Posted in: DC Universe, Review, TV | Tagged: Cameron Cuffe, Eliot Cowan, entertainment, HRL, krypton, Shaun Sipos, syfy, television

Krypton Season 1, Episode 2 Recap: House of El

This article contains spoilers for the Krypton season 1 episode 'House of El'.

The second episode of Krypton picks up immediately after Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) explains to Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) why he's there. Seg is skeptical and tells Strange to go back to his planet, but he asks for a ride back to Kandor City. Upon returning to the city, Seg is taken to see Nyssa (Wallis Day), who then leads him to see her father Daron-Vex (Elliot Cowan). Daron talks to them about their religion and the role of Rao and how he became the one-true-god for Kryptonians. He then tells Seg that he will be inducted into House Vex that night. Meanwhile, Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell) discovers that her unit is being prepared to raid the rankless areas to find Black Zero members. She knows it will mean the loss of many innocent lives. She approaches Dev-Em (Aaron Pierre) asking him to call off the raid, but he refuses.

Lyta then visits Seg, trying to comfort him about his parents passing. Seg approaches Daron about giving his parents a traditional funeral, but he says no. They then talk about his grandfather's work and Seg wishes to continue what Val-El (Ian McElhinney) had been doing in the science guild. Seg then goes to the bar and finds Strange trying to get some drinks. Kem (Rasmus Hardiker) pulls Seg aside and lets him know he doesn't trust Strange. Seg vouches for Strange and the three talk, revealing that Daron did let Seg join the science guild. He gives Strange a tablet and two hours to find evidence of Brainiac's impending attack.

Lyta, still wanting to try to save innocent lives, challenges Quez-Ul (Gordon Alexander) to a Kandorian duel for control of the division. Dev tries to talk her out of it with no luck, and Jayna-Zod (Ann Ogbomo) is disappointed but respects Lyta's assertion for power. She expects that her daughter is about to die. The impatient Seg goes to find out some information on his own, but Nyssa catches up to him and presents him with his parents' ashes. It's a powerful move on her part. Seg takes them to his parents house only to find it ransacked. Meanwhile, Kem sees an anomaly in the data Strange is looking at. The two decide to find a ship and go look into it.

Back at the fortress, Seg realizes that if he drops blood on a control panel, it will power on. He does so and an projection of Val appears and begins interacting with Seg. The projection says Val knew Seg would eventually find the fortress and that the projection was there to aid him on Val's mission. They talk about Brainiac, and Val reveals he found a dimension that existed outside of the spacetime continuum — a place he called the Phantom Zone. Seg promises to finish what Val started. Meanwhile, Kem and Strange find a junker willing to take them out into the wastelands in exchange for Strange's Detroit Tigers hat and watch.

Lyta and Quex battle. It's pretty brutal, but Lyta is able to break his arm and put him in a chokehold until he begs for mercy. Then she snaps his neck — they are never to ask for mercy, as she learned in episode 1. Seg goes to Daron and tells him he won't join House Vex; he'd rather die. Before Daron can do anything, the Voice of Rao appears in the chamber and takes Seg's side, making Seg a ranked member of the science guild instead. Daron is upset and rants to his daughter, but Nyssa reminds him to be patient and that Seg now trusts her. Kem and Strange find a crashed space probe out in the wastelands. Lyta is made commander of the Fourth Squadron of the Sagitari after her victory. Kem and Strange return with a pod from the probe, one of Brainiac's and Val discovers that it's empty, meaning that Brainiac's probe is out there and has already found a host.

A lot happened here. The episode moved quickly, jumping around, but it did a really nice job of expanding on all of the storylines without it feeling like they were just paying service to them. I really like Daron as a villain here of sorts, but I am even more interested in whatever the Voice of Rao is up to. I have a feeling he's going to be an important part of this story.

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