The Word of Rao

"The Word of Rao" was the fourth episode of Krypton.^[2] It aired on April 11, 2018.^[1]

Synopsis

Seg is approached by a Black Zero leader as Rao finds a scapegoat for the failed Rankless Initiative.^[3]

Plot

Krypton is in shock about the murder of a Rankless by the Sagitari. The Voice of Rao looks to bring peace and contentment to his people. He orders Daron-Vex to arrest Lyta-Zod on falsified charges of treason and conspiring with Black Zero. He intends to see Lyta executed as a scapegoat to return peace to the planet.

Seg-El asked Nyssa-Vex to intervene on Lyta's behalf, which also means that he has to admit he loves Lyta. Unfortunately, Nyssa does not have the necessary pull to get her off the hook. Seg has a back-up plan to use Rhom's body to exonerate Lyta. Before Seg can present Rhom's body before the Council, he is abducted by Black Zero. In an underground lair, the Black Zero operatives place a bug inside Seg that enters through his nostril.

Nyssa questions Lyta and offers her help because Seg asked her. Nyssa learns about her side of the story. Back in the underground lair, Seg meets the leader of the Black Zero unit. The bug was a test to see if he was infected with a Brainiac sentry. The bug would have killed him otherwise. The commander wants all of Seg's information on Brainiac.

The commander is not truly Black Zero, but is using them. He kills one of the operatives when he zaps Seg. His intention is to find Rhom and destroy the sentry inside her.

Nyssa confronts her father and finds out that her father falsified testimony to implicate Lyta. With Seg's emotional ties to Lyta, Nyssa warns her father that Lyta's death could lead Seg to be too distraught to help them unite Kandor City under their rule. The Vex family has ambitions to displace the Voice of Rao and rule Krypton themselves.

The commander wants Seg's help. Seg wants him to prove he is honorable by breaking Lyta out of prison.

Kem assumes guardianship of Rhom's daughter, Ona. During the Voice of Rao's glorification parade, Ona presents him with a gift. The Voice is touched by the gesture and makes her a novice within the Religious Guild. In the Fortress of Solitude, Rhom wakes up and warns Adam Strange about Ona and that she must be stopped. Then she dies.

Seg is unshackled by the remaining Black Zero operative. Seg zaps her, but it turns out that she is a sentry. The two fight until Seg kills her by sticking one of the bugs in her mouth.

Nyssa meets with Jayna-Zod to offer her a deal. If Jayna gives her allegiance to Nyssa and father, then Lyta-Zod will be freed. They plan to unite the guilds against the Voice of Rao. Jayna is not entirely happy with the situation.

Ona's offering to the Voice of Rao is revealed to be another of Brainiac's sentries. It infects the Voice of Rao and places him under Brainiac's control. Seg's escape from Black Zero finds him stranded in the icy wilderness.