Kaleidoscope

- April 12, 2023

Web series review

Spoiler alert !

Kaleidoscope is a Netflix original mini-series created by Eric Garcia. It is an American heist drama starring Giancarlo Esposito as Leo Pap/ Ray Vernon. The story follows Ray and his crew of thieves attempting a heist worth seven billion dollars. The show initially streamed on New Year's Day of 2023.

Ray Vernon is the master thief. He aims to rob the SLS vault (the largest security firm on the East Coast) to get back at his old friend/crime-partner Roger Salas who betrayed him during a robbery which led to the death of his wife. Ray ends up spending seventeen years in jail away from his daughter. He escapes out of prison when he finds out that he has Parkinson's. Soon after, he starts devising a plan for a heist and brings together a team to carry out the operation. The team includes Ava Mercer (the weapons specialist and Ray's closest friend), Stan Loomis (the smuggler and Ray's former cellmate), Judy Goodwin (the explosives specialist and Stan's ex-girlfriend), Bob Goodwin (the safe cracker and Judy's husband) and RJ Acosta (the driver). There is, however, one more secret member in Ray's team - his very own daughter Hannah Kim. She works as the head of digital security at SLS. Salas is unaware that she is feeding off information to her father.

The heist can be called a success for Ray but not for his crew members. They turn on each other. In the heat of the moment, Judy kills RJ, Bob shoots at Stan, and Judy strangles Bob. As for the bonds, nobody gets them, as Hannah replaces them with construction paper of similar weight. She confesses to her father that she did it to save him from getting killed by the Triplets (the bond owners). She sends the bonds back to its rightful owners. Ray is not upset because he got what he wanted, which was revenge. He puts a valuable gem in Salas' vault that gets him arrested.

In the end, Ava gets killed by one of Bob's associates, Bob dies in the hands of the FBI and Ray gets shot at by an unknown character who is believed to be Salas' son.

All the characters are given importance in the show without any failure. Their perspectives are shown in different episodes throughout the series. The issue of racism is also addressed.

What makes the web show unique is that it can be watched in any order except for the white episode, which is to be watched last. There are eight episodes, each named a color. "The idea is that the different colors are just like the colorful pieces of the titular kaleidoscope, put together to create a new picture depending on which color the audience starts with." The color grading done in each episode amplifies the plot. If the green episode takes place seven years before the heist, the pink episode takes place six months after the same, the white episode being the heist. Nonetheless, to avoid confusion, it is preferable to watch it in its chronological order.