Moving Through the Multiverse  3.5/5

If you enjoy shows like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Minecraft: Story Mode, then Kaleidoscope is just the show you have been waiting for. Although you can’t change the events that will take place in this action-packed bank heist, you can choose the order in which you experience Netflix’s original series. Every episode’s name is inspired by one of the eight hues of the rainbow, which will be seen in a symbol near the end of each hour-long interlude. 

While watching the series in chronological order, I was able to meet all of the main characters in the way they were intended to be introduced. Throughout all eight episodes, I didn’t encounter any confusion with any of the events. But this made me question, would this have been different if I hadn’t viewed the show in this order? Let’s say you started with Pink, six months after the heist. You would have already known how the whole series would play out and where everyone would end up.

I also felt that watching White (the day of the heist) before Pink and Red (after the heist) didn’t give me the opportunity to experience the “ah ha!” and “that makes sense!” moments. I suggest making one edit by watching White last. Beware: the characters aren’t given any room to grow with the script they are given. At the beginning of every episode, each character is almost reintroduced in the circumstance that it may be the viewer’s first time watching. You aren’t able to grow an emotional bond with anyone because of this. This ultimately leads to the ending being anticlimactic and unsatisfying since you don’t feel much sympathy for anyone. 

A Colorful Heist  5/5

I watched the series in what Netflix called a “Tarantino” style. The plot was very intriguing, and the ability to watch the show in any order was a truly unique and enjoyable experience. 

I enjoyed the character development of Ray and Roger, and how their motivations and backstory were revealed in small pieces, one at a time. I also liked that the ability to switch the order meant the typical heist genre trope was dismantled, allowing for less of a cut-and-dry chronology. 

While it wouldn’t be detrimental to your viewing experience if you watched them earlier on, you should watch the Violet, Red, and White episodes last so as not to spoil some events and make the series less captivating.

Piecing the Puzzle  4/5

I would highly recommend Kaleidoscope for an audience who loves deciphering puzzles and the thrill of a grand picture coming together. Although the plot could just be seen as a dull heist series, the character development and tension built throughout the course of the series kept me on the edge of my seat. 

This order sends the watcher for an exhilarating loop between the past and present. I would recommend starting off with an episode with little plot context, like episode Blue or Yellow.

I thought this sequence was a fun watch but some episodes could’ve been pushed further on. I felt as if watching episode Violet earlier on revealed too much too soon about the character’s motives. I would definitely recommend saving episodes Red, White and Pink as your finale! 

Through the Tinted Glass  5/5

Not many shows take the concept that “Kaleidoscope” did: a puzzle show. As you proceed through the show, there are many intertwining puzzles. 

The show was confusing at first, but there were some items that made sense, such as the orchids in the Blue episode. One of the puzzles is trying to figure out what the symbol is for each episode. As you go through the show, you figure out what the orchids were for. The symbols for each episode are very well hidden as to what the actual purpose of it is. I like the use of the symbols because of how well they were hidden and because you actually had to look for them in the show. The plan for the show was executed very well on how Netflix wanted it to go. I really enjoyed the use of the colors in the show. Each episode had their own color coordination to the theme of that episode.  Watching these three episodes already makes the first couple of episodes make way more sense.  After I finished all eight episodes I realized that I might have watched some of them out of order.