David

The new Netflix Original limited series, Kaleidoscope, premiered at the beginning of January. The idea of the heist show is that you can watch the episodes in any order and get a specialized and personal experience with the storyline. The story mainly follows Leo Pap and the string of heists he pulls off throughout his life. Each episode is named after a different colour and uses that colour as a motif throughout the episode. The idea of the colours as titles represents the fragmented story that changes the big picture depending on where you start, similar to looking into a kaleidoscope and seeing something different than anyone else. I followed a TikTok recommendation on the best order to watch the show:

• Yellow: six weeks before the heist
• Violet: 24 years before the heist
• Orange: three weeks before the heist
• Green: seven years before the heist
• Blue: five days before the heist
• Red: the morning after the heist
• Pink: six months after the heist
• White: the day of the heist

The cinematography was on point, the budget seemed extraordinarily high, and it showed. The acting is excellent and the subplots are immersive. The only critique I have is of Niousha Noor, who plays the FBI agent on the group’s tail. It seemed like she was trying to be over dramatic but was under-expressive at the same time, which put me off of her character.

The show has a little bit of everything for everyone: action, romance, mystery, and humour. Leaving the actual heist until the end is enjoyable; witnessing events before and after and trying to put the pieces together feels really interactive. It forces the audience to pay attention to the small details while also feeling really cohesive. No matter which order you watch it in, the directors do a fantastic job of making each episode have a distinct exposition before getting into the climax, so it never feels like you’re too lost. I’m incredibly impressed with the complex storytelling and how it hooked me into the mystery until the actual heist.

Zoe

If you’re like me and get really anxious watching a show with a lot of unexplained plot holes, cliffhangers, or random bits of unanswered information, then Kaleidoscope can be a stressful watch. But have no fear, my friends — this show is versatile.

Here’s the chronological order I watched it in:

• Violet: 24 years before the heist 
• Green: seven years before the heist 
• Yellow: six weeks before the heist
• Orange: three weeks before the heist
• Blue: five days before the heist 
• White: the day of the heist 
• Red: the morning after the heist 
• Pink: six months after the heist

The show starts out by detailing Leo Pap’s not-so-small beginnings and ends with what happened to the crew six months after the heist. Chronological order gives the audience a fun way to watch how the heist came together, how relationships formed prior to the heist, how everyone was connected, and what happened to them after the heist. Everything fell together smoothly, unlike the disjointed, choppy format of other episode watch orders. I understood what was going on from the beginning like an Ocean’s Eleven kind of plot: “guy wants to do a heist, guy finds other people to do a heist, people plan the heist, people do a heist, people find out guy had questionable motives, and then what happens after the heist.”

Talking to David about the show after he had watched it in a different order made me realize that our perceptions of the plot were drastically different. Elements of the show that are obvious to me are surprising twists to him and vice versa. For example, many questions are answered in a flashback episode about certain characters’ backgrounds (which are major plot twists), but since I watched it first, the dramatic moments occur elsewhere in the show. 
Overall, Kaleidoscope is thrilling, dangerous, and suspenseful. I was thoroughly immersed in each character and their stupid choices, and not a single moment passed when I was bored. So, if you’re looking for an upbeat, dramatic, and dark show for your next watch, check it out.