'Lost in Space' Season 2 Episode 5 Review: 'Run' brings back focus on family, something that made the space drama a success
This review contains spoilers for Episode 5: 'Run'
The series at the halfway mark explores the one thing that made it successful in the first place — the theme of family. The episode starts off by putting a major bit of focus on Judy (Taylor Russell) and John (Topy Stephens) after the latter is seriously injured after being trapped in the debris. In the meantime, Dr Smith (Parker Posey), after injuring Radic with the kelp hidden in Penny's (Mina Sundwall) manages to get out of arrest.
'Run' also delves into Judy's past. She may have never known her real father, but John, her adoptive dad, may just have been a lot better than her biological father. The episode fluctuates between the present and the past establishing Judy as a more headstrong and determined person. When the Chariot she takes to reach out to her father breaks down, she attempts to literally run 24.5 kilometers to rescue John. On the other hand, Penny gets a bit of her past revisited to ger when she meets Vijay. The duo decides to tackle Dr. Smith. There's enough love left though. Until they manage to find themselves in trouble.
Maureen (Molly Parker), Will (Maxwell Jenkins) and Ben Adler (JJ Feild) hope to find more about the scarecrow and the connection that Will shares with the Robot. Judy in the meantime breaches a perimeter fence and runs into intergalactic dinosaurs. Again the lessons taught by John hold her in good stead. There are enough emotional moments to that show the love John has for his adopted daughter and it serves well in an episode that was in need of some emotion given all the adventure and the mystery in the past couple of episodes.
There's a moral: Never give up. And that makes this a compelling watch. It may be cheesy, it may be enough fluff, but what it does is strike a chord as Judy comes as in the true hero of 'Run'. John is eventually rescued, but not before sharing a touching father-daughter moment. However, there is trouble brewing when Smith intercepts Penny and Vijay. The material that weakens the metal is back in focus again and that remains a mystery still.
It has been five intriguing episodes of 'Lost in Space' Season 2 and 'Run' just adds to that much-needed family element that went missing in Episode 4. The latest season promised a lot when it served up two brilliant adventures in the opening episodes and chugs along steadily.
'Lost in Space' Season 2 is available for streaming on Netflix.
