REVIEW – Krypton S1 E3: The Rankless Initiative

Well, its safe to say Krypton S1 E3 really blew me away! Again, my review will not include any spoilers of the new episode, however there may be references to previous episodes, so make sure you catch up!

Krypton S1 E3 focuses around the development of Seg-El and his search for proof of the threat to Krypton and his future grandson, as Brainiacs’ parasite claims its first host. Lyta-Zod finds herself in the middle of yet another moral dilemma as she uncovers The Guilds’ and in turn her mothers’ unmerciful military plans against the rankless.

Throughout the series so far, we have seen a huge divide between the ranked and the rankless, and although Lyta is trying her very best to overturn this, it just seems to be getting worse. The military plans are not commands from Lyta herself, but from her superiors, which include her mother Jayna-Zod. Jayna is an extremely strong and dismissive woman and I love seeing the dynamics between them. I feel that Jayna has the same morals has her daughter, but is too loyal to her job to action her disagreement, whereas Lyta doesn’t care for the job, but more for its purpose. To the rankless, Lyta is that beacon of hope, like Superman is, and she isn’t doing it for recognition, she is doing it for Krypton, strange I know right, shes a Zod! This is a great parallel to have considering the General Zod we know and love to hate!

I know I talk about Lyta a lot, but to me so far, she is Kryptons‘ hero and my favourite character, so far. But about those other characters… Seg’s character is developing well, although there are still moments where you think “what are you doing!?”, and “don’t do that!”, but you can see him slowly turning into a hero, like his grandson. Nyssa-Vex is sassy, sophisticated and slightly evil, but I love it! She is a very interesting character, she doesn’t stand with her family, she stands for herself – it’s a dog eat dog world after all… and I’m intrigued to see what more will come from her in the series, she is bound to have an underlying plan at some point.

In Krypton S1 E3 we also get our first, in depth look at Brainiac. I’ve said it before, but this is THE BEST REPRESENTATION of him so far on TV and film. Krypton has built him up so well, ever since we saw the first promotional character image of him. So far we have seen and heard hints and glimmers of him throughout the series so far. From the way he looks, the costume design, to his power, his actions so far, his ship and especially his voice, I think we are in for a villainous treat!

The design of Krypton, the sets, the weapons, the costumes and the ship designs are clearly inspired by Man of Steel. It’s almost like a direct prequel to my favorite Superman film, especially the ship of the notorious Brainiac. And there is yet another great reference to the film – in one of the scenes Adam Strange is haggling in the market place, where he is offered a H’Raka egg sack. Recognise it? No? Well, H’Raka is the mighty beast that Jor-El rides during the destruction of Krypton, otherwise known as a War Kite.

One thing that I have noticed, which I hadn’t before, is the way that it is filmed… I noticed that the camera almost shakes, well it moves a lot and is hardly ever still. This is clearly done on purpose and I think this adds a lot to the series, and makes it that little bit more realistic (sounds crazy right?), it also brings an aspect of grittiness to the show.

This series just seems to be getting better and better, and I am hoping, praying in fact, that Krypton gets renewed for a second series. If I’m honest, I think it will, the praise and reviews that it has been getting from fans around the world is phenomenal, and it’s so good to see.

My favourite line of the show? KRYPTON YOUR WORLD IS AT AN END! I wonder who said that?

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for episode four? Here’s the trailer!