Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Krypton - The Phantom Zone


This show gives me a headache. Like Gotham, Krytpon is set years before one of DC's trademark heroes makes his debut. And, like Gotham, writers of Krypton can't stop themselves from shoving references and canon for his tenure as a hero decades prior to his tenure as a hero (when it makes any sense to introduce them). In Krypton's case that means Brainiac (Blake Ritson) attacking the planet, and Zod (who should be a contemporary of Superman's father) establishing his rule both in the time of Superman's grandfather. The main thread of the first season was for Seg (Cameron Cuffe) to save Superman's timeline. While trouble is momentarily averted, with Seg stuck in the Phantom Zone with the Collector of Worlds to end the season, once again Kal-El's birth has been wiped from the timeline. And now Zod is somehow part of Superman's family tree? And Doomsday is on Krypton? WTF is going on?

Unlike Gotham, Krypton is at least watchable (if only in small doses). The many, many continuity issues aside, the finale does offer a passable version of Brainiac obviously based on the version of the character from Superman: Unbound (although far less menacing). Along with various characters attempting to either fight Braniac or evacuate the city, there's also a subplot involving Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day) who discovers a secret about herself that should surprise her but I'm not really sure why it's a big deal for anyone else on the show (or why so much of the episode is devoted to her learning she's a clone)? The result is an action-heavy season finale that is at least as concerned with setting up Season Two as wrapping up any existing subplots.

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