Lost in Space season 2, episode 9 recap: Shell Game

In Lost in Space Season 2, Episode 9, John and Maureen are locked out of the Resolute as their kids pull a trick to save the Scarecrow robot.

Previously on Lost in Space Season 2, a mutiny was afoot, mainly on behalf of the Robinson clan. Also, Will Robinson (Maxwell Jenkins) found his robot (Brian Steele) getting a little rebellious. This episode starts with Officer Hastings (Douglas Hodge) attempting to “rewrite the story” about the Robinsons, appearing to have a personality similar to Dr. Smith/June Harris (Parker Posey).

As Maureen (Molly Parker) works on cleaning up the water supply for their voyage, Hastings takes it upon himself to sabotage John (Toby Stephens) and Maureen’s odds of survival by locking them out of the main ship. However, Maureen instantly suspects Hastings, which gives her a potential advantage later on. They appropriately contact Judy (Taylor Russell), telling her to stay away from the man.

Hiding in the trash?

Meanwhile, Lost in Space gets grimy again as Will and Penny (Mina Sundwall) hide with the robot in the trash compactor, as the robot recently refused to pilot the Resolute. Why is the robot rejecting the mission? It wants to save its buddy, Scarecrow. To get the point across, Will’s robot draws the image of the horse it saw on the previous planet. Will almost instantly understands it as meaning Scarecrow can be saved upon returning there.

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As they hide in the trash, Ben Adler (JJ Feild) blames Will for robot’s disappearance, officially rendering them fugitives. However, he does explain that he understands Will’s decision, implying that they’d go easy on him, punishment-wise.

That doesn’t prevent June from coordinating with Adler and Hastings, being slippery as a proverbial snake once again (she has often played the chief villain of Lost in Space, after all).

Off course again

Those with Hastings logically deduce that, in order to access the compactor, someone’s used the keycode belonging to Victor Dhar (Raza Jaffrey). This instantly leads them to suspect Vijay (Ajay Friese) as a likely problem.

In the trash compactor itself, Sam (Nevis Unipan) and Judy join Penny, Will, and the robot. They decide to “borrow” a Jupiter craft. They split up, with some of them racing around in a Chariot rover to distract Hasting’s crew, so Will and his robot can get into the Jupiter.

Vijay, who had been asked by June to help track down the Robinson kids, declined to assist them, noting that he doesn’t want to put his father’s life in danger (Victor is still on the other planet). Also, speaking of danger, a giant space creature knocks John and Maureen off their trajectory, which makes it even harder to get back onto the Resolute.

Hero complex?

Trying to get on his good side, June tells Hastings that the Robinsons have a “hero complex,” going so far as to suggest they’ve deliberately sabotaged the mission so they can look superior by fixing problems of their own design. However, Ben Adler seems to question her own motivations, asking her when she got her implant to board the mission. Meanwhile, after Penny and Judy are caught racing the Chariot around, the authorities find the Chariot only has one of Scarecrowd’s arms.

Unfortunately, though, this distractive “shell game” doesn’t quite work in allowing Will and the robot to escape. Hasting’s henchmen find them both, zapping the robot and placing it inside of a containment box. On the bright side, Maureen and John do get back aboard the Resolute, bit just barely.

Also, as a bit of a surprise for Lost in Space Season 2, Ben Adler does an about-face and takes off with Will and Scarecrow, hoping to bring him back home so the robot might voluntarily pilot their craft. Of course, Hastings’ actions might jeopardize the robot’s willingness to comply.

What are your thoughts on Lost in Space Season 2? Let us know in the comments!