TV Review: Krypton (Season 2)

***This review contains minor spoilers***

Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube

Krypton” season 2 ditches the first season’s quest to save Superman’s existence, and instead opts for a rebellion to overthrow General Zod. While there are a few memorable moments, the story falls mostly flat.

What worked for season 1 was the ticking clock element of trying to keep Superman from vanishing from history. Add to that the emotional conflict of knowing that if the good guys win, all the rest of Krypton will eventually die, and you had a compelling concept. The plot twist at the end of the season was that they completely failed, and General Zod takes control of Krypton before going on to conquer the galaxy. However, despite the promising story, season two just never get out of first gear with it. With the rebels on a moon and Zod’s forces on the planet, there are only limited opportunities for the two groups to battle each other. It’s mostly Zod talking on a view screen to Val and Jax-Ur, making threats back and forth. And despite the threat of Braniac still looming, he ultimately goes from Krypton’s greatest threat to just being a thorn in the side of Seg.

As far as Seg goes, he has finally grown on me. I found him bland last season, but here is much more motivated and ready to spring into action. It took most of the season, but Lyta also overcame her staleness. Having her let her guard down really helped humanize her character. Nyssa was also much improved. She was pretty generic in season one, but putting her with the rebels added some dimension to her, and her duplicity was always worked into the story while still keeping her in character. Val-El, who was an emotionless-hologram most of last season, grows into the caring father figure role quite well, and is extremely likable. Adam Strange lays it on a bit too thick with the comic relief, but eventually settles into a more integral role. Sadly, the always funny Kem is absent most of this season, and when he does show up he’s been forced to become a more serious character. Meanwhile, Zod is mostly one-dimensional. He’s just the evil ruler with few morals and doesn’t do anything to make him relatable or sympathetic. The only major new character is Lobo, who’s a mixed bag. He’s a bad ass with a funny quirkiness to him, but sometimes he overdoes it and comes off corny.

The show still looks fantastic. The production designs and the special effects look almost too good for television. The biggest challenge was making a convincing CGI Doomsday. When standing still, he looks pretty damn good, but when he moves it often looks a bit wonky.

“Krypton” season 2 takes a great starting point and slowly runs it to an anti-climactic finish, while previous big bad Brainiac and the mission to save Superman have become afterthoughts. Most of the characters finally show some signs of life, and Lobo adds some hit-and-miss charm to the proceedings.

** out of *****

TV Review: Legion (Season 3)

***This review may contain minor spoilers***

Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube

The third and final season of “Legion” is an improvement on the previous season, but still fails to catch the magic of season one.

Like the end of season two, season three makes it a bit difficult to decide who we should root for. Our “hero,” David, does some pretty vile things in his quest to rewrite his past. Meanwhile, Division 3 and the Shadow King are still trying to stop him, and they never quite feel like the heroes either. It’s only when David crosses that line that you want them to stop him, but even then the Shadow King still too much of a wild card.

What hurts this season is the lack of character development. David doesn’t do much besides put up a mellow front to mask his anger. His tantrums make him come off like a spoiled brat. His powerset is very inconsistent. One minute he’s like a god that can do anything, the next he struggles to overcome simple obstacles. Syd steps it up in the attitude department, making her a cold-hearted badass. While it’s cool to see her on the offensive, it’s a bit of a downer to see her so ruthless towards David…even though he deserves it. Lenny gets a nice, but somewhat bizarre, storyline. But as she struggles to find her place in the world, the writers struggle to figure out what to do with her as well. Unfortunately, the rest of the returning cast gets shuffled into the background. Cary and Kerry each have a few cool moments, but get very little in regards of a story arc. Ptonomy is given a robotic body which allows him back in on the action, but he does very little and none of his personality remains. Clark is given almost nothing to do, while Melanie and Oliver only appear in one episode.

As far as the new characters this season, they fair a bit better. Switch has cool time-traveling powers and a unique look, but her woefully vague backstory makes you want to learn more about her, but you really never quite do. David’s mom Gabrielle is an interesting character, but she is solely defined by her mental illness. By far, the best addition to the show is Charles Xavier. Harry Lloyd brings a naivety and vulnerability to Professor X, who sadly only appears in a handful of episodes.

The overall story is actually fairly straightforward, but there are a few twists to make things interesting. The best by far is the introduction of the Time Eaters, and even though they seem a bit comical at first, they are frightening and deadly. In the end, despite a nice buildup, things wrap-up a bit anticlimactically…and too is left unanswered.

What really made “Legion” standout so much in the beginning was its unique visuals. While there are some really cool feasts for the eyes, and another handful of music numbers, it’s all just decoration. There aren’t a lot of moments where these psychedelic images feel like they’re telling a story on their own, they just happen to make things look trippy.

“Legion” gets back on track for its final season, but just can’t capture the magic of season one. The characterization falls flat, which ultimately hurts the finale because it doesn’t really feel earned.

**1/2 out of *****