Date of release: April 13, 2018 (Netflix)
written by: Vivian Lee
directed by: Tim Southam
This show loves to put its characters into some serious and life-threatening peril, just to have them figure out a way out of said peril and then get into the next hazardous situation, all while dealing with one another during these perilous situations. It is a cheap way of writing this show because it glosses over the fact that there is barely any story the writers were working with, but the episodic difficult situations kind of work for me, especially when they give the characters a convenient opportunity to talk about certain things that have been bothering them.
But I do have a bit of a problem with the way those perilous
situations become repetitive with each episode. The chariot with John
and Maureen is sinking into tar? Well, now they have a story to compare
with Judy, who was stuck in ice during the premiere episode, while also
sharing their experiences when the whole family was stuck within the
glacier in the second episode. At least that story did not end with a
robotic Deus Ex Machina, although I was ready to roll some serious eye
when Maureen mentioned the helium, which was conveniently onboard this
entire time. Although I have to say, the way the two escaped the chariot
looked damn cool. And their funny helium-related moment at the shore
was pretty nice as well, delivering some necessary light humor after this tense and deadly hour of television. This is how I
want to see my married couple on scripted television who are going
through something of a rough patch in their marriage. Who knows, maybe
the story was the perfect plot device for John and Maureen to get closer
to each other and be a family again. Maybe it is the way to showcase
that even the kids, who were previously indifferent about the separation
of their parents, will have something to say or feel about this
newfound love of their parents. But yeah, I think the writers have
played out all their “characters are stuck in something and need to find
a way out” cards this season.
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| John surfs on a chariot that sinks into black tar. |
The other hazardous situation was the one on the field of volcanic eruptions. I loved the little chariot race, and it was to be expected that something would go wrong and that Eric the Surfer might not survive this little experience when he decided to climb out and reattach the cable (and smile at Judy like a winner after he reattached the cable, which was a dead giveaway of him dying moments later – see Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s demise in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD), but I still liked the moment of craziness and suspense when the chariots were still on their way and time was running out. With Evan’s demise, LOST IN SPACE proved there had to be some serious deaths in this show sooner or later, although I was expecting Victor and his family to be the first to kiss their asses goodbye, as he could have been hit by one of the eruptions as well, since Victor’s death would have also meant trouble for Penny and her new boyfriend.
But Evan’s death did quite a lot for Judy’s arc. Not only was she asked to perform a medical miracle on him, but she also failed to do so after being confronted by her limited medical knowledge, as well as someone who is a douche from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to bed. It is like this episode gave Judy the first-ever chance for her to come over as an actual doctor of the surviving colony and to live through all the good and bad things a doctor can live through, including saving someone’s life or being unable to do so. In addition, Don was the first one who called her by her title – Dr. Robinson – in the show. It is meaningful because it does establish Judy as a doctor, besides those words establishing Don’s respect for her, and finally developing enough humanity to not just take everything as joke value. It also helps to portray him less as the asshole he has been and more as the serious person he maybe should be in these situations. This is good, considering Victor has grown his crappy attitude in Don’s absence.
There is a chance that Victor might become the villain for the season finale if the writers decided not to have Smith go cray-cray with her robot, if she manages to get it up and running. It was to be expected that Victor is a man who wants to take matters into his own hands and who thinks he has the right to do what he is about to do, because he thinks the right was given to him after he was being lied to about the robot and the planet’s fate. Now it looks like I get my Jupiter 2 versus other random Jupiter plot after all because I am pretty sure John will exchange a few “words” with Victor. If it is a fight of life and death, I will take it, as I am in a need of a bit of ringside action.
Will and Penny’s story was okay. It was meaningless for the entertainment value of the episode, but it was meaningful for the characters, as both finally had time to deal with the stuff they have been going through, as well as spend some brother/sister time with each other, which is something I would love to see more of, even if I know that it mostly will not be useful for the greater narrative. It is something that has been missing on LOST IN SPACE so far, and that is a surprise, considering this is still a family show, or at least wants to be one. I liked seeing Penny have fun watching Will have fun – I want more of those moments. A sibling bond that grows with each episode. So much in fact that Will would take a bullet for his middle sister.
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| Enjoy this view while you still can, death is right around the corner. |
And then there is Smith. I finally started to figure out what her long-term goal was, although I still think that a lot of coincidences had to go her way. If she planned to get the robot on her side from the beginning, by manipulating someone into shooting the robot, so Will can be manipulated into letting the robot walk to its death... Damn, that is a Helmut Zemo/Lex Luthor-type plan (meaning: unworkable). This does not make any sense. But here she is, having the robot, about to re-assemble it. Now I can only hope that the robot will actually remember what happened last time and not just follow Smith around like a puppy pittie, although this is the story that needs to happen now because it is the only one making sense. If the robot would still remember and go back to Will, then all this was for nothing. If the robot does not remember and sees June as its new protegee, then there is at least tension in the story, and June finally gets the chance to be a real villain, while Will can find a way to be the hero.
