Date of release: December 24, 2019 (Netflix)
written by: Zack Estrin
directed by: Alex Graves
If this season continues to be released in the way of “chapters,” then I will be happy. The previous episode, after about 25 minutes of rehashing the family dynamic of the characters and getting back into the show’s business, was all about sailing and getting to a certain point on the planet, and this episode was all about getting what they came for and flying off this useless-for-humans water rock. So far, the two episodes are essentially three chapters of Penny’s upcoming book and I would love it if the show continues its narrative like this and prove that television can be written in a way of chapters and does not necessarily have to branch off into various subplots that are just there to fill time or give purpose to grow the show’s universe by constantly adding new characters. Plus, these two episodes could essentially be edited together into a feature film (just remove the shot of the robot from the end of the previous episode), and you would have been entertained by a family’s fight to find a way off this planet, similar to how the first season’s first three episodes were all about getting out of the glacier. THE MANDALORIAN was pretty good at the “chapterizing” of their episodes, and if LOST IN SPACE also follows this formula over the course of the series, there is a chance that it might focus a lot more on the family bond between the Robinsons (which was broken up midway through the season due to various subplots). But because this episode ended with the close proximity of the Resolute, it means the characters of that ship will rejoin the Robinsons, and suddenly there are a bunch of characters with side quests in the show again.
It was still an entertaining hour of television, thanks to its focus on the Robinsons (and Smith, and Don West) and none of the minutes being wasted with a story that would not make sense within the premise of the episode. Not unlike the episode with the fuel eels (this episode had the alien kelp become a similar threat), the characters were dealing with extraterrestrial life that was giving them a little hardship, and not unlike the first three episodes of the previous season, the Jupiter 2 was very much on the literal brink of destruction, with its passengers about to feel the kiss of death as well. Time was running out for the characters and they had to race to get to their next destination, which is essentially the whole show in a nutshell, even if the middle part of the first season spent some time with those beloved subplots. But in the case of this episode, I was quite impressed by how one of the stories turned out.
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| Mother/daughter time has to be postponed for a bit. |
I am talking about Penny and Maureen here and how they were facing mortality on top of a potential spaceship hiding inside a planet (kind of like Starkiller Base from STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS). They were hoping to get rescued or find a way back into the Jupiter 2 immediately, but with each minute that hope was fleeting away, and with each minute the thunderstorm grew closer, the two women realized that they can only get bitchy at each other so much. I loved Penny’s anger at her mother for not having read her book, especially since it seemed quite obvious that Maureen did not have time to read a book when she was busy trying to forge a path through the ocean for a spaceship-turned-sailboat so that her family is much safer in the planet’s orbit. It was a cliche that Penny would be angry about her mother’s disinterest, but it happened to be realistic in the portrayal of a family that spends a lot of time with each other, with the parental units being workhorses and the kids not knowing how good they have it in this kind of life (as in: parents that care for their kids, as the Robinsons definitely do). At this very moment, Penny found something she could do and if she were living a better and more regulated life, she could make something out of it, but the one person whose opinion she regards disappoints her with the notion of not giving a crap about Penny’s newfound talent.
Of course, that hurts for the teenager, and what makes the story so great is that it depicts Penny as said teenager, and not a young woman who is waiting for the writers to give her an action beat, to save her parents from certain doom, to stop the bomb from exploding, et cetera. Penny is still a developing teenager, and her existence is being defined by what she thinks about her parents right now. I would love some of that family dynamic to recur throughout the season. Besides that, Penny and Maureen embracing each other in the face of the flashes was also a great scene: In absolute despair and at the doorstep of death, they know they love each other and they can bury the hatchet. They feared losing each other, and were freaked out positively that they found themselves safe in the garage. That better not happen as often throughout the season though, as it will get repetitive and annoying after a short while.
Meanwhile, back on the Jupiter 2, Smith continued her manipulative ways, although this time around, I was slightly bored by what she was hoping would happen when she gets back to the Resolute. First of all, I do not know if Don can be considered a criminal with his smuggling operation having gone on under the radar of the colony transportations, because I can imagine this not being such a heavy crime, especially when only products were smuggled, and not actual living beings (or did he also smuggle the chickens, of which one survived, and I forgot all about it?). Secondly, it should be easy for the Resolute to figure out that Smith is not who she says she is, and that her secrets are a little more questionable for those who would like to be the lawmen on the Resolute. But I was amused by the image of immobile Don and smiling Smith “holding hands,” as if the writers intentionally threw it into this episode to tease a hate/hate romance.
Whether Smith stays interesting as a character or falls flat in a few episodes hangs in the balance, however, and it all comes with what she is all about in the long run. She essentially told Maureen with her “How could I have gotten these burns” speech from the previous episode that she manipulated the greenhouse, and with the discovery of the robot’s hand, Smith may have found a way to do that from the inside of her improvised cell, but the question remains what her endgame is and whether she is a real villain, trying to sabotage the entire colonization to Alpha Centauri, or if she is just a crazy wacko person not able to learn the difference between good and bad. The former would make for stereotypical storytelling, and the latter would maybe bring the show into the realm of mental illness and psychopathic behaviors, which is the approach I would favor.
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| This is not a love story, but I am sure Tumblr ships it anyway. |
By the way, the producers and CG animators of LOST IN SPACE should be careful where to place their effects in future episodes: The pieces of the sail of the Jupiter 2 were already visible on the surface of the mysterious metal when John was looking down to Maureen and Penny, trying to find a way to get down to them, even though the kite and the sail have not been broken off the Jupiter 2 yet. Although that might have just been a mistake in the editing room, unnoticed by the people responsible for the additional voiceover recording. Sometimes that happens. Just look at fancy jeans-wearing people in THE MANDALORIAN, or a coffee cup in GAME OF THRONES.
