Diamond Rains and Oreo Stains: Lost in Space’s ‘Diamonds in the Sky’

Episode 2 of Netflix’s Lost in Space offers interesting weather, unique bonding moments and a whole lot of Oreo cookies.

The Opening Action

Diamonds in the Sky gives more time with the non-Robinson characters — namely, Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) and Dr. Smith (Parker Posey). In fact, we initially find them in a literal cliffhanger. Their ship has nearly split open, and their barely attached portion’s dangling right over a mountainous ledge! It’s a great sequence for those afraid of heights because it seems pretty real.

However, things get a bit murky, morality-wise. Don West gains ambiguity as he takes things from the dead, which he defends on grounds of practicality. Still, when he tries to take something from Angela Goddard (Sibongile Mlambo), she begins to breathe. D’oh!

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So, perhaps to redeem himself in Dr. Smith’s eyes, Don actually carries Angela on his back, staying with her while Smith goes out for help.

Back at Jupiter 2

In Lost in Space episode one, we barely got to know the Robinson’s Jupiter craft. However, we know it’s important for the family to get it out of the ice. Fortunately (or so it appears), their newfound alien robot is doing its best to melt its way through.

Meanwhile, despite its apparent good intentions (to the extent its capable of having those), most of the Robinsons are creeped out by the thing. Based on its appearance, and its potentially lethal capabilities, who can blame them?

Of course, the episode would never solely focus on a robot thawing ice, so the Robinsons here a loud sound. Boom! What is it? The Robinsons assume it’s another craft, so Maureen (Molly Parker), John (Toby Stephens), Will (Maxwell Jenkins) and robo-Robinson all hike off to discern what it was.

Interestingly, this leaves Judy (Taylor Russell) and Penny (Mina Sundwall) alone to share Oreo cookies. That’s right, Oreos.

The Oreo Connection?

Product placement can induce groans, and this episode sees plenty of Oreos passed around. There are some nice, clear camera shots of the logo, even. What gives? Couldn’t they have just said, either in the beginning or the end, “This episode of ‘Lost in Space’ brought to you by Oreos”?

Honestly, it seemed a little egregious and quite out of place, if not entirely unseemly. It’s too reminiscent of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and his Reese’s Pieces binge (though the strategy works, as sales of Reese’s Pieces skyrocketed after that).

The Robinsons Really are Lost in Space

Some viewers may be wondering, “Okay, how lost in space are these fine folks?” Well, as it turns out, they definitely entered a wormhole and, at least according to their alien robot pet’s holographic space map, are in an unidentified galaxy. In other words, they are pretty darned lost.

At this point, one would hope they’ve brought more food than Oreos along (which, despite what the advertisers might say, hardly qualifies as nutritious — there’s a reason the Cookie Monster called them a “sometimes food”).

A Boy and his Potentially Deadly Robot

Will Robinson should have packed a frisbee.

(Maxwell Jenkins in Lost in Space, 2018, Netflix)

In scenes reminiscent of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Will Robinson is bonding with his robot. In Diamonds, they even play a nice game of catch. Basically, there are “Hasta la vista, baby” moments aplenty, and one almost forgets the dangers facing the family.

However, as it turns out, the boy-robot bond may be getting too strong, as there is (apparently) a psychic link developing between them. Unfortunately, it’s not all good beneath the hood. In a sudden shared flashback, Will sees his pet running amok aboard the human’s mother ship, the Resolute, taking people out like they’re so much trash.

Will is understandably shaken but morally conflicted. On the one hand, he wants to believe, “Well, that’s not my robot! He’s changed.” On the other, he knows it probably was his robot (and not just by reading his collar). What’s a Will Robinson to do? The robot presumably has a damaged memory, due to the crash (or maybe due to the acid flashback he just shared with Will).

When he rebooted, was this part of its advanced brain destroyed? It is an interesting little plot point, and one can certainly imagine conflicts between past and present/robot and man. Now, if Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or Robert Patrick show up, you know things are going to get heavy.

The Deadly Diamond Storm and Smith’s Questionable Character

The episode’s title comes from a storm where diamonds fall like rain. Now, if that sounds far-fetched, rest assured that it isn’t. Yes, according to various space experts, it actually rains diamonds on planets like Saturn and Jupiter! In fact, in 2017, scientists created diamond-like rain in a laboratory using lasers.

It sort of adds perspective to any space exploration, doesn’t it? Maybe that trip to Saturn won’t just be for advancing scientific knowledge, but for raking in a bunch of diamond loot.

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Anyway, the Robinsons are facing this storm, as well as the sketchy Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) and even sketchier Dr. Smith (Parker Posey), who abandons and betrays Mr. West on her way to the Robinsons. It was an interesting episode, albeit a bit Oreo-centric.

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