinks he is, he is just a pawn in the larger scheme to dethrone Zeus. Now that Orpheus has played his part in helping bring Riddy back from the Underworld, his role in the story may be over. He is no longer part of Riddy’s life and does not share the same enmity toward the gods that she has, although there is the possibility that he could be used as a pawn again.
5
Will Riddy Or Orpheus Learn What Happened To Dennis?
The Cat’s Death Should Not Go Unpunished
While Zeus does no shortage of horrible things in Kaos, one of the most devastating to watch is when he stabs and kills Dennis the cat in front of Dionysus. Dennis was Riddy and Orpheus’ cat and Orpheus told Dionysus to take care of the feline creature when he left for the Underworld. Dionysus formed an unexpectedly close bond with Dennis, taking the cat everywhere, even to Olympus, where Zeus ultimately killed Dennis in brutal fashion.
As Riddy, Ari, and Dionysus work together to take down Zeus, the god of pleasure may reveal what happened to Dennis, which will provide further reason to hate Zeus and bring about an end to his reign.
If Orpheus is truly gone from the story, he may never learn the truth about what happened to Dennis. There is a greater possibility of Riddy learning the truth as she and Ari are on a path to aligning and Dionysus is last seen in front of her palace. As Riddy, Ari, and Dionysus work together to take down Zeus, the god of pleasure may reveal what happened to Dennis, which will provide further reason to hate Zeus and bring about an end to his reign.
4
Who Else Is Already Part Of The Rebellion?
Medusa Was A Surprising Rebel
Prometheus is the first character to discuss the long-brewing plan to rebel against Zeus, but as Kaos season 1 progresses, it becomes clear this uprising is more widespread than the Olympians could have ever imagined. The Fates (Suzy Izzard, Ché, Sam Buttery), Medusa (Debi Mazar), and Riddy’s mother (Michelle Greenidge) are among the other individuals revealed to be part of the rebellion as well. Hades is a revolutionary now that he is defying Zeus as well.
As more characters are introduced, more rebels will surely come to light. Just as in Kaos season 1, the growing numbers of resistors should be a combination of mortals and more powerful beings. It would be compelling to feature more characters like Medusa, who tends to be portrayed as a villainous monster, to instead be secretly working with the revolution, further subverting the expectations associated with certain figures within Greek mythology.
3
What Exactly Are The Ball Boys?
Season 1 Was Brutal For Them
On Olympus, Zeus has a group of ball boys who act as servants and who he treats as disposable. After Zeus’ watch goes missing, he even lines up the ball boys and shoots them one by one as he demands to know which of them stole his watch, even though none of them is responsible. What is never explained is what the ball boys exactly are, whether they are humans unable to leave Olympus, or if they are something else entirely.
They are confirmed to be mortal as they are shown to bleed and die after Zeus shoots them. It would be interesting if they were actually nymphs or some kind of lesser spirit that the gods have enslaved, further tying into the show’s modern reimagining of Greek mythology. Whether the ball boys are humans or something else, it would be fitting for the few survivors among them to join the wider rebellion, and get revenge for those who Zeus callously killed.
2
Can Caeneus Renew All Souls In The Nothing?
The Full Extent Of His Powers Have Yet To Be Revealed
Caeneus’ ability to renew himself and his mother after they go through the Frame is a game-changing power that even Hades does not have. It is not yet confirmed how Caeneus has this power or how he can wield it other than his connection with the central prophecy. Perhaps his love for his mother is what enabled him to renew her, along with his general empathy, which he demonstrated consistently throughout the season to help others in need.
Once Caeneus better understands his powers and how to channel them, he can teach Hades, and potentially others as well, what he has learned, so he does not have to take on the monumental task of renewal by himself.
Even if Caeneus can renew every individual trapped in the Nothing with his renewing abilities, he cannot feasibly renew all of them. He will need help, and it has already arrived in the form of Hades, who is in awe of what Caeneus has achieved. Once Caeneus better understands his powers and how to channel them, he can teach Hades, and potentially others as well, what he has learned, so he does not have to take on the monumental task of renewal by himself.
1
How Exactly Did Zeus Absorb His Father’s Soul After Killing Him?
Zeus’ Backstory Needs To Be Further Explored
One of Kaos‘ most significant deviations from Greek mythology is that Zeus and the other gods were not always immortal. Zeus became immortal and gained his formidable power when he killed his father and absorbed his soul. Relying on the Frame and drinking the Meander water from this process to stay immortal is a fascinating twist on Zeus’ story, but it still leaves questions about Zeus gaining such immense power in the first place.
Just as it featured flashbacks fleshing out Prometheus’ backstory, it would be beneficial to have flashbacks further fleshing out Zeus’ story when he was a mortal and when he first became a god. Information in such a flashback could be essential for the rebellion in finally toppling Zeus for good or could bring about the rise of a new universal dictator. This will provide further world-building as Kaos‘ take on Greek mythology continues to expand.
