The continued failure of his scientists to bring Doomsday to full compliance forces Dru Zod to turn to more esoteric measures and reveal a shocking secret. Jayna and Dev join forces with Seg and Nyssa to try to stop Zod’s fleet launching and give the rebels on Wegthor a fighting chance.

With his son kidnapped by his alien arch-nemesis, one might forgive Seg for siting down and taking stock for a while, or indeed immediately looking for a way to pursue him. Unfortunately for him, he has more pressing issues to deal with, like his maniac future other son’s crusade to wipe out his friends and get on with conquering the galaxy. Still, at least he’s never bored.

Zod’s scientists are struggling to bring Doomsday fully under control, despite experimenting with numerous different hallucinogenic substances to do so. When his chief scientist declares that they have exhausted every possible toxin on Krypton, Zod suggests they try something not of Krypton, and produces something called the Black Mercy.

The fact of his having this extra-terrestrial nasty at his disposal is one thing, but how he has chosen to nurture it is another altogether. This is one of those moments where a show has to hope that its audience will go along with it – for me, the combination of this convenient other solution which Zod waits until the last moment to suddenly reveal and the other surprise that go with it are perhaps a little too much together. That said, Krypton is a show that’s built a lot of goodwill with me, so I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt it needed. Your own mileage may vary.

Meanwhile, all communications with Wegthor have been severed in the destruction of the Space Elevator, and Seg and his friends are desperate to find a way to stop Zod’s fleet reaching completion and sailing off into the black to take the rebels by surprise. Hatching a scheme with Jayna and Dev to infiltrate the fortress leaves Seg and Nyssa confronting Zod himself, and the exchange which follows demonstrates just how manipulative and ruthless Zod is willing to be to pursue his own agenda.

It’s difficult to talk too much about the meat of the episode, revolving a lot as it does around a key central twist. That said, despite how poorly that twist may land for some, it’s used well, and weaves an interesting narrative around the characters affected.

Verdict: Much of it revolves around a twist I suspect will polarise audiences, but for me although it’s maybe pushing its luck a little, it’s executed so well that I can forgive it. 8/10

Greg D. Smith