TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Krypton Episode 09: Hope

While not the best episode of Krypton, “Hope” most definitely set up the season finale in a big way, including the true arrival of Brainiac that we’ve waited for all season, all the while delivering some big plot twists along the way.

I think what really hurt hope was the beginning, it felt very slow and disjointed at first. While I like that the fallout from the attack on the Voice of Rao/Brainiac is being felt throughout the city of Kandor, I’d like a little more insight into why. Also, it wasn’t overtly stated why Brainiac killed the members of the council. Was it so that he could get into the battery chamber? I’m not sure.

Also, I’m not sure I understand why Lyta was so willing to go along with Zod. Yes, he’s her son, and that carries weight, but betraying Seg like that felt very off. Finally, while I liked the scenes between Jax-Ur and Deron-Vex, I’m not sure how much the payoff is going to mean in the long run. But we’ll see.

Once things picked up though, it really did feel like the best of Krypton. Zod trying to free Doomsday to beat Brainiac, but Seg being one step ahead of him…and then Doomsday starting to wake up…which prompted his “protectors” to decide to leave him under the city so that he can fight Brainiac was a lovely string of twists.

And this was, of course, followed up by the great duel between Zod and Jayna, which Jayna won clean…until Lyta interfered, and Zod was furious! Guess he does have honor.

I also like the internal struggle that Seg was going through, where he didn’t know if he could actually save Kandor, let alone Krypton, which was proven in his mind because Superman’s cape is almost gone. Oh, and Zod is apparently his son. I’ll get to that in a sec.

Val-El though provided a wonderful speech about how the Sigil of House El means hope, and that it wasn’t given to the house, it was chosen. They wanted to be the beacons of hope to the world, and I loved that line about how “If there is an El on Krypton, then there is hope.” That felt like a Superman line.

Bringing the Sagitarri and the members of Black Zero together was a cool scene, but keeping us on our toes, Brainiac disposed of them without lifting a finger, proving just how deadly he is no matter what form he’s in. Yet, Nyssa beat him by literally stabbing him with hope…not sure that’s what Val mean by “hope is a powerful weapon”…but I’ll take it!

But, the victory was short-lived, Brainiac is here, in full, and Krypton is screwed if something doesn’t happen.

Ok, let’s talk about some of the big twists here. First, Zod is the son of Seg and Lyta. Which raises questions, the biggest of which is…doesn’t that mean they “bond” in the Genesis Chamber? Not sure if that’s going to work out. And given that Zod didn’t know Seg was his father until recently, that says to me that Lyta is NOT the mother Jor-El, so…they separated or something. Which led someone else, maybe Nyssa, to become the mother of Jor-El. This is complicated.

And who was the guy that saved Jayna? I’m guessing it’s her husband, hopefully we’ll find out son. Finally, I didn’t like that Adam wasn’t in the episode. He was the cliffhanger last week, we need to know where he is!!!

In the end, “Hope” ended strong, but the beginning and certain plot points lagged. But everything really is set up for a big finish.