Before Superman-Krypton: Pilot Review and Go or No Go

Disclaimer:

Here is some cold hard honesty, just to start everyone off on the same page, I know very little about Superman.  My experience with Krypton is going to be vastly different from someone who loves this character.  I promise to you, good reader, to keep this review as positive as possible!  Also, there are a good amount of spoilers in here so read at your own risk!

Hope

There is a lot jam packed into the first 20 minutes of this episode.  I really got lost with everything that was going on.  I’ll admit it was a bit hard to understand who was what at first.  As the show went on I started to understand a little bit more as to what was going on.  Obviously Seg-El is Kal-El, aka Superman’s, grandfather; this is the whole premise of Krypton.  The show starts with Seg-El’s grandfather, Val-El, being banished for essentially treason; believing that Krypton is vulnerable and not alone in the universe.  Because of his acts the entire family is also banished from The Guild, thrown into “Rankless”ness.

Skipping forward a few 14 years we meet up with Seg who has become a bit comfortable in his “Rankless” skin.  It looks like he and the bartender, Kem, have a good bet system going with their patrons for how long Seg can last in a fight against the Military.  Typical “low-life character” stuff so far.

Coincidence

Despite the banishment, Seg’s father is able to work as a servant for the council.  Seg, being a good son, delivers the medication his father forgot and just so happens to be in the council room to save them from a terrorist attack.  Because of this he manages to land a job, become Ranked, and a wife or at least someone to make a child with.  A lot of what happens seems too coincidental and I’m not buying any of it.  I don’t feel like Seg is very relatable, nor do I feel like he really deserves any of what he’s receiving.  He has a relationship with one of the soldiers Lyta Zod (I do know that name!); Zod saves him when he gets in yet another fight with the Military Guild.

Seg is always in the right or wrong place no matter what.  How does he manage to be on the terror list when he’s now becoming a part of the Science Guild and is in their good graces?  I’m not too much of a fan.  He meets up with Adam Strange who has traveled back in time to warn Seg of his grandson and the peril that he’s in because of Brainiac, oh look, a plot!  Brainiac looks really cool, I’m excited to see more of him.

Fortress

Adam Strange so far is my favorite character.  His purpose is clear and he actually makes the story move forward,  unlike many of the other characters.  He brings to Seg a sun stone, that he says will help him save Superman’s future.  When Seg shows his parents they immediately know what it is.  A bit later Seg’s mom rescues him, once again when he’s in a fight, and takes him to the Fortress of Solitude!  It’s very cool that his mom is the one who has all of the answers to Seg’s questions and its because of her that he decides to take Strange seriously.  Of course saving him puts her life on the line and it ends up being a grave decision in the end.  On another note: Jayna Zod is pretty kickass and I really think that they should have introduced her a bit better.

The end of the episode left me with a lot of thoughts and questions, but it wasn’t really pressing enough to make me want to continue watching.  This doesn’t mean I’m not going to, but I really hope they step up the game a bit.  I wish they had focused on less character introductions and more character building.

Seg is such a, I don’t even know the right word, he’s very much like how I feel Superman is.  He’s the hero without reason and they don’t give you much to like about him.  Why is he so special?  What are the consequences of his parent’s actions going to be for him?  Will he have any?  It seems like he’s lives a consequence free life so far, even after his grandfather’s indiscretion.

Final Krypton Thoughts

I know this is only Krypton’s pilot episode, but I felt myself walking away from it very underwhelmed.  They tried to throw too much into this first hour episode.  The CG also wasn’t the greatest.  It felt so clean and not lived in.  The Fortress looked really cool and the ships and landscape were fine, but the city-scape is a bit overdone.  They introduced so many characters that weren’t really driving forces of the story and ended up making it feel a bit crammed.  Hopefully the next episode will be better.  I definitely want to like it and I want to watch more, so we will see!

As far as go or no go, I would say go.  It is a rocky start but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.  I think once the show hits its stride it has the potential to be a fun ride.

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