Krypton Review: ‘Zods and Monsters’ S02E07

This week on Krypton they’re looking ahead to the future, as well as back at the distant past, with episode 7 of season 2, ‘Zods and Monsters’.

We’re back on the play on words/literary reference episode title again, but this time around it is very apt.  A large amount of this episode is focused on examining the history of Doomsday (Staz Nair), which primarily takes place 1000 years ago.  Back in time we see Wedna El (Toni O’Rourke) and Van Zod (Dempsey Bovell) looking to create an invincible soldier that will end the civil war on Krypton.  Interestingly, of the two, it’s the Zod that has more of an ethical issue with what they’re doing, while the El forges ahead as a ‘necessary’ evil.  This is all good context for what is likely to come plot wise, when someone inevitably tries to reach the man under the monster, Dax Baron, who in the process of becoming Doomsday, loses his wife Enaj (Danielle Galligan).  A cursory glance at the pre-history of Superman reveals they’re digging up characters that exist in at least one iteration of the multiverse, so the purists will enjoy the extra details.

Elsewhere, there are similarly interesting plotlines with Kem (Rasmus Hardiker) getting a chance to lead, much to the chagrin of Adam (Shaun Sipos).  Adam also has a bit of a character learning moment this episode, as he starts out showing how out of the loop he is, and finishes with grudging respect for Kem.  I’m not sure if this is being played as Earth entitlement or whether Adam is just an idiot.  Probably a mixture of the two.  It would be nice though if they could find something productive for him to do, as he is totally a spare part at the moment.  Kem seems to be showing some development, which is good, and hopefully this will continue.

There also seems to be a more sensible storyline generally with the rebels, and Val El (Ian McElhinney) is back to a more normal version of himself. Jax (Hannah Waddingham) has been cut loose and some sense can now prevail.  As to they do now, who knows, but at least some logic will take over.  The big loss here is Araame (Kae Alexander) which is a shame, as she was a promising character.

As per usual, the Nyssa (Wallis Day) side of things works well, as does the scheme to get rid of Brainiac (Blake Ritson).  Seg (Cameron Cuffe) manages to come up with a solid plan which entails an unexpected trip back to the Fortress, but we are given a nice twist out the leftfield.  Before this happens though there is a fan pleasing moment as Cor Vex, Seg and Nyssa’s son, takes on the El name, rather than Vex, and in the process is given a new first name as is tradition.  Thus we get Jor El, aka Superman’s father introduced formally into the plot, which is a great touch.

The Zod of it all in the title really references the connection between the creation of Doomsday in the past and Dru Zod’s (Colin Salmon) obsession with harnessing his power.  Luckily this posturing is kept relatively minimal and there are other more interesting things in the foreground.  This episode was definitely a step in the right direction though, after some shaky bits recently, indicating the potential this show has.  Hopefully they stay the course!