Kaos takes place in an alternate universe where the Greek gods actively communicate with humans, and their existence is widely known—albeit imperfectly understood. This modern-day dark comedy blends mythology with contemporary life. At its core, it explores themes of mortality, humanity’s refusal to accept authority, fear of death, and the ultimate realization that no one can outrun fate or time.
First, let’s establish the main gods we’ll follow in the Netflix series: Zeus, his wife and sister Hera, and his son Dionysus (though not Hera’s child). Then there’s Prometheus, condemned by Zeus to eternal torment—his liver regenerating every night only to be devoured again the next day in an endless cycle.
Before diving into the human characters, we must address the Fates—three powerful beings who, in this world, write the prophecy for every being, mortal or god, upon their birth. Their prophecies are inescapable, shaping the lives and destinies of all.
Now, let’s introduce the essential humans: Riddy, Caeneus, and Ari—three seemingly ordinary people with an extraordinary twist. They share the same prophecy as Zeus himself, defying all laws of fate. Their prophecy reads: “A line appears, The order wanes, The family falls, And Kaos reigns.”
Zeus, spiteful and ruthless, reigns over Mount Olympus, where a fountain endlessly circulates water—a wellspring of divine energy fueled by the souls of the underworld. These souls transmuted into liquid essence, giving the gods immortality and power. Once mortal himself, Zeus was forever changed when he absorbed his father’s soul, feeling an overwhelming surge of strength. Obsessed with this newfound power, he sought more souls, elevating himself to godhood. His siblings and children soon followed, devouring souls to ascend into deities. Over time, they perfected the process, crafting a system where human souls are distilled into liquid and consumed to maintain their eternal might.
In this universe, when humans die, they are told that placing a coin in the mouth or near the body of a deceased loved one will secure their passage to reincarnation. However, this is a carefully constructed lie. In reality, the coin ensures that the souls can enter the “Frame in the River”—a device that converts them into power for the gods.
If a loved one fails to place the coin during the funeral, the soul is condemned to serve as staff in the underworld for 200 years. These unfortunate souls are tasked with guiding new arrivals and managing other duties in the realm of the dead, their afterlife reduced to endless labor.
Prometheus and the Fates have devised a plan to take down Zeus, which centers around the three humans who share a prophecy with him. This plan was set in motion centuries ago when Prometheus killed his lover, sending him to the underworld, where he waits for his chance to aid Riddy’s husband in rescuing her from the underworld.
After Riddy’s death, her husband, Orpheus, initially placed a coin in her coffin but later removed it, sealing her fate in the underworld. Dionysus, Zeus’s rebellious son in search of purpose, decides to help Orpheus. He does so by securing Orpheus’ passage to the underworld through a game show hosted by the Fates. Although Orpheus loses the game due to the coin incident, Dionysus bribes the Fates with Zeus’s watch, allowing Orpheus access to the underworld.
There, Prometheus’s lover, now the boatman of the underworld, helps Orpheus cross the river. Noticing a mark on Orpheus’s hand—punishment from the Fates for removing the coin—the boatman agrees to assist him in saving his wife. However, Riddy, who had fallen out of love with Orpheus long before her death, was emotionally and physically involved with Caeneus, the second human who shares the prophecy, complicating their reunion even further.
Coming to Caeneus, he wasn’t always a man—he was born a woman among the Amazons, a society where boys could live with their mothers until the age of 11, after which they were forced to leave. When Caeneus was old enough, his mother encouraged him to go and embrace his true self, transitioning into the man he was meant to be. However, his journey was cut short when the Amazons, with the help of his mother, killed him and buried him without a coin. Caeneus languished in the underworld for ten years, enduring a dull and lifeless existence. Everything changes when he crosses paths with Riddy and is suddenly promoted, setting in motion events that will alter the fate of the world forever.
Ari, daughter of President Minos and the rightful heir to the throne of Krete is tormented by her past. She idolizes her father but remains emotionally distant from her mother, burdened by the belief that Ari caused the tragic death of her twin brother, Glaucus, during their childhood. This guilt and sorrow have kept Ari trapped in her grief.
However, the truth is darker. President Minos was warned by his prophecy that the child who first draws breath would be his downfall. Terrified, Minos took Glaucus and locked him away in the basement, where he became the creature known as the Minotaur. When Ari uncovers this truth, she ventures into the castle’s basement.
Meanwhile, in a bid to prove that prophecies can be defied, Zeus orders Poseidon to force Minos to kill his own son, trying to convince himself that his fate can be avoided. President Minos succeeds in killing Glaucus, but Ari, enraged and heartbroken, kills her father. Although Glaucus was the first to be born, he did not breathe immediately; Ari, who was second-born but first to draw breath, ultimately fulfilled the prophecy. This only deepens Zeus’s paranoia about his inevitable fate.
Zeus kills the Fates in an attempt to prevent any prophecies from coming true. However, his plan fails, as fate cannot be destroyed. Though the Fates lose their physical form, their presence still lingers. Meanwhile, Caeneus’s mother commits suicide and joins him in the underworld. Caeneus follows her to the “Frame,” and despite lacking a coin, he now finds himself able to cross. Awakening in the void, he disrupts the flow of energy from Underworld to Mount Olympus, freeing Prometheus, who now sits on Zeus’s throne.
Zeus, once invincible, can now bleed, suggesting that he may have become mortal. His cruelty and obsession have left him alienated from everyone—his brothers Hades and Poseidon, and even his wife Hera, who has begun to rebel. Zeus’s isolation signals his downfall.
After parting ways with Orpheus and returning to Earth, Riddy receives guidance from Cassandra. She must unite with Ari to free the living and help bring about the fall of Olympus. Caeneus, meanwhile, works with the dead, and together with Riddy, they will unleash chaos and reshape the world. Riddy has now also gained the gift of foresight, becoming a seer.
In preparation for war, Hera makes a mysterious phone call to a child—likely her son Ares, the god of war—hinting that he will gather troops and possibly be introduced in the second season.
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