REVIEW: Lost In Space, Season 2 Episode Five 'Run'

 REVIEW: Lost In Space, Season 2 Episode Five 'Run'

The most important aspect of Lost In Space is the notion of family. After all, when you think of the lead characters of Lost In Space, you tend to think of their surnames before their first names cross your mind. The Robinsons are arguably as iconic as the Simpsons or the Flintstones, in that one mention of their surname and people know instantly who it is that you're talking about. Just like The Simpsons or The Flintstones, Lost In Space is predominantly a story about family.

That's something that this episode in particular seems to understand. From the very beginning, we are shown flashbacks from Judy's (Taylor Russell) childhood, and we get a strong sense of her unbreakable bond with her stepdad John (Toby Stephens). She holds him in the same high regard as her biological father, as we see her give a presentation at school, how he taught her to ride a bike and their sessions running together, and it nicely sells the idea that it's not blood that makes a family, it's who these people who look after a child are inside. 

Judy's certainly got a lot of love for John, as she's prepared to run 24.5 km in two hours and dodge these alien raptors in order to get to him with the medical supplies he needs. It's a handy way of showing just how special he is to Judy; you wouldn't go to these kind of crazy lengths for anyone, after all. Especially considering the toll that it's likely to leave behind on the body.

John is in quite a predicament since we last saw him. He's still stuck down the well, but now he's fallen and managed to impale himself with a pole. The episode really sells the emotional desperation of this situation, as Judy pleas for him to not give in and stresses the huge impact that this death would leave on her family. It's a scenario that emphasises this gigantic connection of togetherness that the Robinsons have. They come as a unit, as a team, and you can be sure that they will always stick by each other in times of need. If one goes down, they all do. John's death in particular would leave a huge hole in the family however, as your parents are the ones who are always with you, throughout every obstacle you face. They're the ones who support and care for you all throughout your life.

Penny (Mina Sundwall) faces a considerably less adventurous time. She's told to return to school by her mother Maureen (Molly Parker), and this is something that's interesting about a story like this. To our protagonist, a school like this seems rather mundane. It's their day-to-day, mundane, everyday occurrence. But to the viewer, this isn't what we recognise as a school. I certainly wish my school had been on a space station orbiting another planet, because it would have been considerably more interesting that way. Seeing Penny's school here is like seeing a Space Hogwarts; a place where they potentially could be learning about things that to us is virtually impossible.

Of course, events do take a more action-orientated turn for Penny, otherwise we'd just be getting shots of her sitting around in a classroom, which wouldn't really work for prolonged periods in a cinematic spectacle like Lost In Space. Penny and her crush from the first season Vijay (Ajay Friese) throw themselves into a rubbish chute, where they search for the blue bag which Penny spotted Doctor Smith (Parker Posey) disposing of earlier. I like that Doctor Smith was one step ahead of them here, as she spotted Penny following her and purposefully planted the blue bag to make her think there was something inside. Instead Penny finds the message 'curiosity killed the cat', which neatly establishes how much control Doctor Smith has without the Robinsons realising. She's manipulating and pulling the strings, like sentient puppets with a false sense of freedom.  

There's a fun tease towards the end of the episode that shows  some of the water which eats through metal having somehow made it onto the Resolute. The water leaves a gaping hole through the colony ship, which poses an immediate threat for the colonists planning to make it to Alpha Centauri. It will be interesting to see how they deal with this in the next episode, as the presence of this water means the Resolute is far from ship-tight.

Overall, 'Run' is another brilliant instalment in Lost In Space's second season. It greatly explores the theme of family, developing Judy and John Robinson's father and daughter relationship to a considerable degree, through an effective combination of flashbacks and conversations between the present Judy and John over intercoms. Lost In Space may have fancy visuals and beautiful space vistas, but its characters are equally as important, and it's the Robinsons that keep us coming back for more. 

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What are your thoughts on the fifth episode of Lost In Space's second season? Let me know in the comments section.