Lost In Space “Trust”

Well, that was about what I thought it would be.  I am pleased.

Yeah, the series went out showcasing the same basic ideas that it had almost from the beginning:  that the Robinsons were essentially a brave and supportive family that, by the end of the final episode, will include the Robot, Grant Kelly, and Don West (with his chicken) sitting around a dinner table and ready to have a big feast of sorts before Will and the Robot go off to explore the universe on their own.  The only one missing was Smith, but she was serving time after giving a full confession and had an open invitation from Maureen to come back once she’s released for her various and sundry crimes.

This was a series that basically said that spending time with the Robinsons made other characters better people.  Sure, characters like Don and Grant weren’t bad people to start–OK, Don was a smuggler, but he wasn’t out to hurt people and those skills came in handy–but this is a show where Grant can sincerely thank John for raising Judy without either man suggesting even a hint of resentment.  Grant understood he wasn’t available.  John did the right thing by what was biologically someone else’s kid.  Both of them get that.  Grant can be a part of the extended Robinson clan.  But then there’s Smith, a con woman who was always out for Number One and even she is made into a better person after spending time with this family.

Heck, you want to get technical, it’s sort of spending time with the Robinsons that makes the Robot and others of his kind better, um, people.  Penny proves the invading robots can be made friendly if you just help them when they’re in distress, and the Robot himself, after sacrificing his own body to save Will, invades and takes over SAR’s.  Arguably, that would mean even SAR, the series’s villain if there is one, is also made better by spending time with the Robinsons.  And with SAR down, the rest of his kind decide to stop being jerks.  Some help the humans, others go off on their own, and everyone’s happy either way.

So, really, one last big adventure stopping the last of the hostile robots, one done with the Robinsons (plus Robot, Grant, Don, and Smith) all being present and each arguably having a role to play before the episode ends.  Was this a show of deep character growth?  Well, arguably, it started with John and Maureen maybe not having the tightest of bonds while Will was perpetually terrified of all kinds of things, but now?  Well, John and Maureen are closer than ever, and Will is brave enough to almost sacrifice his own life to save the rest of the family and then go exploring with his one true friend.  Yeah, essentially, time in space and with the family made everyone, even the clear criminal gaslighter Smith, into better people.

And I was overall satisfied with this series, even if I had little to say about a show that did some really cool sci-fi action sequences with characters that were, let’s say, mostly just appropriate for a show to watch with the kids, much like the original Lost in Space.

8.5 out of 10 warnings of danger.

So, with that in mind…now what?

Well, Mike Flanagan’s Netflix horror series may not be sticking to haunted houses anymore, but he did do one that judging from the title could be set in a haunted church.  Or not.  But following up a family-friendly series about adventure beyond the stars with a more adult-oriented horror show about very Earthbound religious fanaticism seems like a nice change of pace.

I think that’s just my way of saying I’ll be looking into Midnight Mass.

I mean, I was raised Catholic, so I might get all kinds of things out of this.