Krypton
“In Zod We Trust” (Episode 206)
July 17, 2019

Last week, Krypton ended on a crucial, pivotal, devastating  moment. One that will have a lasting impact on the entire series. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Earlier in the ep, Jax-Ur was able to take Lyta hostage during an ill fated peace negotiation on Wegthor. Back on Kandor, Seg learned that Invisible Brainiac, the Brainiac still living in his mind, helped Seg avoid the effects of Somatic Conditioning, keeping his mind free of Zod’s vision. Jayna and Dev stormed Zod’s compound and rescued Seg.

But, at the end of the episode, following Zod’s duplicity in promising to withdraw the Sagitari from Wegthor in exchange for Lyta’s release, Jax executed the Primus on a live broadcast for all of Krypton to see. Zod and Seg were part of the audience that witnessed this murder.  Get yourself all caught up on last week’s deep dive recap and review here.

If you’re ready for the aftermath of Lyta’s execution and all the action that tonight’s brand new Krypton has in store, read on … BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!!

Kandor. Tonight’s episode opens in silence. All you hear is the sound of someone breathing. Following Lyta’s execution, people are visibly shocked. Seg, still making his escape with Jayna and Dev, drops to his knees and yells out in anguish. But we don’t hear it. He breaks into sobs.

Meanwhile, Zod’s quarters, the General is also reeling from the murder of his mother. As he stands looking out over Kandor, a  messenger (with HORRIBLE timing) arrives to tell him that Doomsday has been spotted in the Outlands, in a cave system.

Zod responds with a question, asking the messenger if they’ve regained control over the broadcast system? The messenger tells Zod that the Rebels are still in control. Wrong answer, buddy! Zod expresses his anger that Lyta’s execution is on replay for all of Kandor to see by tossing the messenger out of his transparent window which overlooks the city.

Opening Credits.

Wegthor. The somber aftermath from Lyta’s execution gives way to Jax’s public defense of her actions. Lyta is covered up as Jax speaks. Jax goes into action mode, telling the Rebels to prepare to take the Space Elevator.  With the Sagitari trapped in the mines and cutoff from resupply, the time to strike is now. The soldiers begin to move per her orders.

Val has heard enough, yelling for all of the soldiers to stop. And they do. Val addresses Jax in front of everyone, asking if she realizes that she’s cost them any chance at peace. He continues that what Jax did was an act of barbarism, broadcast live for all of Krypton to see. Jax spins her actions as showing the resolve of the Rebels and exposing Zod’s weakened position. Beyond the immorality of her actions, Val tells Jax that she has made a tactical error.

“We’re not terrorists.  We’re freedom fighters!”

Further, by killing Lyta, all Jax has show Krypton is the promise of replacing one tyrant with another. Val ends his monologue by publicly announcing his withdrawal of support from Jax. The Rebels needs to make a choice now …

Shouts of, “I’m with Val,” quickly pick up steam and Jax soon finds herself surrounded by aimed weapons. She’s taken into custody.

Whelp, that turned on her fast!

Space Elevator. Nyssa is traveling back towards Kandor, the Codex in hand. She calls Zod to confirm the deal of Codex for Cor but he’s, “shit’s changed, girlfriend.” Nyssa isn’t playing though and vows to destroy the Codex if she doesn’t get her son back. Zod is shocked she would sacrifice Krypton’s future. He tells her he’ll honor their deal. She’s pretty skeptical and has to be shitting bricks right about now.

Commercials.

Kandor. Jayna, Dev and Seg reach a secluded area and begin planning their escape from Kandor. Seg is not focused on any kind of plan just yet, asking how this could have happened to Lyta?!? Jayna places the blame with Val but Seg defends his grandfather, saying Val would have done everything possible to stop this.

Dev tells them to cool it, Lyta wouldn’t want them arguing. Seg drops the bomb that Zod had her reconditioned so no one is sure what new Lyta would have wanted?!? Dev doesn’t think that’s true, and Seg gets angry telling Dev he saw everything they did to her.

Dev changes his mind and thinks he knows when it happened, too, but he didn’t realize it at the time. He continues, saying that after Zod told everyone Seg was dead, Lyta was devastated, but Dev was there for her. Then, all of a sudden, Lyta began to develop a blind devotion to her son. That’s when Dev gave up on her. Invisible Brainiac chimes in at this point, curious about how much grief Seg has for Lyta. Invisible Brainiac sees this grief as a hindrance.

“A compromised capacity for rational thinking is the direct corollary of this indulgence.”

Invisible Brainiac adds that Seg cannot possible want to feel this way. Seg audibly yells at Invisible Brainiac to stop, leaving Jayna and Dev looking at Seg a little strangely … no, duh. Seg covers, telling Dev to stop blaming himself. Seg thinks they should press on. Dev picks up Sagitari comms chatter, Nyssa is returning to Kandor to deliver a package to Zod. Seg asks about Nyssa’s status and Dev replies that she’s been deemed, ‘Surplus to Requirements’.” In other words, she’ll be killed once she delivers her package.

Wegthor. Adam asks Val if he thinks Seg saw the execution and Val is confident in the most melancholy of ways that he thinks all of Krypton saw it. Val addresses the Rebels of how they’ll proceed. He promises the way forward will be transparent. Val knows he’s not the tactical leader Jax was, but he feels their cause is just and what it stands for will bring them victory. His passionate rallying cry is interrupted by a Zod communique. Deliver Jax to him or Zod promises to kill every being thing on Wegthor, no matter who they are.

Val protests, in vain as it turns out, but Zod is resolute.

“By executing Lyta, you silenced the only voice that can stay my hand.”

Val tells Zod they may disagree philosophically on many things, but Val respects the value Zod has for Krytponian life. Zod is cold as ice fires as tells Val he doesn’t need Val’s respect, “just your obedience.”

Val changes tactics and tries to assuage Zod’s fury by announcing that Jax has been placed into custody and dealt with appropriately. Zod cuts Val off and cautions him to not underestimate Zod’s ability to wage such a “large scale destruction.” Zod ends the transmission by announcing his expectation that Jax will be sent to him within the hour.

Zod has a crazed look in his eyes, I believe he’d wipe out that whole moon given the mood he’s in. He’s literally trembling with fury as he speaks. It’s really great acting from Colin Salmon. 

Kandor. Nyssa arrives on Kandor and meets her two Sagitari escorts. The escorts taunt her a bit, knowing she’s a traitor. They ask her to confirm she has the Codex. Nyssa says no one will see the Codex until she has her son back. The escorts talk amongst themselves like Nyssa isn’t even there, supposing that she has the Codex hidden in her jacket pocket. They push Nyssa to the ground, it’s unclear if they’re to try and steal the Codex or rape her — they’re giving off mixed bad guy vibes.

Nyssa regains her feet, whipping out a knife as she stabs both Sagitari to death. Two more Sagitari descend upon her and she takes off running, crashes into Seg. … and almost stabbing him too! She can’t believe her good luck: an ally! The two Sagitari who were chasing her turned out to be more allies: Dev and Jayna.

Commercials.

Wegthor. Val, Kem, and Adam are discussing what to do next. Their options are bleak: either turn Jax over to Zod or have Zod kill every last person on Wegthor. Kem pleads with Val to turn Jax over to stop the killing. Adam gives the counter argument that Zod will NOT stop the killing, whether they hand Jax over or not.

Val concludes their only way forward is to turn Jax over to Zod, but they have to do it in a way that buys the Rebels time.  Adam is not pleased. 

Kandor. Dev, Jayna, Seg, and Nyssa find a safe area and discuss next steps. Dev reports that the Sagitari are on the move because of the failure to deliver the package to General Zod. Nyssa realizes the Sagitari were going to kill her and take the Codex if she hadn’t acted first. Seg gets a chance to ask her what is it that she has that Zod wants? Nyssa sighs, knowing her treachery will be thinly veiled. She tells Seg that she made a deal with Zod to trade the Codex for Cor. The surprise and incredulity are high in Seg’s nonverbal response. Nyssa cuts him off before he can say anything.

“Val put a failsafe in the Codex. If anyone tries to weaponize it, the Codex will automatically shut down.”

Val continues that Val knew why she needed the Codex and took the appropriate steps to ensure Cor’s safety. Jayna looks at Nyssa in disbelief at her naivety. Jayna tells Nyssa that once Zod learned of her deception, he’d have killed her, “without hesitation.” Nyssa replies she had to do whatever she could for her child, just as Jayna would have done for Lyta. This steels Jayna’s resolve and tells Nyssa they have to find an alternate way to get Cor back. 

“We can’t let you walk into House Zod alone.” 

Seg sees this as the way forward. Zod will assume that Nyssa tried to get as far away from him as possible after killing her Sagitari escorts. They won’t expect her to go to Zod directly. Dev dismisses Seg’s idea, chalking it up to Seg’s devastation over Lyta. Seg replies, with some fire in his words, that after all the familial loss he’s witnessed, there is now literally nothing he won’t do to protect his son. 

Elsewhere on Kandor, Zod goes to the munitions lab and speaks to the head scientist, Lis-Ser (Aoibhinn McGinnity), demanding a progress report on the weapon they are developing. After hedging a bit, she replies that the weapon is capable of “piercing an underground bunker” encased in the most indestructible materials. Zod informs her that the Codex is on its way and he wants an operational weapon within an hour of its delivery. Lis-Ser looks like she just pooped herself as she stammers out that it’ll be ready in that timeframe. 

Zod is very reminiscent of Darth Vader in the way the underlings respond to him. It’s a fascinating demonstration of the power that Zod emanates with mostly only words and attitude.  

Wegthor. Jax and Araame are in their holding cell. Jax laughs at herself, in disbelief that she could be surprised by Val. Araame denigrates Val as treating Jax “like a pupil,” and complains that he took her bionic eye. Jax shuts her compatriot down, she will not entertain any Val trash talk.

“Val-El is the most brilliant man I’ve ever known.”

Jax ruminates on her life circumstances, forming Black Zero and her actions with the Resistance, stemming from the oppression she experienced and that, in turn, made her a person that do whatever it took, especially the things that no one else would do. Jax tells Araame that she’s been backed into corners before and always found a way out. She takes a pin from Araame’s hair and starts to cut into her arm.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Keep an eye out. Mine’s busy”

Even in a moment like this Jax makes a joke. 

Commercials.

Zod, having just heard that Nyssa bested two trained Sagitari, is about to get all murderous on his newest messenger when Nyssa presents herself of her own accord.  Obviously, she opens with a demand to know the location of her son. Zod says he’s safe and she can see him after she’s handed over the Codex.

Nyssa is in control of the meeting, though, and reiterates her demand for her son, first, adding that the Codex is locked. It’s been programmed to respond to her voice and any tampering will cause it to destruct. Zod is surprised by her cleverness and tenacity and Nyssa fires back that he has continually underestimated his opponents.

Zod says he’s impressed and wants to reward Nyssa. He wants her to work for him, perhaps as a governor of one of Krypton’s colonies. Nyssa looks confused, replying that Krypton has no colonies.

“Not yet. But as we both know, that is just a matter of time.” 

Nyssa hands over the Codex and Zod has Cor brought to his mother. She takes her baby and her moment of reunification is sweet. But brief. Zod grabs Nyssa’s shoulder as he tells her to unlock the Codex. Nyssa is still in control, though, and demands he remove his hand from her shoulder and his guards from the room.  Zod wouldn’t want the Codex to pick up stress in her vocal patterns, right? Zod complies. 

Nyssa begins slowly walking to the viewing window, her baby in her arms, as she gives the authorization code to unlock the Codex. As it unlocks and glows blue, Zod has a look of rapture on his face. Nyssa asks Zod how she can trust that he’ll let her leave once the Codex has been verified? Zod responds that if they’re to work together, she needs to trust him.

“A leap of faith,” Nyssa says as she kisses her baby. Zod isn’t really paying her any mind, he’s got a new toy in his hands. Nyssa activates the control panel and removes the glass (the same way Zod did in the beginning of the episode with the messenger).

And then … she steps off the ledge with her baby!! Zod and the guards race forward. Nyssa lands in a skimmer with Seg. Zod and his guards open fire as Seg flies him, his baby, and his Baby Mama away to safety.  Peace out, bitch!

 Wegthor. Val, Adam and Kem find Jax’s bloodied sub-dermal comm device stuck into the neck of a downed guard. Kem tells Val there are also a large cache of gravity bombs missing from the munitions depot. Adam supposes she’s using them to cover her escape, but Val thinks she’s using them for something else and knows where she’s headed. Off they go.

Kandor. Nyssa and Seg are in the skimmer headed away from Kandor. Seg believes they have lost any possible skimmers following them. Invisible Brainiac pops into his consciousness, informing him that Seg-El is correct that no one is following them but they have bigger problems, an imminent malfunction to the skimmer from Zod’s blaster fire. Invisible Brainiac tells Seg they will crash in 17 seconds.

Seg warns Nyssa that something is wrong and to hold tight to Cor as she braces herself for a crash. Invisible Brainiac tells Seg how to repair the skimmer to prevent the impeding crash. Some super Brainiac-level speed repairs and just like that, everything is fixed. Nyssa can’t believe they’re alive. Seg seems a bit surprised too.

Real talk:If you’re Seg, you have to see the attraction of having Brainiac’s power, especially when you’re contemplating an enemy like Dru-Zod. I can see the handwriting on the wall where Seg-El may not be able to so willingly give up his mind-buddy.

Kandor. Zod delivers the Codex to the munitions lab. He hands it over to Liz-Ser.

“One hour.”

Liz-Ser’s not looking too optimistic. 

The Outlands. Seg and Nyssa arrive at the outpost. Jayna and Dev are waiting for them.

Wegthor. Adam is telling Val and Kem that Jax has a thing for him and he’s pretty sure he can talk her down from her murderous impulses.

“I’m sure she does not really like you.”

Val, savage as fuck and I am here for it! Val softens the blow, saying this version of Jax is no longer capable of rational actions. Just then, they hear the sounds of people approaching. Jax and Araame are also in the tunnels. Araame fires at Val but he takes her down in one shot. He’s got a cold look on his face as Jax looks up at him, kneeling next to Araame’s body. 

Commercials.

We come back and Val and Jax are still pointing weapons at each other. Val says he “didn’t want it to come to this” and she agrees. She says she did what she had to in order to protect Val from having to ever have blood on his hands. Val pleads for her to surrender, which she does.

Hmmmm. That was easy. Too easy.

Anyhoo, Val tells Jax about Zod’s ultimatum, requiring them to hand her over or else Zod kills everyone on Wegthor. He backhand compliments Jax that she got what she wanted: a reaction from Zod. Jax is resentful of Val in this moment and says it’s easy for him, never having had to make the “tough choices.”

“It’s always been on me, even though you’ve benefited from them. No more.”

Jax hands Val a small device, telling him to use that it to activate the gravity bombs she’s placed at the Space Elevator. She explains that she’s done this to both cut off any reinforcements arriving from Kandor and to also isolate the Sagitari on Wegthor, including the ones in the mine. Kem intercedes at this point, saying that the idea was to control the Space Elevator, not destroy it. Kem pleads that he doesn’t want hundreds of civilians, with no particular loyalty to Zod, to die.  Jax argues that the Rebels don’t have the manpower to defend both their base and the Space Elevator. She turns to Val, telling him something has to give.

“Are you prepared to sacrifice the lives of a few to save the entire planet?”

The Outlands. Nyssa tells Jayna that her and Lyta didn’t see eye to eye, but nevertheless, Nyssa respected Jayna’s daughter. Nyssa also says that she had no idea what Jax was planning and would have stopped it if she had.

Dev chimes in that maybe they all failed Lyta OR maybe Lyta was beyond saving. Seg is moving past this conversation and thinking about what Lyta would or would not have wanted. The only thing they can do is try and make her death count for something.

Seg continues that Val will make sure Jax is held accountable for Lyta’s death. In the meantime, they need to focus on stopping Dru-Zod.   Stopping his spread of destruction across the universe. Tomorrow, Seg says, they’ll make Zod pay. But Jayna has a philosophical query … what do they do the next day? And the day after that? And so on? 

“Whatever we do. It won’t bring Lyta back.”

Wegthor. The hour is up and Val contacts Zod.  Zod assumes Jax is on her way and adds, callously, that he’ll be sure to show her mercy although the rest of the Rebels will be punished. Zod tells Val that HE will have the honor to return to the science guild and work for Zod. Val basically tells Zod that he’s tripping, calling him a delusional dictator.

Val detonates the bombs and the Space Elevator explodes. 

We see Val walking alone, a voiceover conversation happening between Jax and Val. She asks him, what now? Val acknowledges her work in getting the Rebellion to this point and the debt of gratitude that all of Krypton owes her … but she can’t be part of the Rebellion any longer. He tells Jax to disappear and, “perhaps you may just find yourself again one day.” 

Jax disappears from view as the scene ends with a look at the stars.

Commercials. 

Kandor. Zod is back in the munitions lab, he’s demanding the weapon. Lis-Ser hands it over but warns him it’s barely a prototype. Worse, the Codex was corrupted and while she thinks they were able to overcome the tampering, Lis-Ser says it needs tests before it’s put to use. Zod grabs the big fucking gun and is all, “I’m gonna test this bitch up on Wegthor” and he leaves.

The Outlands. Jayna and Dev are lying together. Not that way, calm yourself. She asks where do they go from here? Dev tells her he’s not sure but wherever they go, they do it together. Jayna finally gives into her grief.

Nyssa is busy holding Cor and watching Seg stand out in the snow, lightly crying. Invisible Brainiac appears and remarks that Seg’s tears are from frustration and fear rather than grief. Fear of the fight that lies ahead. Invisible Brainiac compliments this as a demonstration of Seg’s improved rational thought. Seg tries to turn away but c’mon dude, you can’t turn away from your brain.

Invisible Brainiac pops up on his other side and asks Seg if he’s aware that he cannot defeat Zod, not without Brainiac’s help? He refers to Zod as the “finest military mind that Krypton has ever known.” Seg admits to Invisible Brainiac, admits to himself really, that he knows Brainiac is right. Invisible Brainiac commands Seg to bring him to his ship and connect Seg to his “quantum consciousness.”

“And I will imbue you with the power to defeat General Zod.”

Seg knows this is not the truth. There’s no way Brainiac would just help Seg and then be on his way from Krypton.

“I give you my word.”

Really, Brainiac? That’s your selling point? Seg turns back to the window and takes a long look at Nyssa and Cor. He turns back to Invisible Brainiac but clearly, the decision has already been made.

Meanwhile, Zod lands in The Outlands and approaches a cave. He’s got his new toy of destruction in his hands, he fires it up.

At the outpost, Seg comes inside  and tells Nyssa they need to leave without Jayna and Dev. Now. He’s being evasive, telling Nyssa that it’s best “they don’t know” where they are going. Seg comes clean with Nyssa, telling her he was able to solve the skimmer problem so fast because Brainiac is living inside him.  

Nyssa is pretty freaked out. As to be expected. Seg tells Nyssa she’s the only one he can trust and he needs her help. He vows, again, to never let anything happen to her or Cor.

Back to Zod. He’s walking through tunnels. He sets his eyes on a target. There’s a low growl as Zod finds his prey. Hey, Doomsday! ‘Sup?

Zod raises the weapon with a deadly look in his eyes.

End scene.

***

Thoughts.

First off, my pun-loving self loves the title of this episode. Well done, writers!

So, I’ve had so time to mull over Lyta’s death. I put the blame firmly at Zod’s feet. He planted the Sagitari in the mine and replaced uniformed Sagitari with Rebels. He undermined and manipulated the whole situation to gain an advantage and using his mother’s precarious position as leverage. Brainiac was right: Zod was only thinking of his own survival all along. While I don’t think he intended for his mother to be killed, he did use it to his advantage and it backfired on him.

I think Brainiac is freaking out a little at the emotional vulnerability within Seg. He’s weakened to a very fragile point and perhaps resisting the Somatic Reconditioning weakened him further. He’s seen Seg’s grief over Lyta and cautions that he’s expending too much energy on something  inevitable. Death. Brainiac is coming to a crossroads with his occupation of Seg and it’s either shit or get off the pot time for Brainiac. Either he’s gotta take control of Seg altogether or get the hell out. 

Jax is a wonder to behold. She’s so driven to succeed, but she’s tempered only by her respect for Val and will let no one defame him. She stopped Araame dead in her tracks. That’s admirable. She disagrees with his course of action, but she still respects him as a leader and source of hope. Val finding her before she can carry out her last task forced her hand, though, and pushed Val out of his comfort zone.

And Val! Being all fucking badass with Zod and blowing the Space Elevator. This was a big stride for him and a meeting in the middle of sorts for Val and Jax’s philosophies. I feel ostracizing Jax was the only course of action, but I don’t think Jax is done. Passion like that doesn’t fade; it burns out.

Not for nothing, but Nyssa confounds me. One moment she’s so badass: stabbing Sagitari that are threatening her life; cooly negotiating with Zod; duping someone as smart as Val; and seducing an old lover to manipulate information out of her. Then, the moment she’s handed back her baby she becomes incapable to speak or act while in the skimmer with Seg when it looked like it was going to crash. And when Seg tells her about Brainiac.

I don’t understand this deviation in her character and what it gains anyone in having her not remain a strong character. You’re seen, Nyssa. Be the Momma Bear at all times, girlfriend.

See you next week, where we get a long look at Doomsday and maybe, just maybe, an origin story!

Krypton airs on SYFY on Wednesday nights at 10pm (ET/PT).

***

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