The recently released Netflix comedy series, The Pentaverate features many characters played by its creator, Mike Myers. Myers is known for playing multiple parts, such as in So I Married an Ax Murderer and the Austin Powers movies, but in The Pentaverate, he plays a total of eight different major characters.
It is an incredible achievement to play so many characters, some often in the same room as each other. These characters are very different from each other, ranging from conspiracy theorists and the members of the Pentaverate to the main hero of the series.
8 Rex Smith
Rex Smith is a loud, abrasive, unlikeable radio host who is obsessed with right-wing conspiracies. He is one of the most one-note characters Myers plays in the series, but he does add color to the story by adding to the running satire of conspiracies present throughout, as well as being part of the general world-building.
However, he isn't much more than a stereotype/satire of right-wing media personality types. He is, though, still an important character for establishing the kind of satire that is found in the series.
7 Anthony Lansdowne
Anthony Lansdowne is an obsessive conspiracy theory enthusiast who encourages Ken to investigate the Pentaverate, and acts as his driver to the secret headquarters.
While Anthony does serve an important role in convincing Ken to take his journey to infiltrate the Pentaverate and act as his driver, he can be rather frustrating for the audience, at times. Throughout most of his appearances, Anthony fills his ramshackle van with the horrible smell of his bowel movements. This does have a payoff when he and Reilly are being gassed, but don't realize it at first. But the bowel movements are a rather disgusting running joke and get a bit old after a while.
6 Shep Gordon
Gordon is a member of the Pentaverate who is also Alice Cooper's former manager. Interestingly, Shep is based on a real person, who Myers befriended in real life while he was filming Wayne's World. This adds an interesting dimension to his character on a meta-level and gives the character some additional interest in his real-world origins.
Within the world of the show, he's the most easygoing and relaxed member of the Pentaverate, which helps him stand out from the other more uptight members of the group. However, he does not have as pivotal a role as the other Pentaverate members.
5 Mishu Ivanov
Mishu is a former member of the Russian oligarchy and a member of the Pentaverate. This character, in a way, becomes a massive red herring in the central mystery of the series. Mishu is one of the darker members of the organization, but he is not the main villain.
He acts as slight subversion of who audiences may suspect to be behind the mysterious deaths. There is an extra layer to his character in that although Ivanov does shady dealings, he is one of the less evil members.
4 Jason Eccleston
Killed mysteriously before the events of the series, he is the dead member of the Pentavarate whose position needs to be filled. Eccleston is the creator of the supercomputer MENTOR, container all of the organization's knowledge.
Although he is dead at the start of the series, he is an important catalyst of the events that take place. Without his death, there would be no need to find a replacement in the organization - which leads to further suspicious deaths. There would also be no MENTOR, the supercomputer that needs a human soul to operate, without which Ken Scarborough - the hero and main character of the series - would not be involved in the story. Eccleston's corpse also had memorable moments in the form of a rather silly autopsy conducted by The Maester of Dubrovnik (Saunders).
3 Bruce Baldwin
Bruce is an Australian media mogul. member of the Pentaverate, and a deceiving character. At first, audiences are lulled into thinking he is just a jerk when actually he is the main villain of the series. He does not, however, have a one-dimensional backstory. Bruce had built his media empire, The Tabloid Group as a way for people in power to bring others down with misinformation.
Bruce actually tried to make amends after he was brought in as a member of the Pentaverate by warning the other members that terrible people would use the internet the same way he used The Tabloid Group. When Eccleston joined them, he created MENTOR, a supercomputer designed to surpass the internet by having a database of standard facts. However, since things didn't work as planned with MENTOR, Bruce decided they didn't deserve it and planned to sell it or create more misinformation with it. The fact that Bruce almost has a sympathetic change of heart adds an extra dimension to his character, rather than if he had committed the murders simply for fun.
2 Lord Lordington
Lord Lordington is presumably in the British aristocracy and the eldest living member of the Pentaverate. In some ways, Lord Lordington is by far one of the more sympathetic members of the Pentaverate. He doesn't underestimate Patty and recognizes her intelligence. This is especially the case after her plan to overheat the supercomputer, MENTOR, works and he invites her to The Meadows.
However, there is some grey area with Lord Lordington as he is the one who asked Reilly to go on the secret mission to bring Ken to the Pentaverate so he could be the new soul for MENTOR. This is both good and bad - good in that he chose Ken because Ken is kind and empathetic, but bad because he would have to give up his human body. Lord Lordington is a complicated figure who genuinely believes in the good of humanity.
1 Ken Scarborough
Ken Scarborough is definitely the hero of the series. He is also the kindest and most genuine, and he goes on to have the biggest arc. Ken starts off in danger of being let go because he's too nice and hasn't covered any hard-hitting stories. However, once he starts off on his journey to infiltrate the Pentaverate he starts to show a lot of hidden depth. For example, when he joins The Liechtenstein guard, he surprises everyone with the Canadian martial arts skills he learned in the Canadian army.
He is a lot more skilled than his mild-mannered personality suggests, constantly proving himself - like successfully retrieving the Parce Clavem key and leading the Liechtenstein guards to defeat the Red Robes. Ken makes the ultimate sacrifice in the end, uploading his soul into the supercomputer, MENTOR, so that it can have a kind soul for the good of humanity. This makes Ken one of the most developed and sympathetic characters, not only of Myers' but of any other character in the series.
Comments
Post a Comment