The interpretation of Greek goddess Hera in Netflix’s Kaos is mostly how she seems on the internet—selfish, intimidating, and often standing up against Zeus. The casting of seasoned British actress Janet McTeer, whom you should probably remember from Ozark, is impeccable. Maybe it’s too early, but I already smell an Emmy nod for McTeer. She’s nothing short of fantastic in the show as this stone-cold b-word (really sorry, but I had to) who would go any distance to get what she wants. Well, it’s not exactly easy given who her husband is, which only makes you root for her against him. Let us get into a bit more detail.
Spoilers Ahead
Who is Hera, and who are the Tacitas?
Hera is introduced as the queen to god/King Zeus, and it doesn’t take long for McTeer to establish that her character is scheming, conniving, and possibly smarter than her narcissist husband. She doesn’t quite approve of Zeus’ incessant attempts at breeding children with humans, but she, despite all her power, can’t really say anything about it. However, Zeus doesn’t mind Hera turning all his human lovers into flies and bottling them. It’s a no-brainer that Hera doesn’t like Dionysus, the only children of Zeus that you get to see in the show. In case you’re wondering, Dionysus is the god of desire, both as per the show and Greek mythology. The interpretation of the character in Kaos is interesting, where he tries to find a purpose in life and make it a point to help a human.Â
Anyway, back to Hera, she also has the Tacitas under her control. Tacita, I suppose, is the not-so-popular Roman goddess of silence (from what I found on the internet), and in Kaos, they’re women priests with their tongues cut out. I’m not even going to go into the cruelty of it, but this actually serves as a metaphor for patriarchy coming up with ways to silence the women. Of course, Tacitas are made to believe that they are serving gods (Hera, in particular), and it’s a noble thing to do. However, Hera does seem to care about her Tacitas, at least. Why else she would have a bathroom full of Tacita tongues, each carefully kept in separate drawers? All the human confessions get stored in those tongues, and Hera can listen to all those for her amusement. Zeus is not allowed into Hera’s bathroom, but we get to know that sometimes he also sneaks in, just to have some fun by listening to the deepest, darkest thoughts of mankind. But trouble begins when he ends up listening to Hera’s moaning sound in the room and considering the two of them are not quite active on bed these days; this is definitely a spot of bother.
Is Hera plotting against Zeus?
Hera is not actively against Zeus, but it’s quite evident that she realizes that the husband is losing it over his prophecy actually coming true, indicating his end is near. There’s one huge thing she’s hiding from Zeus, though. She’s having an affair with none other than the god of the sea, Poseidon, who’s also Zeus’ own brother. When Zeus accidentally finds out about the affair, he tries to confirm it from a Tacita, but that goes in vain as the Tacita doesn’t give away Hera. Upon finding a Tacita brutally tortured and dead, Hera realizes what has happened, but she manages to spin it around and manipulate Zeus into believing that he mistakenly heard someone else who was just fantasizing as Goddess Hera. That shuts him up for the time being, but Zeus keeps doing his terrible things, and by the end of the season, he’s completely out of control. Hera still pretends to be on his side, but that’s probably a temporary thing only.
Who Does Hera Call?
At the end of Kaos season 1, we see Hera calling someone and telling them to get ready for a war (most certainly against Zeus). The big question that arises is: who does Hera call after all? Even though, as per Greek mythology, Hera and Zeus have many children, in the show we don’t see one. But that doesn’t mean we’re not ever going to see one. It’s very much possible that Hera called her son, Ares, who is none other than the God of War. So, if she is really planning to wage war against the King of all Gods then Ares might be her best option to seize control of Mount Olympics. And in case if it was not Ares, then it might be one of her other children who would most likely be introduced in the next season. One more alternative of this would be her calling Poseidon. Given the way she uses the word “Mommy,” it might just be the god of the sea, if you think about their sexual history.
What Can Be Expected From Season 2?
In a way, the first season of Kaos is only a setup for a bigger war between gods and humans. The season finale ensures that the chaos has started and there’s going to be consequences. Assuming Netflix doesn’t abruptly cancel the show, taking inspiration from Zeus, we can expect a bigger and bolder sophomore season. Most certainly, Zeus will be at the center of it, and he’s going to be hundred times more unhinged than now. With Prometheus taking his throne, we’ve got a huge conflict in hand. It’ll be interesting to see what Hera and Poseidon do. Dionysus is also mad at Zeus, who has killed both his mother and his kitten Dennis (I personally take offense to this one), and he is definitely going to be braver in the upcoming days. Euridice, aka Riddy, has also returned to the world to let people know about the scam that is going on in the underworld. With Ari and the Trojans teaming up against the gods, we might see Riddy joining that team given the goal is the same. Meanwhile, in the underworld, Caeneus will have an important role in freeing the souls, and he’s most likely going to have Hades by his side. Things are definitely not looking good for Zeus, but you never know what he’s up to, which ensures a crackling second season (if it ever happens).
