After wowing us as John Dee in The Sandman two years ago, David Thewlis is back again on Netflix. The British thespian plays the god of the Underworld, Hades, in Charlie Covell’s Kaos, which can be described as a magnificent modern-day update of Greek mythology. It’s no surprise that Thewlis has knocked it out of the park as Hades. In this article, we’re going to shed light on Hades’ journey in the show and what the future holds for him.
Spoilers Ahead
What is the Underworld?
Before going into Hades, let us look into the Underworld of Kaos for a bit. It’s basically the place where you end up after your death and stay till you get to have your renewal. The term renewal basically means rebirth. There’s a condition, though. To get a renewal, one must be buried with a coin. Without the coin, they can’t go through the Frame. The Frame is a shiny structure that floats on the water, and a person has to go through it in order to be renewed, or we should probably say reincarnated. The ones who die without a coin don’t have to worry though; they’ll find a job in the Underworld and, in two hundred years time, get a chance at renewal. The most important job one can have is as a diver. Divers are there to help people pass through the Frame, especially those who don’t know how to swim. In Kaos, the Underworld we see is understandably monochromatic. Hades is the one who runs the show here, with his wife, Persephone; supervisor, Medusa; and a few others. Both Persephone and Medusa are characters from Greek mythology, of course.
What Is Hades’ Secret?
The story of Kaos takes a major turn when it gets revealed the Frame is not what it seems like. When Caeneus and Riddy try to help out Nax, they end up in a place called “Nothing” and stumble onto these human statues of everyone who had ever gone through the Frame. These are unmistakably the real people, but it seems like whatever shred of life they had inside has been drained from them. It becomes more clear when Caeneus sees Hades actually doing it to Nax. He literally takes Nax’ soul away. Nax is a manual anomaly, but the Frame exists to automatically take all the souls away. The meandering water that we see Zeus and the other gods are drinking is extracted from those very souls. But there’s a new problem. The Frame is getting overloaded, and Hades is concerned that it’s not going to work out anymore.
Why does Hades have a falling out with Zeus?
When Hades takes his concern to Zeus, the king of the gods refuses to take it seriously. Instead, he ridicules Hades and ends up torturing him by casually striking him with lightening. Not only does Hades suffer such humiliation at the hands of his own brother, he now has to endure a lot of physical pain as well, for no reason. Any sane person (or god) would be mad at Zeus after this. Hades, however, tries his best to make Zeus realize what’s happening. But Zeus is way too erratic and only worries about his prophecy. Hades leaves, but from this point, he silently decides not to follow his brother’s orders anymore.
Why Does Hades Revolt Against Zeus?
It was always on the cards. The show makes it abundantly clear that Zeus and Hades may be brothers, but they’re as different as chalk and cheese, if you go by their nature. Zeus is flashy, cruel, and full of swagger (all thanks to Jeff Goldblum), while Hades is the opposite of cool (appearance-wise), compassionate, kind, and has a certain lack of swagger, primarily because Thewlis brings his trademark whimsy into the character. For years and years, Hades kept following his brother’s order. He maintained the order to protect a terrible lie (the Frame) in order to make sure the family lives and prospers. But now he has had enough.
Hades’ first act of defiance is sending Euridice, aka Riddy, back to the world of living when her husband Orpheus comes to the Underworld to take her back. Orpheus being here is the doing of Dionysus, Zeus’ disgruntled son with a heart of gold. Anyway, Hades doesn’t quite give Orpheus permission to take his wife back, but when Persephone attempts to make it happen, he doesn’t try to stop it either. Hades’ biggest moment in the show has to be when he witnesses Caeneus finally freeing all the souls from Nothing. Not to mention, as a result of that, the infinity pool of meandering water in Olympia goes away. Hades seems amazed at the whole thing, but at the same time, he has hope. We do see Hades telling Medusa that he’s going to fix everything and bring order to the Underworld, and he pretty much confirms that he’s going to defy Zeus.
What Can We Expect From Hades In Season 2?
There’s a war brewing in Kaos. Zeus’ best friend, who was being punished for giving the gift of fire to mankind, is finally freed by fate, and he now sits on the throne (that does have to mean something). The meandering water supply is cut off, and Zeus is on edge. It’s unclear whether or not he will find Hera or Poseidon by his side. With Hera calling someone and asking them to get ready for war, it does seem like she’s fully going against Zeus. As far as Hades, it’s all but certain that we’re going to find him on the opposition team against Zeus if the war ever happens. For most of season 1, Hades has been pretty meek, but we can expect him to turn a bit assertive in the next season. Considering David Thewlis’ range as an actor, that would be fun to watch for sure. We can also expect a team-up between Hades and Caeneus in the Underworld, given a rapport that has been established between these two characters. With all these possibilities, I really hope Netflix gives us more Kaos soon.
