SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Blood Moon," the latest episode of Krypton.
Krypton has killed off a core character -- and there are no miraculous clones to bring him back to life this time. In "Blood Moon," the latest episode, Kem sacrificed his life so that the rebellion may live.
Thanks to a modified skimmer, both Seg-El and Nyssa-Vex were able to reach Wegthor ahead of General Zod's space-faring fleet. Even with advance warning, though, the rebellion couldn't prepare for what came next. Zod sent a single ship to Wegthor, armed with a battalion of Sagitari -- and Doomsday, now under Zod's control thanks to Black Mercy toxin.
After Doomsday tore through the resistance, Val-El took Adam Strnage's advice to pack up and run. Since the space elevator had been destroyed, the resistance fought their way through the Sagitari to commandeer Zod's ship. However, they couldn't make a clean getaway. Someone had to stay behind to detonate a bomb, which would collapse the mining tunnels and trap Doomsday long enough for the survivors to get away.
The initial plan was to detonate the bombs remotely. That changed when Doomsday's rampage affected the power grid, impacting the remote trigger's functionality. As a result, the bombs would have to be detonated within a deadly range.
When Val made the call to tell them the news, Seg planned on making the sacrifice himself. "Something has happened to the power systems. Val can no longer remotely detonate," he told Kem. "Look, you need to get your guys top-side, okay? I'm going to wait for as long as I can before I set these off. That will give you time to clear the tunnels."
"I can't let you do that," Kem insisted.
"It's not your choice, brother. It's mine," Seg replied. "Listen, if I don't do this, the resistance will fall and countless people will die. I can't let that happen. You understand?"
Kem paused. "Yeah, I do," he said, decking Seg across the face. He used the distraction to activate a force field, which prevented Seg from following him. "There's no use."
"Now why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?" Seg demanded.
"I think it's pretty obvious, isn't it? I've got a death wish and you needed saving," Kem shot back.
"No. Kem, this is my responsibility. It's my responsibility, not yours," Seg said.
"Why? Because you're an El and you want to live up to your name, or because Zod is your son and you think this whole thing is your fault? But it's not! Everyone has a responsibility. You can't save everyone, Seg," Kem replied. "You can't. Others have to step up. It is the only way to save Krypton. And besides, there's a lost child who needs his father... Remember when we used to pull those scams in the rankless? Well, now it's my turn to take a beating."
"No, you stay. You stay with me, Kem. Please stay," Seg begged.
"I love you," Kem replied simply, and walked off.
It didn't take long for Kem to meet his end -- and Krypton made it abundantly clear just how dead the rankless ex-Sagitari is. As he made his way through the mines, he stumbled right into Doomsday. The two locked eyes for just a moment, then Doomsday punched Kem through the gut. When Kem -- barely clinging to life -- flipped him off, Doomsday ripped Kem's head clean off his body. That caused the activated detonator to slip out of Kem's hand, triggering a massive explosion.
Indeed, the explosion was so powerful that it tore the moon apart. Val and the resistance beat a hasty retreat as the moon cracked open, then blew up. Since the episode didn't show otherwise, it looks as though Doomsday was still on the moon when it exploded. However, considering nothing can kill him, he is likely still alive, if neutralized for the moment.
Unlike Lyta, Kem doesn't have a clone. As explained in Season 1, only the ranked members of Kandor's society were cloned in the event they died. Since Kem was born and died rankless, he would not have a clone, as Lyta did. Indeed, no one will even have access to his genetic material, since his body was destroyed with the moon.
Further, Kem was not reconditioned so far as we were shown; that means no copies of his memories exist in Krypton's mythology. As such, no one -- not even a clone -- can be implanted with Kem's memories. For all appearances, Kem is really, truly dead.
Airing Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT on Syfy, Krypton stars Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El, Shaun Sipos as Adam Strange, Georgina Campbell as Lyta-Zod, Elliot Cowan as Daron-Vex, Ann Ogbomo as Jayna-Zod, Rasmus Hardiker as Kem, Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex, Aaron Pierre as Dev-Em, Ian McElhinney as Val-El and Blake Ritson as Brainiac.