I was playing through Dread for maybe the 5th or 6th time and arrived at the Kraid bossfight. I know the “why is Kraid here?” question has probably been discussed to death at this point (I’ve read and theorized in many threads myself), but a new theory occurred to me while watching Kraid’s cutscene several times in a row (he still gives me trouble on hard mode 😅).
Samus was not surprised to see a Kraid on a Chozo homeworld in chains. The Chozo flashback shows a group of warriors subduing this creature. Basically I theorize it’s a common ritual for Chozo warriors to delve deep into planets where these giants reside and capture them for the use of testing their warriors. Samus, familiar with the Chozo warrior culture and maybe even having participated in something similar, is not shocked seeing a Kraid in chains and is familiar with the limits of its mobility, not even flinching as it tries to smash her. This Chozo cruelty could also explain how the Space Pirates on Zebes convinced the Kraids to join them by freeing them from the Zebesian Chozo and giving them back their domain in exchange for guarding Tourian.