The latest episode of Krypton has confirmed the death of Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell), thus disproving the the theory that Lyta is Superman's grandmother. Lyta's death is having major ramifications for many of the show's key characters, including Seg (Cameron Cuffe), Jayna (Ann Ogbomo), Zod (Colin Salmon), and Dev-Em (Aaron Pierre). However, perhaps the most obvious consequence for Lyta's death hasn't happened yet. Lyta's early demise should have erased General Zod from the timeline.
Though time travel hasn't played a big role in Krypton season 2, it's always been a central part of the story for the Superman prequel series. In the beginning of Krypton season 1, Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos) journeyed from the present to the past to save Superman's legacy and stop Brainiac (Blake Ritson) from erasing him from existence. It was eventually discovered that Brainiac's actions were part of history, and the real threat was actually a time-traveling General Zod, who wanted to change Krypton's fate and become its ruler. Everyone was shocked to find out that Zod is the son of Seg and Lyta.
In last week's episode, Jax-Ur (Hannah Waddingham) apparently killed Lyta by slitting her throat in what was essentially a public execution. In Krypton season 2, episode 6, "In Zod We Trust", it's confirmed that Lyta is indeed dead when her body is shown. Seg, Jayna, Dev, and even Nyssa (Wallis Day) are all deeply affected by Lyta's death. Despite the impact Lyta's death will undoubtedly have on the show and its characters, one thing that hasn't been changed is the timeline.
It's a known fact that in the original, unaltered timeline, Lyta has a child with Seg, which she raises alone. As the years pass, Lyta becomes a sad, broken woman who never completely recovers from Seg's death. And her son ends up growing up to be the infamous General Zod, one of Superman's greatest enemies. But the thing is, Lyta's death means this future can no longer happen. With Lyta dead, Zod can no longer be born.
So why wasn't her future son erased from the timeline? While it could be argued that Lyta's death created an alternate timeline, the time travel rules established in previous episodes, as well as the beginning of the series, make this scenario highly unlikely. Superman was erased by Brainiac's defeat at the end of Krypton season 1, so it would stand to reason that the same could happen to Zod. One possible explanation for the inconsistency is that Lyta will be revived through cloning or some other way. Regardless of what happens, Zod's continued existence is a mystery which will hopefully be addressed sooner rather than later.