User blog comment:Shadow Archon/Hypothesis: Explaining away the Zerus Discrepancy/@comment-58609-20150513060559

There's no getting around it - the writers dropped the ball on Zerus. I think it was a nice idea to go back there, and I like the primal zerg (for reasons I've given numerous times), but on the subject:

-Concerning the lifelisness issue, I'm mixed. On one hand, I wouldn't call the primal zerg a retcon, because retcon implies reversion/alteration of previous facts, not new facts that supersede old ones. The difference may seem academic, but to use an example, Superman was often said to be the Last Son of Krypton. Over time, it was revealed that wasn't the case (Zod, Supergirl, etc.). In both cases, explanations are given. So that the primal zerg are said to have hidden from the Overmind, the primal zerg aren't a retcon in my eyes.

On the other hand, there's the re-vegetation thing. It doesn't help that there's no absolute dates for when the zerg departed Zerus. I don't have any issue with the idea of life returning to Zerus, because after all, life's bounced back on Earth in cataclysmic events many times. But those were over periods of millions of years, whereas Zerus, at the most, I'd say we're looking at thousands (Zurvan aside). If the flora itself is a form of primal zerg that's undergoing asexual reproduction, I could see this happening, but...yeah. Spec.

Overall, I don't think Zerus is a retcon, in that the chain of cause and effect (lifelisnes to re-vegetation) is something I can see happening. But...yeah. Explanation might have been nice.

-Travel time. Okay, we know this isn't a retcon from Phill Gonzales, so that Zerus is still where it is. The UED's fast travel time to the K-sector is arguably equally problematic. But again, yeah. Would have been nice. That said, I can think of a few possible explanations:

-Leviathans are that much faster than behemoths/wormholes. -Travelled through the Void via the Void Seeker. Maybe it's faster for some...reason... -The Overmind developing wormhole abilities later? I could see that. -The Overmind wanted to build up the Swarm over time before confronting the protoss and/or wanted to take the slow and steady route due to its mind game with Amon.

Personally would have gone with a xel'naga warp gate myself as it's based on pre-existing lore and makes sense knowing that the xel'naga were at Zerus, if not on the planet's surface, but...yeah.

I wouldn't be surprised if explanations did exist, but were lost along the way, as we know that HotS had a lot of material cut, and altered plot points. But...yeah. Enjoyed the trip to Zerus, but I can't deny it's problematic.