'Lost in Space' Recap: 'Pressurized'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

​If there’s one grand mistake that science fiction stories featuring space travel can make, it’s adding a sense of safety to its respective journey through the stars. Because while such voyages are indeed filled with wonder, space is as dangerous a place as anywhere else in the universe and not having that present in said tale, removes any sense of realism or any air of conflict for the characters and it is a mistake that Lost in Space has been getting dangerously close to making.
 
After all, while there have been tense and troubling moments for the Robinson clan, in the back of your mind you know they’re going to sneak past their problems with little effort, and unscathed and that can detract from the power of the story. However, it would seem somewhere down the line, the powers that be and the Writer’s Room recognized this issue as well, and decided it was high time to raise the stakes in this story, allowing for the next episode in this tale, ‘Pressurized’, to finally instill a powerful sense of danger into the story.
 
All of that was accomplished by way to two key plot lines, one involving John and Maureen as they came to discover that there are plenty of natural hazards on this world when they found themselves trapped in a tar pit after a little seismic activity on the planet forced them off their current path and this storyline was downright intense and fascinating simply due to the fact that their Chariot sunk into the tar. This forced the couple to face their morality with their air running low and at long last it seems the duo came to an understanding about their relationship and what they mean to one another before inspiration hit Maureen, allowing for them to escape using helium and a weather balloon. 
 
But that however, was merely the beginning of the trouble to be found in this episode, since the genuine danger was put on display in Judy’s storyline. Because the fuel team had to cross a field full of pressurized geysers in three minutes or less, and a problem with a line on the fuel truck, prompted Evan to step outside of his Chariot to fix it, and while he made the repair, the geysers went off early, hitting his truck and upending it, eventually pinning him beneath the fuel trailer, which sparked quite the debate between Judy and Victor, do they bother to save Evan, or wait for backup? Because moving the trailer, meant spilling a lot of fuel thanks to a puncture point, and not moving the trailer meant the end of Evan and well, Judy made the call and rescued Evan…only to have him die on the way home…
 
It was a powerful and sobering moment, and really the first time since start of the series that we’ve seen anyone suffer or lose their lives and it truly does serve as a reminder that this world is as harsh as any other and that everyone here needs to be careful and well, I fear the danger will only grow from this point forward. For Smith has finally gotten her hands on the broken Robot, and she seems to have figured out how to bring it back online and to make matters worse, Victor’s son spilled the beans to his father about the Black Hole, meaning that Victor is ready to leave others behind to save his family first. Either way, it was nice to see this episode take us to some darker places and raise the stakes and I fear things are only going to get worse from here as we close in on the season one finale. Until next time. 

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