Dhruv Trivedi
‘The Pentaverate‘ follows out-of-touch journalist Ken Scarborough, who becomes entangled with the titular ancient secret society that seemingly controls the world. On the hunt for a groundbreaking news story, Ken finds out about the ancient group from a conspiracy theorist. However, the secret society turns out to be very real and more bizarre than anything Ken could have imagined.
Ultimately, the journalist has to make some tough choices that could have dire repercussions on the world. Though much of the show is tongue-in-cheek, it does make some allusions to real secret societies that have actually existed at some point in time. So, could the eponymous secret society in ‘The Pentaverate’ be real? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Is The Pentaverate Real?
No, The Pentaverate is not a real organization. Of course, even in the world of the Netflix show, most regular people remain oblivious about the existence of the secret society. However, there is also mention of an annual meeting in Switzerland, called the Meadows, wherein the five members of the Pentaverate meet the world’s most powerful people. The conference is compared to the annual Davos summit which actually occurs annually in Switzerland and is attended by global decision-makers. (Of course, if a real conference between the Pentaverate and the likes of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and the Queen of England was taking place, it could eventually go on to become common knowledge).
Instead, The Pentaverate has a fictional origin in the 1993 black comedy ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer.’ In it, the lead character Charlie McKenzie (Mike Myers) visits his parents where his conspiracy theorist father (also essayed by Myers) explains the existence of a secret society called the Pentaverate.
The Netflix show draws its name and central secret society from the 1993 movie, albeit with some changes. Charlie’s father claims they meet tri-annually in a secret mansion in Colorado. In the show, the meeting is changed to the annual event called the Meadows. The show also describes the secret society as one that works to fix the world’s most pressing problems.
Thus, when the show opens, the Pentaverate and its members are working on solving global warming. This is the mission that the new member, Dr. Hobart Clark (Keegan-Michael Key), is tasked with accomplishing before his untimely death. Thus, unlike secret societies that aim for world domination through nefarious plans, the Pentaverate is actually “nice.”
However, the show encompasses a larger theme of conspiracy theories and secret societies and mentions real-world theories about the existence of the Illuminati. When Dr. Clark digs for details, there is mention of Beyonce and Jay-Z being part of the Illuminati, though they are apparently “double agents.”
The Pentaverate also has a similarly tongue-in-cheek origin story. As the narrator explains in increasingly impatient tones, the secret society started during the black plague, when five men discovered that the epidemic was caused by mice. Once the church labeled them heretics, the men formed the Pentaverate as a haven for knowledge, which ultimately became all-powerful. Thus, for fans of the Mike Myers show wondering whether the secret society actually exists, the Pentaverate is not real. The secret society in the show is a comedic version that draws on conspiracy theories and spoofs real-world lore about the existence of societies like the Illuminati and the Freemasons.
Read More: Who is Glen Cochrane in Post-Credit Scene of The Pentaverate?
