‘Krypton’ Season Finale: Doomsday, Zod, Superman, and Everything Else You Need to Know

So…how are you feeling, Krypton fans?

The hit Syfy series aired its season one finale tonight, giving fans plenty of action, emotional moments — and one doozy of an ending. And even with the series (thankfully) being renewed for a second season earlier this week, the last few minutes certainly gave viewers a hell of a lot to process.

So if you’re finding yourself dumbstruck by the season’s last few minutes, ComicBook.com is more than happy to help. We’re here to break down the major changes of what happened, and what it could mean for the series in the long run.

MAJOR spoilers for Krypton‘s season one finale, “The Phantom Zone”, below! If you are not caught up, or if you’ve clicked on the article just to see if you should check out the show to begin with, turn away now.

Seg is in the Phantom Zone

Okay, we’ll start with the earliest bombshell — that our intrepid hero, Seg (Cameron Cuffe), was accidentally sucked into the Phantom Zone.

The moment occurred pretty close to the episode’s end, as Seg and company attempted to trap Brainiac (Blake Ritson) inside a portal that led to the inter-dimensional prison. Unfortunately, Brainiac’s tentacles captured Seg as he was partway through the portal, beaming him up in the process.

Across the room, Seg noticed that Superman’s cape had been officially restored to its former self, which seemed to hint that things were playing out as they should, even if it meant him sacrificing himself in the process. He then left Val (Ian McElhinney) with some words of wisdom, before disappearing inside the portal.

At this moment, it’s unclear exactly how Seg could get out of this, as Dru-Zod (Colin Salmon) smashed Val’s Phantom Zone tech, and seemed to hint that opening the portal would bring back Brainiac. 

Zod rules Krypton

Remember what we said about the Superman cape? Well, there’s a reason why the season’s metaphorical hourglass turned back to normal — because it quickly became a different cape entirely.

In the month since Brainiac’s attack, the House of Zod had become the reigning faction of Krypton, with Dru-Zod smack dab in the center. Judging by his (very impassioned) speech, Zod essentially turned Krypton into a military state, with all of the Rankless – including Kem (Rasmus Hardiker) – now being elisted into the Sagitari.

It’s pretty clear that Zod’s plan worked, and that Krypton’s security within the universe has now been restored. But to what end? Which brings us to…

Zod conquered Earth

As Zod proclaimed in his speech, his goal was to make Krypton “the crown jewel” in an intergalactic empire — and we may have seen the first glimpse at what that will look like.

On a street in Detroit (which, by the way, Brainiac had also taken as a bottle city) something major began to change. A massive statue was placed in the city, which showed Zod standing in a militaristic salute.

So…what happened there? It’s clear that Zod conquered at least part of Earth, as he had been trying to do from the start, but it’s unclear exactly how he did it. As Zod explained, the options he would give the other cities and planets would be for them to either agree to be under his protection, or have their leaders learn to kneel before him.

Either way, it paints a picture of Earth unlike what we’ve normally seen in the DC mythos. And since it’s been confirmed that there are more superheroes – including the Justice League – on Earth…what is their place under Zod’s reign?

Adam is stuck in Detroit

In addition, those scenes in Detroit added a whole other conundrum, as Adam Strange (Shawn Sipos) has been stuck in the city for several episodes now.

Adam is clearly still stuck there, and was essentially the only citizen who was not frozen in time by Brainiac, allowing him to see Zod’s impact on Earth firsthand.

So…how will Adam get out of this, and presumably return to help our heroes? Could it be with that mystery woman that he came face to face with when he arrived in Detroit? Could it involve a jetpack? (We really hope it does.)

Jax-Ur and Nyssa are working with Val?

In the meantime, it looks like Krypton could have the inklings of an anti-Zod rebellion already in place, now that Jax-Ur (Hannah Waddingham) and Nyssa-Vex (Wallis Day) have crossed paths with Val in the Fortress of Solitude.

Considering each of their individual motivations (including Nyssa’s, which took a major turn in this episode), it totally stands to reason that they could play a role in resisting Zod, even if it could come at a major price.

Or at very least, the three could end up being the first effort in potentially bringing back Seg.

Where’s Superman?

So…what does all of this mean for Superman?

It’s safe to assume that this new timeline of events – of Krypton never blowing up, and Zod being able to freely conquer Earth – seem to suggest that Superman might not exist in the way that we know him. (Especially if we’re going by the Marty McFly of it all with Superman’s/Zod’s cape.)

It’s unclear if Seg’s sacrifice means that Superman never was born to begin with, or if he just grew up without any sort of rank or cool cape. But according to Krypton showrunner Cameron Welsh, the significance of Superman could definitely play a role, even if his future doesn’t seem as concrete at the moment.

“It’s such a big part of the inciting incident that kicks off our story, that I think we still want to keep that idea alive to a point.” Welsh told ComicBook.com. “But also I feel like there’s something liberating about now being on a very different, you know, on a very different path and seeing where that leads, and whether it still leads to the same result, or whether it’s something entirely different, it still kind of remains to be seen.”

Doomsday escaped

And finally, the season ended on one major, comic-inspired shot — of Doomsday tapping the glass and breaking out of his cell.

After a whole season of the villain being teased in one way or another, we finally got to see him in action, and it looks like he could pose a pretty major threat in one way or another.

So…who will Doomsday go after? Could Zod be a prime target, or will he end up using the creature as a weapon? Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.

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What did you think of all of Krypton’s big twists? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Krypton will return for a second season sometime in 2019.