Summary of Kaos Episode 2: Orpheus tries to save Riddy
Chaos Episode 2 begins in a nightclub. As the night draws to a close, we meet bartender Caneus (Misia Butler) trying to escape from a group of attackers. They shoot him with a crossbow and tell him he has dishonored the gods and his tribe. As Caneus dies, the group reveals that Caneus’ mother is also present. Caneus looks at her as he succumbs to his injuries.
Who is Caneus? What significance does he have for Chaos‘ History? What else happens in Chaos Episode 2? Read below to find out.
Dionysus helps Orpheus
A hungover Orpheus (Killian Scott) wakes up to find his house a mess. After briefly believing he dreamed him, Orpheus finds Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) in his kitchen. Dionysus says they are going to bring Riddy (Aurora Perrineau) back from the underworld. They must hurry, however, as Orpheus must find her before she goes through the frame.
Dionysus lies and says he is helping Orpheus because he likes his music. In fact, he is doing it to prove to Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) and Hera (Janet McTeer) that he is no lightweight.
Dionysus takes Orpheus to the cave – where desperate people are vying for entry to the underworld. Orpheus is angry at first, insisting that the cave is a hoax; no one has ever returned from the underworld. But Dionysus says that Orpheus can do it, he just has to pass the quiz, then he can outsmart Death, go to the underworld and try to be the first person to bring someone back.
Riddy’s journey through the underworld
Riddy travels along the River Styx in the underworld. Hades (David Thewlis), the god of death, tells the passengers that their devotion to the gods has paid off. The more devotion they show to the gods on earth, the more glorious their next life will be. This concerns Riddy, because she defied the gods before she died.
At the end of the boat ride, Caneus pulls Riddy out of the crowd before she can try to get through the frame. Off-screen, Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) reveals that Caneus is the second of the three people who will help bring down Zeus.
Zeus has problems
After being told earlier by Dionysus that none of his children like him, Zeus calls them all, but none respond. He hasn’t tried, for Zeus has been constantly impregnating women on Earth in an attempt to have a child who would actually like him. Zeus goes to see his latest pregnant lover and discovers that Hera has been imitating him (not just in looks). She hastens the woman’s birth. Once the child is born, Hera turns the lover into a bee and tells Zeus to kill the baby, which he does.
Later, Zeus wants to take a little revenge of his own. He tells Hades and his wife Persephone (Rakie Ayola), the queen of the underworld, that he wants to send a message to the people who desecrated his monument.
After walking around the Earth and noticing that people are happy, Zeus tells Prometheus that they should be afraid and worship him. Zeus believes he has been too careless and now wants to terrorize the Earth. He even suggests killing half the population. Prometheus tries to talk him out of it, but Zeus simply puts him back in the chained world on the mountain. Prometheus says Riddy needs to hurry up.
Riddy is stuck
It turns out that Riddy can’t go through the frame because Orpheus – her coin bearer – didn’t bury her with her coin. She’s stuck in limbo for 200 years and is soon tasked with processing new dead. Riddy insists it was a mistake, especially because her mother sacrificed herself for the gods. But she’s told the gods don’t owe her anything.
Medusa (Debi Mazar) promotes Caneus to the role of diver, who helps the recently deceased cross the river Lethe. But Caneus doesn’t want the job because he is still waiting for his mother to die and for him to go through the underworld so he can meet her.
Riddy runs into the river to get through the frame, but since she doesn’t have a coin, the water doesn’t rise. When Riddy realizes that Orpheus actually buried her without her coin, she bursts into tears. Caneus tries to comfort her and promises that things will get better.
Off-screen, Prometheus says that Riddy is exactly where she needs to be and has met the person she needs to meet.
The Quiz
Orpheus gives his wedding ring to pay the quiz fee. In the first part of the quiz, he has to remember every freckle, blemish and mark on Riddy’s skin. In the second part, he has to sing about his love for her, but without a voice. So Orpheus plays a beautiful song on the piano.
Lacey (Eddie Izzard), one of the judges deciding whether Orpheus should be allowed to go to the Underworld, then throws a knife through Orpheus’ hand. They say Orpheus did something wrong. Orpheus still has Riddy’s coin in his pocket. He took it out of her mouth at her funeral so he would have a chance of finding her in the Underworld. Lacey is accused of selfishness and says Orpheus’ game is over. Orpheus apologizes to Dionysus, but Dionysus says keeping the coin was an act of love.
Dionysus asks Lacey what they can do to get to the Underworld. Lacey will let Orpheus in if Dionysus gives Lacey the watch that Dionysus took from Zeus. (Zeus is also looking for it, as he calls it his “lucky watch” and needs it before he can carry out his plan to terrify the Earth.) Orpheus convinces Dionysus to give up the watch, which allows Orpheus and Dionysus to enter the Underworld.
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