The resistance lurches on, attempting to regain control on Krypton, with episode 9: Hope. (BEWARE! This review contains SPOILERS!)
If one thing is clear in this episode, it’s that the resistance that has formed, has got to be one of the most inept fighting forces you will ever see. I don’t think they have managed any kind of significant victory, that hasn’t also then fallen apart, or ended in acrimony between the parties. There’s a story relayed in one scene between Val-El (Ian McElhinney) and Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), that the ‘El’ name comes from an ancient Kryptonian word for ‘Hope’; and hope seems to be all they have left, as their splintered group flails about throughout the episode.
KRYPTON — “Hope” Episode 109 — Pictured: (l-r) Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El, Ian McElhinney as Val-El — (Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
As an aside to that, this origin story for the name appears to be a bit of a retcon, as various sources either place it as meaning ‘of the star’ (the DC Wiki for instance), or note it’s connection to the Hebrew word El, which can mean ‘god’. Not knowing the comics that well, I don’t know which version is correct, and whether there has been a bit of creative license taken with this aspect of the history.
Another fluid part of this episode, that doesn’t seem to have a firm foundation, is some of the characterisation. There are a couple of characters who seem to have uncertain traits, and seem to be making decisions that go against how they’ve been established. One of these is Lyta (Georgina Campbell), who throws her lot in with General Dru Zod (Colin Salmon) to free Doomsday, despite not really knowing much about Dru, besides him allegedly being her son. This comes across as more childish petulance against her mother Jayna (Ann Ogbomo), and seems a betrayal, as she is quickly convinced to go behind everyone’s back and follow Dru. When push comes to shove, she also shoots Jayna, to protect Dru, which felt odd, and goes against Seg in the process.
Adding further mystery to this equation, is that an injured Jayna manages to escape, and is helped by a cloaked stranger, who must be her brother, Vidar-Zod (Faisal Mohammed), back from the dead.
KRYPTON — “Hope” Episode 109 — Pictured: Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El — (Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
With Jayna having previously convinced Seg to move Doomsday from his secure location as a precaution, this sets up a firm division between the lovers, and between generations of the Zod family; if the cloaked stranger is indeed Vidar, this makes this even more marked. In this mix we do also learn that Dru has El and Zod blood, so Seg is probably his father; no doubt this will muddy the water in the future!
Away from the backstabbing, out of all of the characters, the one that is surprisingly the most honest and dependable, aside from Jayna, is Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day). This character, and Wallis Day’s portrayal of her, has also been the most solid thing about the whole show since the start of the season. It definitely feels that positioning Nyssa at the centre of things and following her and Seg, will be a far more profitable angle going forward. As for Nyssa’s family dramas, it would not be a surprise to discover that her mother is Jax-Ur (Hannah Waddingham), the leader of Black Zero, as there seems to be a connection between her and Daron-Vex (Elliott Cowan).
KRYPTON — “Hope” Episode 109 — Pictured: (l-r) Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El, Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex — (Photo by: Steffan Hill/Syfy)
Speaking of Black Zero, their ineptness continues in this episode, as not only do they manage to let Daron escape, in a ludicrous manner, they also manage to stage a ridiculously flawed assault on the Voice of Rao (Blake Ritson), alongside the remaining Sagitari. There are several scenes in this section of the episode where it was hard not to constantly eye roll at the screen.
Like the competence of the resistance, this episode was patchy, and while it had some good elements that raised a lot of interesting questions, there were also a lot of weak points. Kem (Rasmus Hardiker) for instance has been sent off out of the city just to apparently get him out of the way, and we don’t learn anything new about Adam (Shaun Sipos); as this is in addition to the other issues raised above, it gets to be quite a list.
To move forward in the best way, I think they need to solidify Adam’s role, and then concentrate more on Nyssa and Seg, especially if Lyta is going to be a cartoonish figure. Yes, neither of the relationships Seg has with Nyssa and Lyta make sense yet, but there seems to a foundation to build on with Nyssa. Overall, this felt like a bit of a transitional episode before the season finale, which hopefully will bring things back on track.
