Lost in Space S1 E3 Recap

Lost in Space kicks it up a notch by revealing some strong character development in two women this episode as their ship is in a dire situation involving another alien species, plus the Maureen/John debate continues and this time the kids voice their concerns about the two. As plot goes, this third episode does make it feel like the season will be a bit slow, but when it's dealing with family and focusing more on their development it's safe to say that it gets a pass...for now.

Starting off with a flashback this episode reveals the origin story of the mystery woman from last episode. Her name is June, and she's an ex-con that drugged her sister and stole her spot on the Resolute. The first two episodes made it feel like this was a true family show, but then this episode happens and you see June cutting into her sister's arm, sending her sister's lover into the vacuum of space, and many more atrocities that may be too much for children.

John gets some more to do as he balances being a badass and connecting with his daughter, Judy, while she continues to struggle with the fact that she almost died. He has a good conversation with Maureen, who doesn't see anything wrong with Judy, about how their daughter is hurting on the inside and they have two completely different ways of handling it. Since John had been gone for most of their lives Maureen is used to commanding her children and doing things her way and John confronts her about that too. By the end Maureen at least tries to include John in family decisions, but it looks like this'll be a season long arc of him finally being accepted back into the family. Also, it's very interesting that the show is using the mother as the intellectual and the father for the emotion when many other shows would have that reversed. That creates an interesting dynamic with some great potential.

Speaking of Judy, she's still struggling with the PTSD of being locked in the ice for so long and nearly died. This episode she tries to push herself to be normal, but John tells her to take it easy and join when she's ready. This is a constant struggle for her and it isn't until the final hour where she's trapped from debris crashing down on her that she pushes through it, confronts her fear, and gets herself out of a bad situation. It's a great moment and an important one, but I couldn't help but feel that made her side with her mother more and put a bigger gap between her and her father.

Then, we get to the action. Eel like creatures have infested the ship and are sucking all the fuel out of their engines. John goes rambo on as many as he can, but it's not enough as their reserves are being depleted. Maureen takes action and commands her family like a military unit. When plan after plan starts failing and the eels have clogged up the pipes, and their ship will not move, it is Judy with her regained confidence that saves the day by making a drastic decision. It ends up saving everybody and the Robinson's are finally out of the glacier frontier and land, ever so roughly, in the forest away from the chilly danger.

The episode ends with the family realizing that comms are back online, the Resolute is rebuilding itself and will go find everyone who evacuated, and June is terrified of them being found because her punishment for impersonating her sister and killing a man will be grave. Meanwhile the mystery of who made the unauthorized 3D printing is solved when the robot hands Will a gun.

Overall this was a nice episode, but it did show it's slow pacing. The first two had lots of action and new information while here it was mostly character, and deservedly so, but I hope it does start to pick up soon. June is turning into an interesting character, but I am so much more invested with the Robinson family. Judy's arc was nice, and seeing the dynamic between the parents and how it's affecting their kids is great. Maureen asks Penny if she's being too hard on them, and Penny responds with she's being too hard on John. As usual the episode looks great and the puppets for the eels when they're attacking or being cut open is just freaking good. Another good installment, let's see where it takes us next.

Key Points:

• Alien life is on this planet
• Robot hacked 3D printer
• Judy is overcoming her trauma
• John is acting more like a dad
• June's backstory is revealed

How are you enjoying this interpretation of Lost in Space thus far? Are you already finished with it? Comment below!