By Olivia Turner | Staff Writer
“Kaleidoscope” is Netflix’s latest heist show, and unlike any other. With a theme reminiscent of movies like “Ocean’s 11” and “The Italian Job,” “Kaleidoscope” is sure to thrill any viewer, though not without first throwing them for a loop and leaving them perplexed in its wake. It’s no wonder the show has reached the #1 rank on Netflix in less than a week.
The show follows a multiplex heist and The Crew behind it — a six-person team, all masters in a variety of crime-riddled areas of expertise. The mastermind behind it all, Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito) brings together human-armory Ava Mercier (Paz Vega), explosives enthusiast Judy Goodwin (Rosaline Elbay), lock picker Bob Goodwin (Jai Courtney), smuggler Stan Loomis (Peter Mark Kendall) and car-obsessed RJ Acosta Jr (Jordan Mendoza).
The Crew’s goal for this lofty scheme is to break into the most secure vault in the world, which contains stacks of bonds worth $7 billion and just happens to be in the hands of Roger Sales (Rufus Sewell), Pap’s ultimate nemesis.
Watching this show was certainly an interesting way to start off the New Year. On Jan. 1, Netflix subscribers had the opportunity to hit the play button on “Kaleidoscope,” but not everyone started on the same episode. Eric Garcia, creator of the show and writer of “Matchstick Men,” decided on a non-linear method of telling the story. Netflix presents the eight-episode series in a different order to each Netflix account, but each sequence ends with “The White Episode,” the actual heist.
The scrambling of the watch order means there are a total of 5,040 possible ways to watch “Kaleidoscope,” while still ending on “The White Episode.” This also means that each viewer experiences the chronology of the show differently and thus absorbs the storyline and characters distinctively.
For instance, my watch order appeared as follows:
1. “The Yellow Episode” (Six weeks before The Heist)
2. “The Green Episode” (Seven years before The Heist)
3. “The Blue Episode” (Five days before The Heist)
4. “The Orange Episode” (Three weeks before The Heist)
5. “The Violet Episode” (Twenty-four years before The Heist)
6. “The Red Episode” (The morning after The Heist)
7. “The Pink Episode” (Six months after The Heist)
8. “The White Episode” (The Heist)
The color each episode is named after is also reflected in the cinematography of “Kaleidoscope.” Take the pink headphones in “The Pink Episode” or the yellow flash drive in “The Yellow Episode,” for instance. These colors highlight the clues that help the viewer to learn more about the character the episode features, though subtle. Blink and you could miss it.
Each episode focuses on a different character, allowing their perspective to speak for itself and sometimes revealing the true motives behind their involvement in the heist. Even the leader, Pap, dangles the prospects of billions of dollars in the faces of the team, when secretly his motives may differ. Shhh — don’t tell The Crew.
With or without dollar signs in their eyes, it takes a lot more than one single heist for Pap and his Crew to have a chance at the big bucks. The first seven episodes of “Kaleidoscope” depict Pap immersed in a series of obstacles throughout 25 years of his life building up to The Heist — mini-heists, if you will. These mini-heists include teaming up with Loomis to break out of prison, stealing jewelry with The Crew to make enough money for supplies either motivate Pap to eventually create The Heist, or help him get a step closer to carrying it out.
However, not all are successful.
As previously mentioned, this heist is no “Ocean’s 11.” It’s not seamless. It doesn’t end without pain, heartbreak or even death. The selfish motives of each member cloud the minds of The Crew, showing the viewer that even genius crumbles under disloyalty. So, if you can’t live without happily-ever-afters, you might want to think twice about watching “Kaleidoscope.”
While “Kaleidoscope” will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and at times cursing the characters, there are priceless lessons to be learned from each. What I learned is that “trust can be earned, it can be given, and it can be stolen,” as Pap says in “The Yellow Episode.” I also learned, based on observing The Crew, that these guys are more so masters of breaking into things rather than stealing things. Maybe you’ll agree after giving these episodes a watch.
What lessons will you learn from “Kaleidoscope?”
