“House of El” is episode two of season one of Krypton.
In the previous episode, “Pilot”, Adam Strange had told Seg that he needed to find his grandfather’s fortress. Seg’s mother, Charys, stole a flyer and took Seg to the Fortress of Solitude; however, the flyer was detected and Charys admitted she was flying it. Another person had been detected on the flyer so Seg’s father Ter said that it was him. Both ended up being executed by Jayna-Zod as a result – which may well have been better than what they could have expected if she hadn’t shot them down. Which may be why Jayna was provoked – and allowed herself to be.
Strange had showed Seg Superman’s cape – his grandson’s cape – which is disappearing from the bottom. According to Adam, once the cape disappears, Superman will be erased from history. Strange also told Seg that a being known as the Collector of Worlds – or Braniac – was heading to Krypton and, when it arrives, Krypton will be destroyed.
This episode opens in the Fortress, and Seg wants to know why Strange came, not his grandson. Adam tells Seg that he’s a pretty big deal back home and that he was sent by Superman. And he has the ability to teleport across lightyears, using something he calls a zeta beam, which was the primary reason. This teleportation only takes one person, and it’s a little temperamental. Adam wants Seg to trust him but Seg says that, even if he did, it would make no difference, as he can’t help him. And that Adam should head back to planet Detroit. Strange corrects Seg – it’s actually planet Earth – and asks for a ride back into the city.
Seg tells Adam that Daron-Vex is the chief magistrate of the city – Daron wants Seg to join the House of Vex – and Strange says that, being in such a position, Daron should have access to the city’s deep space scanners. He wants Seg to take a look at them, for they should show an organic lifeform headed their way. Seg really only wants to kill Daron, but asks him to look into what he is saying first. So Seg tells Adam to go and get a change of clothes from Kem, for his current ones stand out quite a bit.
After leaving them, Seg is captured by Commander Quex-Ul and taken to Nyssa-Vex, who takes him to see her father and the Voice of Rao. Daron talks about the Voice’s multi-faced helm, saying that each face represents one of the gods they used to worship, with the final face being that of Rao, who created the sun. The Voice – despite the name – is still not talking. Seg’s investiture ceremony into the House of Vex will be the following night.
Commander Quex-Ul is handing out guns; there is a new offensive being planned against the Rankless to smoke out Black Zero. Lyta-Zod is not happy about this, saying that Black Zero are their enemies, not the Rankless. No-one else really seems to care about this, even her mother. If Rankless are gunned down as a result, so be it. In fact, Quex-Ul seems just as happy to kill the Rankless as to kill Black Zero. So Lyta decides to do something a bit risky.
Daron decides to tell Seg some of the history between their houses. He says that Seg’s grandfather, Val-El, had built a computer system in a secret location, and that Val had claimed he had detected a presence millions of lightyears away, a presence that was collecting worlds. Which is a little too similar to what Strange told Seg to be a coincidence. So Seg tells Adam to find proof, but he isn’t willing to wait long before he kills Daron.
The Voice of Rao looks as if he isn’t a puppet of Daron-Vex. Whether he’s a puppet of someone, or something, else is not known. In fact, Daron seems less influential than previously; his daughter may be a more significant player than he is.