Dru Zod has one last proposal for a way to stop Brainiac as Kandor city descends into panic and anarchy. But will any sacrifice our heroes can make have a chance of making any difference in the face of an enemy of such immense power?

So Val El isn’t dead. In and of itself not the greatest shock that the series has provided, but still, Zod’s decision to reveal this at the tail end of the last instalment to Lyta came as a little bit of a surprise. Retrieving Val won’t be easy though, and doing so places an awful lot on his being able to find an alternative to unleashing Doomsday in order to stop Braniac.

Meanwhile, Kandor city is in utter chaos, the shield stripped away and Brainiac’s ship descending. Amidst all this, while the boys argue among themselves about what they might or might not be able to do to deal with the situation, the girls get on with actually getting things done.

For Lyta, this means rallying the remaining Sagittari to take the fight to Braniac in a desperate last stand. This might not sound like the wisest idea that Lyta has ever had, but given that last time out she shot her own mother to prevent the death of General Dru Zod, Lyta isn’t exactly threatening to win the ‘Brightest Pumpkin in the Patch’ award anytime soon. Still, her actions do have a benefit, even if it’s not quite the one that she intended, and she gets to be reunited with Dev, who let’s face it, at this point, is probably the better fit for her, and determinism be damned.

Elsewhere, Nyssa is wanting to save her and Seg’s unborn child from the destruction coming down all around them. This leads her to bumping into Jax, and having some rather harsh truths about herself revealed to her. Honestly, if there is anyone who is most deserving of an award in this show it’s Wallis Day – Nyssa was an unknown (and unknowable) quantity from the start and the growth if the character as the series has progressed has been fascinating, aided in no small part by Day’s fantastic performance. Rarely do plots where a ‘villain’ turns ‘good’ work as well as this, and there’s still no guarantees of where Nyssa’s – or Lyta’s for that matter – loyalties will ultimately lie as the show closes.

Colin Salmon also deserves mention – his Dru Zod has been nothing less than magnetic from his first appearance, and the uncertainty of Zod’s ultimate purpose coupled with his vicious capability always lurking beneath a civilised veneer have been captured spot on by Salmon. Taking a character we know is a villain (and a big one) from the lore of this universe and making the audience uncertain whether or not to sympathise with him is no mean feat, and it’s been a pleasure to watch.

And the episode leaves us with so many questions unanswered and so many new ones to ask. I’d hazard a guess that the writers and the studio either knew they were getting picked up for another season or just decided that they would try to force the issue, because this would have been an awful set of cliffhangers to leave dangling in narrative oblivion.

Verdict: Honestly the best ending that this show could possibly have delivered, while also frustrating as it throws up so many things I want to know and now have to wait to find out for the next season. Seriously good TV. 10/10

Greg D. Smith