Krypton’s fifth episode sheds much light on the House of Zod (as the title of the episode would make one suspect). We learn more about Jayna-Zod’s brutal history, Seg’s attempt to survive and find his way out of the wastelands, and that there is indeed another lesser known religious group around who pray to Cythonna (the God of Ice, Roa’s opposite). The character development was well done, and it gave me a bigger than expected soft spot for Jayna.
1. House of Zod: Jayna and Lyta’s Bond
I enjoyed learning about Jayna’s history the most in this episode. It gave us perspective on how she was raised/brainwashed to think about family, honor, and sentiment. It was clearly shown how torn she was about putting her “honor” in front of her brother’s life as a child. Having this background made Lyta’s release much more plausible, as it gave the reasoning behind Jayna’s mindset. I for one am happy to see that she made the right choice, although it will certainly have ramifications in the future (“You are my greatest love AND my greatest shame”).
In addition to learning about Jayna, we also learned that Jayna’s brother was left for dead. Fast-forward to the reveal at the end (SPOILER ALERT) that the leader of Black Zero is in fact a Zod, and some of the pieces start to fit together. We were left with the Black Zero leader claiming to be Lyta’s son. This was a surprise to me, as I assumed the flashbacks were setting him up to be Jayna’s brother. This may end up being another reveal, and that he was possibly mistaken? We’ll find out!
2. Daron-Vex=Ruthless
Daron-Vex is the Wormtail of this series. He slimy and slips through the cracks while doing whatever he needs to in order to achieve his goals, which includes ordering his lover, Coldar. I’m sure this will play a big role in the fall of Krypton’s government later on in the series.
3. Where’s Adam Strange at?
I really could use some more Adam Strange. Hopefully this will be remedied in the back-half of the season (which we have officially arrived at) as Brainiac starts to play a bigger role. It was nice seeming him for a short period of time at the end of the episode, but it was nothing substantial. He’s our biggest connection to Supes, who hasn’t been mentioned in quite some time, so I think its important they involve him more.
4. Seg-El Continues to Disappoint
Again, I just can’t get behind Seg. I think it also has to do with the way that Cameron Cuffe is portraying him. He’s too much of a boy scout and just doesn’t give off the feeling that he actually deserves the position he has in the show. At least we saw him get his ass kicked some more this episode. I’m hoping to get my mind changed about him, but am skeptical.
5. The Voice of Rao
Let’s not forget that the Voice of Rao was taken over by Brainiac’s sentry, so there must’ve been a fair amount of activity happening on that front during the time this episode takes place. I’m excited to see how this causes all walls to crumble, as he is strategically the most powerful person Brainiac could hope to control. Its also a wonderful analogy to so many religious figures getting corrupted by power. The Voice of Rao’s goal is to gain control of all-things-Krypton, so its a great bit of poetic justice that he was taken over by Brainiac.
