First off - the whole "watch at random" thing is a gimmick. But behind this gimmick, which actually works is a simple truth as to the reason why it worked - because Kaleidoscope was made as every TV show should be made. The "watch at random" gimmick works because every single episode is well-structured and brings pieces of the puzzle together just like a heist story should. Say what you will about Netflix, but this whole "all episodes at once" strategy does away with the necessity for all the cheap tricks TV shows usually do to try and keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next episode. Which never worked for me.
Nowadays TV shows are so riddled with all the usual things that make them so insufferable - cliffhangers; characters that are stupid so that the audience gets annoying exposition if they're lost; characters that are stupid just because the writers can't figure out how to keep the plot going; plot twists just for the sake of plot twists; etc.
Kaleidoscope is a heist series that seems to carefully avoid those, even though clichés are in my opinion what makes heists cool. And this series is full of all the right ones - cool spy music (check), fancy editing (check), intelligent characters who are all brilliant in their field and not to be underestimated (check), crossovers (check), double agents (check), cocky attitude (check)... these are all just things that work.
It's not perfect though. Esposito is amazing and it's been too long since I've seen Rufus Sewel in something. I am so glad to see his face again, I love his acting. Jai Courtney is a big no-no for me. Bob as a character is not the problem, Bob as a character makes sense. The problem is that Jai Courtney's portrayal of the character is just doing a Tom Hardy impersonation throughout the whole thing. He can obviously pull it off, but it's kind of cheap and ruins a lot of moments, especially in contrast to most of the other performances that I think were pretty good.
The dialogue is nothing too amazing, but it's clever when it needs to be. Some might find it predictable, but I always prefer predictable to plot twists that are just pulled out of nowhere. The way the story goes just makes sense. And I really like watching things that make sense.
Nowadays TV shows are so riddled with all the usual things that make them so insufferable - cliffhangers; characters that are stupid so that the audience gets annoying exposition if they're lost; characters that are stupid just because the writers can't figure out how to keep the plot going; plot twists just for the sake of plot twists; etc.
Kaleidoscope is a heist series that seems to carefully avoid those, even though clichés are in my opinion what makes heists cool. And this series is full of all the right ones - cool spy music (check), fancy editing (check), intelligent characters who are all brilliant in their field and not to be underestimated (check), crossovers (check), double agents (check), cocky attitude (check)... these are all just things that work.
It's not perfect though. Esposito is amazing and it's been too long since I've seen Rufus Sewel in something. I am so glad to see his face again, I love his acting. Jai Courtney is a big no-no for me. Bob as a character is not the problem, Bob as a character makes sense. The problem is that Jai Courtney's portrayal of the character is just doing a Tom Hardy impersonation throughout the whole thing. He can obviously pull it off, but it's kind of cheap and ruins a lot of moments, especially in contrast to most of the other performances that I think were pretty good.
The dialogue is nothing too amazing, but it's clever when it needs to be. Some might find it predictable, but I always prefer predictable to plot twists that are just pulled out of nowhere. The way the story goes just makes sense. And I really like watching things that make sense.