Commentary: ‘Krapopolis’ Has A Surprising Balance Of Science And Mythology

Storytellers everywhere are in love with Greek mythology. It’s filled with action, drama, romance, and as much fantasy as audiences can handle. Those using the ancient Greek world can approach the storytelling in two different ways. They can either can build a real world where the gods are nothing but myths, or lean into the mythology and have the gods be active participants in a world built around magic. The Fox animated series Krapopolis seems to be the latter. Many episodes give that impression — but one episode, focused around an eclipse, may surprise mythology lovers in that it tries to take a very different and unique approach.

After the eclipse blocked the sun, the city of Krapopolis went into a panic. It is explained away as Zeus being in a bad mood, but since nobody can find him, nobody could fix the eclipse. Being the god of the sun, Apollo tried to fly up to it, but he fell down in a frozen paralysis, confused as to how it could get colder the closer he got to the Sun. Tyrannis (Richard Ayoade) and Deliria (Hannah Waddingham) decided to take matters into their own hands. Using a constructed spaceship, they tried to fly to the Sun to fix the problem. Ultimately, they crashed on Mount Olympus and discovered Zeus was indisposed. Of course, the eclipse ended on its own because it happened due to science and had nothing to do with the gods.

The way this episode balanced the inclusion of all powerful gods having to submit to the nature of reality is very interesting. Even though he is the god of the Sun, Apollo couldn’t fly to it because his powers weren’t strong enough to withstand the vacuum of space. In stories, gods are typically omnipotent beings without limits, so the fact that this satirical comedy cartoon placed constraints on these all powerful beings says a lot. It demonstrates that science reigns above all else, including magical beings. It’s just surprising to see this nuanced perspective on reality taken from such a ridiculous show.

Krapopolis is now streaming on Hulu.