Yellow
Kaleidoscope’s unique viewing experience begins with Yellow, at least on the Netflix UK screen, so that seems like a good enough point to begin! We’re six weeks before the heist and we meet Leo, the head honcho at the top of this. He knows that a lone wolf can only go so far and he needs a pack to join him for his latest endeavour. He begins to assemble a team to help him in this upcoming heist. Trust can be earned and given, as evidenced by a montaged love story between bank worker Kate and Laura, a part of our crew. It would appear that their target is the SLS vault, which is apparently impregnable and the best of its kind. Stefan Thiele oversees proceedings (more on him later) while security detail is tight. Leo knows in order to do the impossible, he needs to team up with a crew he can trust to do it right. So naturally, it begins with Stan, a reliable right hand man who’s retired from the game. Only, 7 million dollars looks set to change his mind. As Leo discusses the eye wateringly heavy security, we see just who the target actually is. All three to be precise. Between Cho Young-woo, Suzanne Grosevnor and Stefan Thiele, the trio (known as the triplets) control half a trillion dollars. There’s about $7 billion worth of bonds that haven’t been cashed in, and that’s what Leo and the crew intend to grab. Stan heads off to meet Judy, a face from the past and someone whom they intend to recruit to their cause. Judy’s partner, Bob, tags along without an invitation. Leo allows him to be part of this, pointing out that all money will be distributed evenly between them… but only if the heist is a success. Part of this comes from a mole, which Leo has placed inside SLS. That mole appears to be a woman named Ava, who suggests they need to bring on the best faces for each role in this heist if they even want to try and be successful in this endeavour. Ava promises to take care of the security detail, as we’re introduced to RJ, a talented driver and clearly their getaway driver for this. Before they even think about getting this heist up and running, they need money. Heading to Diamond Way, they break into a jewelry store and take a whole stack of jewels. However, Bob wants to try and steal the biggest diamond in the store, but he ends up getting caught and shot in the hand for his troubles. Naturally, Judy saves him and the trio race away in gas masks, heading into the subway and eventually managing to get away before they’re caught. Hannah, the security whizz st the bank, finds out that she’s pregnant but her sister isn’t exactly enthused about it. To make matters worse, at work she finds out she needs to supervise Rajiv, who’s fronting the security detail. After working together for 8 years, Andrew – a man who’s outed as a mole after an incriminating USB drive is found in his possession – is let go from his role and Hannah is promoted to senior VP. Of course, Hannah is the real mole and now that she’s high up in the organisation, she can get all the IDs they need. Seven years they’ve been talking about this, but Leo can sense Hannah is wavering. However, now that she’s made a name for herself and has a steady job and relationship, all of that looks set to come crashing down around them.
The Episode Review
Netflix’s intriguing TV experiment starts off with Yellow (or doesn’t, depending on the way you watch this!) and essentially works as an overview to our key players for the heist, including Leo who fronts the operation and a diverse group of individuals at his disposal. The story itself is pretty straightforward but of course we get the usual male bashing in here, coming in the form of hotheaded Bob and the scene in the police station where Judy has all the men recite “I am a f*cking moron.” The characters are pretty light in development and there’s not a whole lot of depth to this one either, at least not yet. I’m guessing the rest of these episodes are going to jump back in time and give a background to each character now, with the finale (which is designed to be watched last) used to show the heist itself. That’s just a prediction at this point, but we’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for us next.
