#krypton s1

[1liv]

WALLIS DAY AS NYSSA-VEX IN 'KRYPTON' SEASON 1

[starsfromuncle]

Review of Krypton 1x09 and 1x10

TEARS AND HEARTBREAK AND REUNIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As always, spoilers under the cut!!!

1x09

Nyssa tries to get the Sagitari’s help, but they aren’t prepared to work with terrorists even if they were at full strength - which they aren’t

Seg makes his way back to the hideout through the chaotic streets of Kandor - chaos which will soon spark into outright anarchy once people figure out no-one’s in charge.

Seg is mourning his boyfriend , and I’ve already talked a lot about this moment, but it’s just...it’s so sad. He really, truly blames himself for not being able to save Adam, even though the whole thing happened so quickly and no one could have done anything

I also love that Lyta is there, comforting him. And also it’s interesting what she says about it beforehand - “I know losing Ona was hard for Kem” - with the emphasis on Kem. Obviously, Ona’s death was completely devastating because she was a child, turned into a weapon, and must’ve been horrifying to witness for Kem, Seg, and Jayna. But Lyta knows - has probably know since it happened - whose death Seg has taken hardest.

Seg dreams of Brainiac - somehow - and wakes to find Lyta gone. She and Zod have gone to find Doomsday.

Turns out Jax-Ur’s old name was actually revealed back in S1, so it turns out I’m just forgetful

Seg-El refuses to help Zod open Doomsday - except it turns out Zod doesn’t need his help. It turns out that Seg’s his father, which means that Zod’s blood alone can open the door

Doomsday has already been taken by the Cythonites as Seg and Jayna got there before Lyta and Zod - and this is slightly confusing, because Seg seems shocked when Zod tells him he’s his son and yet...he must have suspected that. Given that the only way to open Doomsday’s door is via the blood key, and Seg would never have helped him, he must have realised that Zod would only do this if he knew he would be able to open it

Seg leaves, and Jayna tries to no avail to get Lyta to join her. Doomsday’s containment field starts failing, Seg asks Val for help, but the Cynthonites double cross him because they have no faith in him

Lyta, to her credit, tries to stop her mother and her son from fighting, but to no avail - Zod invokes a Kandorian duel for the position of Primus of the Sagitari

Seg and Nyssa head to the Fortress, where she tells him that she believes in him. Seg - thinking about what happened to the last person who believed in him - tells her she shouldn’t. 

Seg continues to mourn Adam as he looks at the sunstone the Earth-man gave him.

“Adam should have given this to someone else. Instead of giving his life for mine. “But he chose you.” “Yeah, well, you met Adam. Not to speak ill of the dead, but... he wasn't exactly the brightest star in the sky.” Oh, Seg

Val comforts him - “As long as there is an El on Krypton, there will be hope. And hope...can be a powerful weapon.”

Jayna WINS THE FIGHT!!!!!!!!! But then is shot by Lyta!!

Daron escapes, but is electrocuted remotely by Jax-Ur (good)

Seg, Nyssa, and Val realise that Brainiac is heading for the dome generator to power his ship, and a plan is put in motion - to get the Sagitari and Black Zero to cooperate. Both plan to go after the other after the truce is over

Jayna is DEFINITELTY SAVED BY HER BROTHER!!!!!!!! Not only do we see him beforehand, but as we’ve seen with Zod, no-one can survive that kind of blaster wound without help. It’s just a shame this development didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Jax decides to head to the Genesis Chamber to activate the Vara protocol - clones of the Elite houses so that they can live and rule forever

The fight against Brainiac is about to begin - Seg asks Nyssa to take the Sunstone in case it goes badly. It goes badly because ONCE AGAIN THEY DON’T FUCKING FIRE IMMEDIATELY DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY EVEN SAY THEY’RE GONNA HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING THEY’VE GOT!!!!!!

Zod reveals that Val is alive!!!!

The Sagitari and Black Zero operatives are dead, and Seg is the only one standing. He is almost killed by Brainiac, but then Nyssa comes out of nowhere and jams the sunstone into his neck. He explodes, and she kisses Seg - but then the dome falls. The two Kryptonians flee as Brainiac reforms as his true self, just as the giant ship appears over Kandor

1x10

People panic at the sight of a giant fucking spaceship in the sky. Seg and Nyssa reunite with Lyta and Zod - Seg demands to know what happened to Jayna, and reveals about the double cross. Zod then tells him Val is alive

In the Fortress Zod explains that Val went into the Phantom Zone, and that they met because space-time is shit-weird in there - and also that he betrayed him to get out of there. Zod jumps into the Phantom Zone and returns with Val-El - COMPLETE WITH JOHN WILLIAMS!!!!!!! Val and Seg have a very heartwarming reunion - and Holo!Val waves goodbye - but then Val says there is no way to defeat Brainiac

The bottling of Kandor begins. Val claims there is no way to stop it - Lyta is determined to fight no matter what, but Seg doesn’t want her in danger. Val explains exactly what being bottled means - as we cut to Adam making his way through the frozen city he ended up on - that it means being paralysed and stuck in the same place forever...whilst still fully conscious. Which is horrifying.

Lyta and Nyssa talk - and I really wish we’d seen more of their friendship in S2 - and Nyssa reveals that there are tunnels leading to Kandor. Val tells Zod that using Doomsday would lead to the worst future, before they and Seg realise the women have gone

Dev finds the Sagitari panicking and about to leave. Lyta is thoroughly unimpressed, flattens one of them, and echoes her mother’s words in one of the most epic speeches in the history of television

Jax orders her people to leave whilst she retrieves the Codex - and I have a bone to pick that they apparently keep the only means of reproduction for Krypton in only one place!! 

Nyssa threatens the Oracle to get her child!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then pleads for her child’s life to Jax. Jax realises she doesn’t know the truth.

Zod wants to offer Val in exchange for saving Kandor, and Seg refuses. The evacuation of Kandor begins as Lyta commands an airstrike - which ultimately fails. Lyta is devastated at the loss of her soldiers, as Dev points out that since talk of aliens was forbidden until very recently, they could not have been reasonably expected to know how to fight them, and that her mother would have done the same. Lyta tells him why her mother agreed to the coup, that she failed her, and weeps at her mother’s death. She composes herself as Seg contacts her

Jax reveals that Daron betrayed her by telling the Elite houses how to use her tech  - intended to save lives - to their advantage...and that Nyssa is a clone, that her original self died in a skimmer crash, and that her memories of her sisters are false

Seg tries to stop Zod from betraying Val to Brainiac by pointing out that the Universe will pay the price. Zod doesn’t care. He goes to Brainiac, who accepts his offer.

Seg begs Val to flee, but the elder Kryptonian won’t, and that his death is the only way to stop Brainiac getting the knowledge - Seg will not consider this. 

Kandor is frozen, the bottling nearly complete. Zod and Brainiac show up at the Fortress, but Seg and Val have come up with a plan - they use Holo!Val to lure Brainiac onto the platform before opening up the Phantom Zone. The alien is sucked in, but Seg stands too close and gets grabbed by the tentacles. Val tries to hang onto him, but then Seg sees the cape starting to reform. He tells Val to starting believing in a better tomorrow again - and lets go. Zod shoots the device so Val can’t open it again. Kandor becomes unfrozen and the ship leaves as Dev and Lyta embrace. The El sigil on the cape turns into the Zod sigil

One month later - Zod monologues to the tribunal. As the voice-over continues, we see several scenes - the Rankless (including Kem!!!) being conscripted, Val desperately trying to fix the portal device as Nyssa and Jax show up - Jax shocked but pleased to see her mentor alive and well - and Adam seeing a gigantic statue of Zod, meaning that he takes over Earth. The monologue ends with the typical motto - KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!!!!!

And as though things couldn’t get any worse, Doomsday breaks free

Honestly, this is one heck of a first season, and again this show deserved to have many more seasons. I will be posting more about the show in the future, as well as the occasional extract from my fic.

[starsfromuncle]

Review of Krypton 1x05 and 1x06

In which I yet again had to turn up the brightness during the tunnel scenes. As always, spoilers beneath the cut.

1x05

AN EPISODE CHOCK FULL OF INTENSE ZOD FAMILY MOMENTS!!!!!!!! In which honour and brutality seem to go hand in hand

Seg saves Raika (who is definitely a character that should have appeared more)

Some background for Dev and Lyta, meeting 18 cycles ago, and Lyta deciding to “improve” the fireworks is brilliant. And honestly the scene between them is so sweet

Adam - trouble magnet - knows Seg is in trouble himself. Kem just thinks that it is because of Lyta being scheduled for execution

The mysterious door!!!!! And then Seg is captured by the Cythonites

To be honest, Vex family moments are pretty intense as well

More Zod flashbacks, with Jayna and her brother being sent to complete the Trial by Ice, which is basically just a way to kill off unworthy Zods - at least if you have more than one child. It’s heartbreaking because Jayna believes that both her and Vidar can make it back by sharing the respirator, but instead her brother tries to kill her

Nyssa again tries to talk to Jayna, but she has the House of Vex’s number

Seg learns that the name El is feared, that the Cythonites don’t trust Els, and that they have no intention of letting him leave. Seg then claims that he has a lot of relatives who’ll come looking for him and bullshits his way out of there

“All I need is a respirator and a way out of here.” Cuts to him freezing his arse off in the outlands. “I should’ve asked for more than just a respirator.”

As Lyta’s execution begins. Jayna remembers when she returned to Kandor and insisted they needed to help her brother, only to be told that he is not worthy of the name Zod. I can’t help that having a “only one child” policy would have its’ pitfalls though

Jayna agrees to support Daron’s plan, Nyssa lets her father know, and Lyta is spared. And honestly it was impressive, because she’s so stoic the whole way through, but breaks down in tears after she’s spared, and then hugs her mother, who pushes her away

Daron has layers and truly loved Kol-Da, which was surprising the first time around

Seg snarks at his respirator before ripping it off. Then he Macgyvers a communicator to contact Adam

“He's about yea high, dreamy eyes, legs for days.” Adam, your crush is showing

Seg asks Adam to give a message to Lyta and he does so, and introduces himself as Seg’s friend. The message is completely heartbreaking, and Lyta immediately springs into action, just as Seg passes out in the ice

Adam eyes up the naked male Sagitari, and he is definitely bi. Then he snarks at Dev, who just has no idea what is going on

Seg is found by Dru-Zod, who keeps trying to question him, but then it’s Lyta, Adam and Tai to the rescue!!!!! Lyta, hilariously, kisses him and leaves him tied up, then Adam smacks him on the chest cos he doesn’t realise Seg has been tortured and is still rather tender

And one of the biggest twists of the season - that he is General Zod, and Lyta’s son

1x06

Zod starts to explain himself to Seg and Lyta but then gets a blaster held to his head by Adam, who is terrified, and who identifies him as General Zod (though given that Seg is there at the beginning of the scene when the last time we saw him he was with Adam, that does beg the question where did Adam go? Was he trailing behind, then caught sight of Zod, doubled back to get a blaster and return? The world may never know)

I love Ona and she really did deserve so much better. She’s so innocent, and I can’t stand it whenever the Voice is near her.

Jayna, Daron and Nyssa discuss the plan, and I love that Jayna knows that Dev-Em will support her

Zod taunts Adam, and Seg tries to calm things down. Adam is natrually confused by how Zod is even here - a question that still is never answered in the show - and believes that he’s here to destroy Krypton. Zod retorts that he would never do that, and then the kicker - Brainiac isn’t from the future. Of course Adam is thrown by this, but then the truth of Krypton’s destruction comes out, and Seg is pissed. He points a blaster at both of them and orders them both cuffed

Zod is asked for a plan, instead spouts info about Brainiac, and his mother is very unimpressed

“And we still haven’t heard a plan, yet, General.” “That’s because he doesn’t have one, on account that he’s full of shit” Oh Adam

Basically Adam snarks throughout this entire scene

Dev-Em is basically a “ride-or-die” lad, because he agrees so easily to follow Jayna

Emotions are running high throughout the whole scene, and honestly I can’t help but feel sorry for Adam, because the entire thing has come crashing down around him - and he’s right, telling someone their planet’s going to be destroyed is not a conversation anyone wants to have. Seg is pissed that he apparently didn’t hear the full story before arriving on Krypton

To be honest, the most surprising reaction is Lyta, because she’s the voice of reason, and wonders why they don’t all work together to stop Brainiac. Bearing in mind she still hasn’t wrapped her mind around the whole time-travel aspect, and doesn’t really like Adam, she is prepared to work with him. Like, if Adam had agreed to help, she probably would’ve acted as a mediator, even if the relationship between him and Seg was still strained, but it is not to be

Adam begs Seg to listen to him, insisting that thing need to happen as they originally did, though admits he doesn’t have all the answers, then argues with Zod about numbers, and Seg just. Snaps.

“Forget the numbers! I care about my world. My friends. What's the point of any of it? Of making the world a better place? Of having children? Of protecting our loved ones? If it all just ends in fire and death? Everything that we are. Everything we've built. You're asking me to sacrifice all of it. For an idea. An abstraction.A future if.”

The break-up happens and Adam is left under guard. Zod proceeds to spout bullshit by claiming that Kal-El was ashamed of his heritage - conveniently leaving out the fact that he was a baby when he was sent off Krypton and so therefore of course he’d be more human than Kryptonian

Jayna takes no shit, and has no time for Daron. 

“You know, you're right. I do look out for number one. But the people of Kandor are number two. Where do you suppose they feature on the Voice of Rao's list? He only cares about the glorification of his god, and he expects the people to dedicate themselves to that. At least from me, they get a chance at a decent life. I am a selfish bastard, Jayna. But people do things for more than one reason.” See, this is why Daron is an interesting villain, because he’s not one-dimensional

Also “people doing things for more than one reason” is going to be a prominent theme in my fic

The Cythonites killing that Guard is brutal, and then nearly killing Adam...Christ.

Jayna is forced to kill the Sagitari asking questions and it tears at her

Ona decides that she’d rather serve the Voice on Krypton than join her mother. The Sentry declares that “one gets tired of always being right” and it’s just...fuck off!! You creepy bastard. And then he decides to make the Ceremony open to the public and throwing a huge wrench into Daron’s plans

The bombs fail to open the chamber door. Seg works out that the sigil is the symbol of El and Zod superimposed on each other

Dev refuses to let innocent people die, and yells out a bomb alert

And yet another example or “slicing your palm open”. Lovely. Adam runs in, even more terrified, and begs them not to open the door. They open the door, and then the Cythonites arrive. Zod accuses Adam of betraying them. Adam says that he knows the name Doomsday - and given his extreme reaction every time it’s mentioned it’s clear that the Doomsday arc happened on his Earth

Zod, of course, ruins everything - again - and starts a firefight. Seg pulls Adam to safety and they all flee

Adam, unfortunately, does not know when to keep his mouth shut and keeps harping on about the timeline. He then insists that he and Seg are still friends, and Seg essentially tells him to fuck off

And thus we see only the first of many scenes with people NOT FIRING AT BRAINIAC IMMEDIATLY!!!!!!!!!!!