Diksha Sundriyal
Based on the 1965 tv series of the same name, ‘Lost in Space’ follows the story of the Robinson family, who are on their way to the new Earth in Alpha Centauri. The attack of a murderous robot leads to a detour, as they are forced to evacuate the Resolute, their ship. Hurtled through space, they crash-land on another planet.
While figuring out the environment and the chemistry of their temporary home, eleven-year-old Will Robinson comes across a robot. He doesn’t know it yet, but it is the same one that had attacked their ship. The thing had crash-landed too and is saved by Will. This leads to a friendship between the boy and the machine that seems to have moved on from the fact that it tried to kill humans only hours ago.
The story takes many twists and turns as the Robinsons meet other survivors and face dangers, not only from the planet but also from amongst themselves. An impostor in their midst tries to keep herself safe, even at the cost of the safety of others. In the end, the Robinsons come to the point where they couldn’t have gotten more lost in space! If you haven’t yet caught up with ‘Lost in Space’, you should stop here and head over to Netflix. You don’t want anything spoiled for you, especially considering the twist the series has in store. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Plot Summary
After spending some time on the alien planet, the Robinsons discover that they don’t have much time to come up with a solution for their problem. They need to re-establish the connection with the Resolute. That was what everyone had been working on, and they thought they had time. With the favourable conditions on the planet, they thought they could take their time to come up with ideas and solutions. But when the planet starts to exhibit dangerous conditions, they are forced to acknowledge the fact that they can’t stay on it for as long as they would have preferred.
The planet is deteriorating and if they don’t make it out in time, they will have to face the brunt of its destruction. The presence of a black hole in the vicinity is one of the reasons for this trouble, and there is nothing they can do about it. So, they have to speed up their process. More important than connecting to the mothership, is getting off from the surface. And for that, they need fuel in large quantities, because there are a lot of Jupiters that need escaping. They try to salvage fuel from other crafts, but a serious hitch in the plan leads to the loss of that option.
This is when Will comes up with a solution. He turns their attention towards the cave where they find biofuel. While everyone else is busy collecting it, John Robinson and Don West are stranded in the orbit. They had been testing for another escape route and they almost make it. Maureen is supposed to guide them through it, but she is interrupted by Dr Smith, aka, June Harris. This leads to the crash of their craft and they are left with a limited amount of oxygen, waiting to make contact with the surface and awaiting rescue.
Back on the surface of the planet, June takes Maureen to the crash site of the alien ship. Judy follows them, but by then, June gets the help of the robot, whom she had revived after Will ordered it to jump off the cliff. While Penny and Will succeed in making contact with their father, Maureen and Judy return with June and the robot. Despite the time constraint, June allows Maureen to make the detour to save her husband and Don. However, when she discovers that they are low on fuel, she stirs trouble.
The Other Robot
Will’s robot, who is now June’s, attacks them as they run to the garage. In the tussle, it is thrown out, but then a sound alarms them. Another craft appears and the robot returns, this time with another, bigger one. The aliens have come back to finish the job, the one that Will’s robot was initially sent for. The alien engine is on the Jupiter and they are there to take it back. But the bigger robot attacks the Robinsons, and just when it is about to kill Will, the good robot comes back to its senses. In the fight, both of them are thrown out of the Jupiter.
Since the robot appears out of nowhere, the question arises. Had it been circling the orbit the whole time, or was it called? Was Will’s robot always in contact with his peers, or did it find a way to contact them once they were in orbit? A few minutes later, we see the alien engine working its magic. Could it be that the other robot appeared out of nowhere because it had a similar engine and created a wormhole to reach the Robinsons?
The Ending: Where are the Robinsons?
Will goes out of the ship to secure the door that cannot be locked from the inside. He loses hold and falls away from the ship, but is caught by his father. Turns out, June had thrown the harpoon the second time over, which saves the lives of John and Don. With June locked up and the Resolute away from reach, the Robinsons begin to consider their options. But their saviours show up just in time.
Just when they think they have been saved; the Robinsons meet another crisis. The alien engine takes control of their craft and steers it in the direction opposite to that of the Resolute. Moments later, a surge of energy leads to the formation of the wormhole. Sucked through it, they find themselves in a completely different part of the universe. Will recognizes the planet system in front of them as “Danger”, as the robot had warned him about.
The whole thing comes back to the engine, which, in turn, brings us back to the crashing of the alien space-craft on the Earth. It is clear that the engine is much more than the device to fuel a space-craft. Had it been just an engine, the aliens wouldn’t have been so adamant at getting it back. If they wanted to retrieve all of their technology back from the Earth, they would have taken the entire ship. However, they seem pretty focused on the engine itself.
In the final episode, we come to know why they had been after it. The engine must serve other purposes, including the creation of wormhole. But is that it? Or does the engine fuel other, more powerful things? Could it be something that is utterly essential for the preservation of their own planet? Also, is there some specific source of its energy?
Another thing that we need to know about is that new planet. One could believe that it is where Will’s robot comes from. However, it had identified the place as “danger”. It could mean that the place is the enemy territory for the robot. Or, it could also mean that the place is in danger, rather than being one.
With the robot out of the equation, for now, the Robinsons will have to figure what the new planet actually is by themselves. And we, the audience, have to wait for the second season to find out how it turns out for them.
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