'Lost in Space' Recap: 'Trajectory'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​There really is no better moment in a freshman television series, than when everything plot wise comes together. Because when that titular moment arrives, everything kicks into overdrive and it just so happens that after weeks of world building and subtle set up on many a fine plot point, the eighth episode of Lost in Space will always stand as the moment when everything came together at last in magnificent fashion and well, I’ll just say it now, ‘Trajectory’, is hands down the best episode that season one of this series has offered to date because it accomplished so much in a single hour.
 
And it kicked off this grand plot tie in by finally having the Robinsons reveal to all the colonists of the danger that now awaited them in space, but only after Victor and his family tried to leave everyone behind to get help from the Resolute and well, his moment of panicked selfishness was not without merit. Because he never would have made it into orbit with a ship that weighs as much as it does with only a little bit of fuel to propel them, giving Maureen the idea to strip the Jupiter 4 down to the bare necessities so that someone could pilot it into space and signal the ship for help. 
 
Which meant that everyone got to work on clearing out the ship, and as everyone busted their hump to prepare the J4 for launch, an important matter came to a head as Maureen finally learned the truth about ‘Doctor Smith’ and locked up June in the garage to keep everyone safe from her lies and actions and well, that sure didn’t stop June from trying her damndest to talk her way out of this mess. But thankfully, it seemed as though no one, not even young Will, was listening to her crap, allowing for the family to continue to prepare for the launch, and that preparation took on new life since it turned out that John and Don were the only two men who were properly qualified to pull off this risky gambit.
 
And this, is where this particular episode blew me away. Because once the mission got underway, and seemingly went off without a hitch, the Robinson’s biggest problem once again came to the surface to cause trouble. Because Will was worried about his father’s safety, and found himself talking to Smith once again, and sadly, she knew exactly how to press his buttons and use the Robot as bait for her escape and once she was free, she went after her captor, right in the middle of the damn mission which resulted in quite the shocker. Because shortly after Smith knocked Maureen out, the Jupiter 4 exploded high above the planet, meaning there’s a fair chance, that John and Don have met their end.  
 
Granted, I’ve got a gut feeling that both of them somehow survived, but part of me is wondering if that’s simply not the case since the Robot has been ‘dead’ for some time now and well, if they pull the trigger on something that dark, then this show will have accomplished something incredibly bold for certain. Either way, this one had my attention all the way through, and I love that so many plot threads came together so smoothly and now the stakes are higher than ever since the Resolute is 24 hours away from abandoning the planet and the colonists and well, with the J4 out of commission, and so many fates up in the air, I really haven’t a clue as to what comes next, or how this season will end, so I guess I need to hit ‘Next Episode’ in order to find out. Until next time. 

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