The closing minutes of the season 1 finale of Syfy's Krypton promises a whole new direction for the show's sophomore season, one that will shape the story to come in Krypton season 2. The events of the episode make it increasingly clear that season 2 will feature General Zod (Colin Salmon) as the new big bad.

Long before Zod arrived on the show, Brainiac was thought to be Krypton's greatest threat. Brainiac wanted to add the city of Kandor to his collection, which would have destabilized Krypton's core. If this happened, Krypton's destruction in 200 years would have been assured. It was discovered halfway through the season that Brainiac's actions against Kandor are a part of the natural timeline, and that Zod's goal was to save Krypton and undo history.

After a long struggle, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) discovers a way to beat Brainiac in the season finale. By trapping both himself and the villain in the Phantom Zone, Seg has saved Kandor. Zod's decision to destroy the console that controls the portal to the Phantom Zone makes it impossible for Val-El to retrieve him, and now Zod has no one standing in the way of his real goal to take over Krypton.

With Krypton officially renewed by Syfy for season 2, fans are already speculating on what's next for the Superman prequel series.

Same Mission, New Enemy

The original mission in season 1 was to preserve the natural timeline and keep Brainiac from preventing the birth of Superman. We know now that stopping Superman from being born was never Brainiac's intention. Since then, Seg and the others have focused on defeating Brainiac. Now it appears that the characters will go back to focus on completing their original task: saving Superman.

While the original mission will remain unchanged, everything else will be drastically different. Under Zod's reign, Krypton will be more militaristic than ever, as opposed to the xenophobic, theologically-driven society governed by the Voice of Rao and Daron-Vex (Elliot Cowan).

Unlike Brainiac, Zod is the kind of villain that some of the show's main characters may be willing to follow. Based on the ending of the finale, Zod can already count Dev-Em (Aaron Pierre) and his mother, Lyta (Georgina Campbell), among his allies, at least for the time being. Jayna's whereabouts are still unknown. In last week's episode, she was rescued by Vidar, her long-lost brother, who may somehow factor into the plot of season 2.

Escape from the Phantom Zone

Cameron Cuffe and Ian McElhinney in Krypton

The Phantom Zone has been name-dropped several times since the beginning of the series. The Kryptonian prison dimension was described in the second episode of the season as a way of traveling between worlds. We later discover that it was where Zod was banished, just like in the comics. It also played an important role in the season finale, hence the name of the episode, 'The Phantom Zone'. Zod travels there to retrieve Val-El and returns instantaneously. Despite how instrumental it was in defeating Brainiac, fans never get to see what the Zone actually looks like.

Since Seg is now trapped there, it's a good bet that at least the first episode of season 2—and possibly more—will take place in the Phantom Zone. Though Zod destroyed the console that operates the portal to the Zone, Val-El is seen attempting to make repairs to it. Until Val can fix the machine, Seg will have to survive on his own. That may mean contending with Brainiac and whatever else is trapped in there with him.

Zod states in the finale that "time has no meaning" in the Phantom Zone, which explains how he was able to interact with Val—someone who was sent there 200 years earlier. Taking time out of the equation will make it easy for Krypton to introduce more DC characters. In the comics, the Phantom Zone has long been used as a way of imprisoning some of Superman's most powerful villains, in part due to the fact that Superman has a strict no-killing policy. Seg could potentially encounter any number of villains from Superman's rogues gallery, who would be more than happy to murder their enemy's grandfather. It's hard to say if the changes to the timestream will have any other effect on the goings-on in the Phantom Zone.

Page 2: Brainiac, Doomsday, and more Planets

Brainiac in Prison & Doomsday on the Loose

Though Brainiac is no longer the show's main villain, the "collector of worlds" is far from dead. He'll presumably be Seg-El's biggest threat at the start of season 2. That means Seg will have to deal with a vengeful Brainiac until he finds a way to escape.

When Seg finally does leave the prison dimension, what's to stop Brainiac from tagging along? Defeating Brainiac a second time will surely be a significant challenge for Seg, who won't have the aid of his allies. There's a good chance Brainiac will also find a way out, even if it doesn't happen soon. Judging by the captive American city in the finale, Brainiac will eventually break out and find his way to Earth.

Even if Brainiac remains a prisoner of the Phantom Zone, the people of Krypton will have their hands full with Doomsday, a creature so powerful that Zod originally intended on using him to kill Brainiac. And now Doomsday is free after he liberates himself from his prison in the last scene of the finale. We know from both Doomsday's comic book background and from remarks made in previous episodes that there may be no way of stopping the monster from destroying everything in his path. General Zod may have to team up with the resistance to prevent him from killing everyone on the planet. Unfortunately, Doomsday may prove to be unstoppable.

Expect to Visit More Planets

One of the last scenes in the finale was set on Earth and showed an American city that was apparently under Brainiac's control. A Zod statue was seen in the vicinity, which indicates that Earth was conquered by Zod at some point in its history. This marks the first time the series has shown us another civilization outside of Krypton. Unless there's a time jump, season 2 could begin with Adam Strange wandering around Earth until he decides to travel back to Krypton.

Zod's speech to the people of Krypton about galactic conquest could give fans a clue of where the series is heading. Kryptonian society previously rejected the existence of alien life, but the rise of Brainiac quickly changed their minds. Zod is determined to expand Krypton's influence by conquering other planets, so season 2 could explore this idea  and send Zod and his new empire into war with other alien civilizations. Val-El may hold the key to finding these planets, since his time in the Phantom Zone has granted him knowledge of other places in the universe.

Exploring other planets is something that's already been discussed by showrunner Cameron Welsh, who has expressed an interest in visiting Hawkman's home planet, Thanagar, which is the home to a technologically advanced society. The Green Lantern Corps and the Omega Man are also on the table. Considering that Krypton exists in a "fully-realized DC Universe," the door is wide open to explore a range of other planets and civilizations from the comic books; although, at the end of the day, the crisis on the show's titular planet Krypton will still be at the heart of season 2.

The exact release date for Krypton season 2 isn't known yet, but it will be back in 2019. There's already a teaser, so if it's in-line with season 1, you can expect it in March 2019.

More: Krypton Season 1 Finale Explained: Zod's Plan, The Phantom Zone & Doomsday