Krypton (through 1.8)
May. 13th, 2018 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreWhen SyFy’s Krypton-set 200 years in the past and about Superman’s grandfather trying to restore the family honor-was announced, I thought it sounded like a decent but not overly original SciFi show, but not a good Superfamily show. When it premiered, it added an element to the mix in which Adam Strange has traveled through time to stop Brainiac from stopping Superman from ever existing. At that point, and for several episodes, I thought it was a decent and enjoyable but not overly original SciFi show that had the kind of enjoyable cheesiness going for it that most SyFy shows have, but that was actually held back and restrained by the connections to Superman. The exception to this was the complicated relationship between Lyta Zod, our main female protagonist and lover of Seg El, Superman’s grandfather, and her mother, Jaina, a more morally grey character who tries to balance duty and her love for her daughter. Lyta and Jaina are black, so while this does have the awkward result of making one of Superman’s greatest enemies, General Zod, be black, it also centers some of the most emotionally fraught relationship complications around them.
Fittingly, the Jaina centric episode, House of Zod, is the episode that shifts the plotline to one where the Superfamily elements become a strength.
At the end of House of Zod, we learn that General Zod has also traveled back in time, allowing the following episode to flip everything in the show’s concept. Brainiac, we learn, was always there, and it’s General Zod who Adam Strange was warned about. General Zod, however, is not there for the purpose of getting rid of that pesky Superman, but to stop Brainiac from doing the thing tha eventually makes Krypton go Boom. (Getting rid of that pesky Superman is probably a nice bonus for him though.) Krypton going Boom is something that Adam conveniently left out in all his “Must save Superman!” talk, and with the arrival of General Zod, several things that probably shouldn’t be possible in a Superfamily show are.
1. No one wants Superman. (Except Adam.) No one care’s about Superman. (Excpt Adam.) The core concept of making sure Superman ends up on Earth is a major Do Not Want for every single character. (Except Adam.) No one cares about some hypothetical grandson of this one guy who doesn’t even actually do anything for his home planet. (Except Adam.) Everyone has much bigger things to worry about, like overthrowing the government and making sure their city doesn’t literally get ripped out of the planet and the planet doesn’t go Boom in 200 years. (Except Adam.)
2. Since “stop General Zod from preventing Kal El from ever being Superman” goes from a plot and goal you’d think anyone could root for to one of the show’s biggest Do Not Want, the person advocating it becomes…not actually a villain, but not a protagonist either. Like the others, Adam Strange’s goal is to save his planet, or at least make sure it gets its most famous boy scout. Unlike the others, Adam is willing to help ensure that another planet is destroyed to make sure that happens. Adam has the argument of preserving the timeline and making sure the things that are supposed to happen do, but that’s also an easy stance to take when you and yours benefit the most from it. Preserving the timeline means a planet goes Boom, altering the timeline means the planet doesn’t go Boom, and Earth is short one hero.
3. Without changing a single thing about his background, motivations, or relationships with Jor El or Superman, General Zod becomes a plausible protagonist.
Will Zod eventually be a villain? Probably? Will Seg El eventually come around to the idea of Superman? Probably. Will there eventually be much larger ramifications where stopping Brainiac and keeping Krypton for going Boom has worse ramifications than no Superman? Probably. But the fact that even these possibilities or stances can be in the show and be justified and understandable is something else.
Fittingly, the Jaina centric episode, House of Zod, is the episode that shifts the plotline to one where the Superfamily elements become a strength.
At the end of House of Zod, we learn that General Zod has also traveled back in time, allowing the following episode to flip everything in the show’s concept. Brainiac, we learn, was always there, and it’s General Zod who Adam Strange was warned about. General Zod, however, is not there for the purpose of getting rid of that pesky Superman, but to stop Brainiac from doing the thing tha eventually makes Krypton go Boom. (Getting rid of that pesky Superman is probably a nice bonus for him though.) Krypton going Boom is something that Adam conveniently left out in all his “Must save Superman!” talk, and with the arrival of General Zod, several things that probably shouldn’t be possible in a Superfamily show are.
1. No one wants Superman. (Except Adam.) No one care’s about Superman. (Excpt Adam.) The core concept of making sure Superman ends up on Earth is a major Do Not Want for every single character. (Except Adam.) No one cares about some hypothetical grandson of this one guy who doesn’t even actually do anything for his home planet. (Except Adam.) Everyone has much bigger things to worry about, like overthrowing the government and making sure their city doesn’t literally get ripped out of the planet and the planet doesn’t go Boom in 200 years. (Except Adam.)
2. Since “stop General Zod from preventing Kal El from ever being Superman” goes from a plot and goal you’d think anyone could root for to one of the show’s biggest Do Not Want, the person advocating it becomes…not actually a villain, but not a protagonist either. Like the others, Adam Strange’s goal is to save his planet, or at least make sure it gets its most famous boy scout. Unlike the others, Adam is willing to help ensure that another planet is destroyed to make sure that happens. Adam has the argument of preserving the timeline and making sure the things that are supposed to happen do, but that’s also an easy stance to take when you and yours benefit the most from it. Preserving the timeline means a planet goes Boom, altering the timeline means the planet doesn’t go Boom, and Earth is short one hero.
3. Without changing a single thing about his background, motivations, or relationships with Jor El or Superman, General Zod becomes a plausible protagonist.
Will Zod eventually be a villain? Probably? Will Seg El eventually come around to the idea of Superman? Probably. Will there eventually be much larger ramifications where stopping Brainiac and keeping Krypton for going Boom has worse ramifications than no Superman? Probably. But the fact that even these possibilities or stances can be in the show and be justified and understandable is something else.
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Date: 2018-05-15 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-15 03:42 am (UTC)That said: It's a pretty solid SyFy show. Doesn't stand out a lot from their other space shows without the Superman aspects but not necessarily in a bad way. At worst, the common SyFy "cheesy with corny dialogue" complaints could apply, unless it just isn't your type of show at all.