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Thankfully, Syfy blessed us with a Season 2 pick up for Krypton before airing the season finale, so no need to panic over resolution of that giant cliffhanger! I’ve said numerous times that the storytelling on Krypton has been innovative, intriguing, and gutsy. Throughout the first season, the twists and turns that have been placed at our feet were shocking and unpredictable. Krypton has been created with love and care for the source material, but has proved that you can take source material and flip it on its head; as long as the story is good, it doesn’t matter what version of events you tell. Let’s dive into this Krypton season finale recap for “The Phantom Zone”.
Krypton Season 1 Episode 10: “The Phantom Zone”
Originally Aired: May 23, 2018
Written by Cameron Welsh, Chad Fiveash, and James Stoteraux
Many comic fans get stuck on “how it’s supposed to be” when in reality, comic characters go through so many iterations it’s hard at times to land on what the “right” canon is or is not. Krypton had the advantage of taking something we know, the Superman mythos, and crafting a backstory that has not ever been fully explored. The existence of time travel, multiple timelines, multiple universes, and Phantom Zone’s leaves the canvas wide open for interpretation and Krypton has ended it’s first season with mind blowing damage to the timeline. In episode 8, Sardath warned Adam that using the Zeta Beam had the potential to fracture space and time as we know it; his arrival on a past Krypton followed by Dru Zod and the existence of the Phantom Zone has brought us to timeline where Superman does not exist, Dru Zod rules the universe, Seg is stuck in the Phantom Zone, and Brainiac has bottled Detroit, Michigan with Adam inside.
(Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
This episode moved swift and heavy showing the resolve and determination of our women, Nyssa, Lyta, and Jax who may be the only ones capable of truly saving Krypton and restoring the timeline. Jax-Ur spends most of the episode ensuring the survival of the Kryptonian race by attempting to remove the codex from Kandor before the bottling. Nyssa goes back into the city to rescue her unborn fetus, and Lyta will not back down from the fight with Brainiac. While Lyta’s plan falters, she is in the prime position to help bring down Zod next season at the end of the episode. Though we do not see Jayna or her brother this week, it’s not hard to imagine a Season 2 in which they team up with Val, Jax, and Nyssa to bring down Zod, rescue Seg, and save the universe.
(Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
Val came out of the Phantom Zone, reuniting with his grandson for a sob inducing moment, if you didn’t cry, you may have no heart. Seeing Seg finally get back a member of his family was so touching that it was equally heart wrenching when, after tricking Brainiac into the Phantom Zone, Seg got sucked in with him. Hearing him echo his grandfather’s words, “believe in a better tomorrow” as he got whisked away, sent chills down the spine.
Who could have imagined that the end of this season would see Seg, our main character, disappear? For a show that delivers on all fronts constantly, who saw it coming that Nyssa is actually a clone? Daron, so wrought with grief over the loss of she and her mother, cloned her. Guess he had some love in his heart all along? And maybe this was why he was going to kill her, he knew he could bring her back. Perhaps the most fun thing about this show is its ability to surprise week after week. For all of the many combinations of space, time, and location I thought Adam could be, and there were many of them, in a future Detroit that has been bottled by Brainiac after Zod has already seemingly conquered the universe was not even close to my realm of possible guesses. How will he get out of there? Why is Adam the only one that isn’t frozen in time? How did Brainiac get out of the Phantom Zone?
Timelines and time travel can be confusing, but if we are following along correctly, it would seem that in the original timeline, Seg was lost in the bottling of Kandor, meaning that Lyta must currently be pregnant with Dru (unbeknownst to her) and that Nyssa will name her unborn child Jor-El, not Cor-Vex, in honor of Seg’s sacrifice. It would also mean that Nyssa and Lyta have some kind of relationship if their children were best friends. Of course, now that Seg is in the Phantom Zone and everyone knows Dru is actually Seg’s kid and the Superman cape has been replaced with a House of Zod cape, who knows what the future holds, but I for one am beyond excited to be going on this journey with the stunningly talented team in charge of this show. And as if all of that wasn’t enough to contend with, let’s not forget the final tag of the episode… Doomsday breaking out of his vault. Cameron Welsh and his team have their work cut out for them over the hiatus, and I cannot wait to see what they come up with for Season 2.
(Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Krypton for delivering us a truly compelling season of television, especially Cameron Welsh for pouring his heart and soul into this and Pinar Toprak for providing the soundtrack to this story. Thank you to the casting directors, Priscilla John and Wendy O’Brien, for selecting a cast of excellent actors, all who bring something so vital to their roles. Blake Ritson’s ability to convey so many expressions through a sea of prosthetics and makeup as Brainiac has been one of the major delights of the season. All of the women, Ann Ogbomo, Wallis Day, Georgina Campbell, and Hannah Waddingham delivered fierce performances and nuanced characters all worth rooting for. Aaron Pierre and Rasmus Hardiker shined at every turn while Ian McElhinney made a hologram one of the best characters in the multiverse. Elliot Cowan stuns as the vile Daron-Vex and Colin Salmon is the best General Zod ever to grace any screen, be it television or movies. And lastly, I cannot express how wonderfully both Shaun Sipos and Cameron Cuffe brought the heart and soul of Adam and Seg alive on screen in a truly breathtaking way.
(Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
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