Seg-El and Adam Strange return to Candor, not as free from Brainiac as they might think. Seg tries diplomacy while Adam returns to the rebels. Jax-Ur holds a terrible secret, Kem returns to the fold, and the truth behind Dru-Zod’s empire is revealed.
From what I can tell, this episode of Krypton is the most eventful yet in both a good and bad way as the midseason approaches. One might think that Seg finally returning to Candor will turn the tide of the war, but that couldn’t be more wrong. As proved time and time again, things only get more dire with each episode that passes. But all this creates what is probably the best crafted episode of the season yet.
Kem (Rasmus Hardiker) returns after a short absence from the show’s plot, and proves himself once again that he’s one of the best actors in the cast, combining the heartbreak of losing Ona in the first season and the six months of war reluctantly on Zod’s side that has made Kem just as desperate as the rebels.
The rebels finally get the action which has been building up since the premiere as they go after the space elevator between Krypton and Wegthor, but the results aren’t exactly as to be expected, which is seen to by the actions of Jax-Ur, Val-El, Nyssa-Vex, but above all by the cruelty of Dru-Zod, whom has finally shown his true colours.
The new dynamic between Dru, Seg and Lyta is established after it is discovered that Seg is alive and kicking. Seg doesn’t find himself in the position that trusts the Zods, especially after he discovers the secret weapon of which they have been using on all their soldiers. This untrusting new dynamic between two lovers and their future son proves a complication to everyone’s plans, and all the performances by the cast are A+ in execution of that.
My personal favourite aspect of this episode was the emotional baggage of two characters, those characters being Dev-Em and Adam Strange. Played to perfection by Pierre and Sipos, their motivations and pain become quite clear. We are shown the force that drove Dev to go AWOL, and Adam’s new purpose in trying to save Krypton, both of which are guilt. War is hell, and it’s proved quite evidently as the season furthers as we are slowly shown all the effects that it has had on absolutely every character, involved or not.
Intense and heartbreaking, Danger Close more than well sets up the midseason episode and the rest of the season. Krypton just may definitively prove itself to be the best DC Comics elseworlds tale to date.
