Netflix's 'The Pentaverate' Gets Power All Wrong
What if a secret organization of five men ruled the world? And what if they were nice? Such is the premise of Mike Myer's new comedy Netflix series, The Pentaverate (2022) — the show that makes fun of some of pop culture's most popular conspiracy theories.
The series follows sweet-talking journalist Ken Scarborough (Mike Myers) as he tries to infiltrate The Pentaverate to get his old job back at CACA News Toronto. Ken works with colleague Reilly Clayton (Lydia West) and conspiracy theorist Anthony Lansdowne (also played by Myers) to complete this mission. Along the way, he realizes that this all-powerful organization isn't so bad and works to stop nefarious forces from attempting to destroy it.
On a personal level, I did not consider this show especially funny. Many of the jokes failed to land, as most of the series' humor boiled down to references and gimmicks. I hate Qanon as much as the next girl, but merely referencing the conspiracy theory is not enough to get a chuckle out of me. Maybe you disagree, and that's valid. Comedy is a very subjective enterprise, and one person's yawn-fest is another person's gut buster.
On a philosophical level, however, I am more confident in asserting that this series' politics are messy. The message that the show tries to walk away with — that we need more diversity in our workplaces — doesn't work in the context of an all-powerful conspiracy theory.
In the process, The Pentaverate pushes a moral that's pretty regressive.
It's hard to take this show seriously, and while that's sometimes the point, this applies to the underlying logic of the series. If the world is being led by such nice people (as the brilliant Jeremy Irons reminds us during every intro sequence), then why does it suck so much?
There is a scene where our villains offer the world's leaders the chance to wipe away secrets from the public record in a secret auction. Most of these leaders are so disgusted by this offer that they walk out. This includes imperialists such as the Queen of England, who we are meant to believe cares sincerely about the public good. In the most unbelievable scene in the show, only a couple of these leaders are willing to go forward with the villainous auction, including a hilarious reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Again, if the world is (mostly) being run by such nice people, then who exactly has been causing all the murder and exploitation that make living on this planet so terrible?
We are given two answers to this question. The first comes from the show's villain Bruce Baldwin (also played by Mike Myers). A media mogul, and current Pentaverate member, he believes that the Internet is to blame, saying in a villainous monologue:
“I tried to warn the Pentaverate that the bad guys would use the Internet the same way I used the tabloids, only a million times worse….I thought people would be smart enough to check facts, but no they're too addicted to their smartphones and their tablets and blah, blah, blah, f*ckity blah….What’s the use of trying to help people when they don't even want to help themselves?”
You would be forgiven for not taking the words of a former media mogul on this subject seriously. This explanation blames humanity as a whole for being unable to navigate the systems of misinformation campaigned for by larger, more predatory institutions. The modern Internet was created to be psychologically addicting, taking advantage of human beings' worst impulses. Blaming people for not having the willpower to push through these toxic systems is lazy. Bruce Baldwin seems to be doing a fair amount of projection here, and it makes sense that this is the monologue of a villain.
The second answer comes from the "good guys" in the Pentaverate — old geezers Lord Lordington, Mishu Ivanov, and Shep Gordon (all played by Myers). While not meaning to, this trio comes to terms with the fact that they are part of the problem. As character Lord Lordington tells his tearful secretary: "the Demetrius Protocols exist in the event that the Pentaverate should fall into nefarious hands. The world has changed. The Pentaverate has not. We have become those nefarious hands." They activate the ominous-sounding Demetrius Protocols, killing themselves off and ending the Pentaverate for good.
If the show stopped here, I would have no problems with it. I might not like the humor, but its premise would be philosophically sound. It is a problem that one unaccountable organization has such a huge say over world affairs, and regardless of their intentions, it's probably best that they no longer exist.
But the show doesn't stop there.
In a surprise twist, we learn that colleague Reilly Clayton actually worked for the Pentaverate the entire time. They recruited her out of Cambridge. She believed in their message of a secret organization "actually doing good." When she joined them, however, she learned that they were not a diverse organization, saying
“…then I meet the top guys and its just old white man after older white man after older, whiter, richer man after oldest, whitest, richest man. I mean if the most diversity in your group is Russian, you just know its going to be the usual deal, which is tons of diversity on the lower levels, and then you bang your head on that old, white ceiling.”
Reilly understandably wants to change this dysfunction, and she eventually gets her wish after the Pentaverate dies. The show ends with a new organization called the Septaverate being formed. It's more diverse and composed primarily of younger people of varying races, genders, and ethnicities.
Gone are the archaic European traditions that guided the group before. These elites wear all white and make decisions in front of a white background that looks like it comes directly from the Apple Store. Ken Scarborough is now a supercomputer called KENTOR providing tech support. Narrator Jeremy Irons closes out the show by saying, "…a new secret society was born. This group of benevolent experts became the Septaverate. More representative. More inclusive. More nice."
Kindness — that's what was missing from the Illuminati, yall.
While the message of more diversity and tolerance makes sense in the context of a workplace, it does not make any sense here. The answer to a secretive, all-powerful organization isn't to expand its membership pool to more diverse applicants. The solution is to destroy that organization. The Pentaverate was right to disband itself, and the Septaverate was in the wrong to ever form in the first place.
There is a level of liberal wish-fulfillment happening here, as Myers argues, not for a transformation of society but a realignment of it. Even the way the Septaverate is formed is not through force or activism but hard work and perseverance within the system. Reilly never really challenges the status quo. She was on a secret mission by Lord Lordington to get our lead Ken to sacrifice himself to the MENTOR supercomputer and become KENTOR. It's only by following the wishes of the head white guy in charge and waiting for him to step aside willingly that we get our alleged "happy ending."
Maybe you think that following orders within the system is how "real" change happens, but to me, it sends all the wrong signals.
Ultimately, the Pentaverate feels like a wasted opportunity. The idea of taking conspiracy theories seriously is a fun concept (see People of Earth for a show that has done this better), but we needed it to be less messy. The Pentaverate had to approach its story of a secretive organization thoughtfully, even if it was only doing that for laughs.
I appreciate where this show was trying to take us. Most organizations in the US suffer from a lack of diversity, and championing more diversity in the workplace is something I unequivocally support. It's the idea that we make the world better by diversifying those on top that I object to.
Some organizations out there don't need more diversity. They simply need to die — and that includes everything from business-backed trade associations to secretive conspiracies trying to rule the world.