The New Guy is the third episode of the third season of Netflix's Lost in Space. It premiered on Netflix on December 1, 2021.
Summary[]
Scarecrow helps Maureen and John plot an engine heist. Judy returns to camp with new passengers. Will makes a startling discovery in the alien city.
Plot[]
The new guy[]
Don talks with Scarecrow, talking about how he once fixed a toaster from an orphanage. He tells John and Maureen that he's establishing a bond, like Will. He continues that the toaster was the beginning of a long line of machines. Maureen comments to John that they wanted a Robot and got one, that if Scarecrow wanted to hurt them, he could have by now. They arrive at a precipice, with a ship in the distance. Maureen asks Scarecrow if he's telling them there's an engine on it and Scarecrow seems to whir agreement. They scout, and Don asks if the coast is clear. John tells him it's not, that he counts 12 Robots. Maureen observes the group. "They're gathering their dead," she comments. John counters that they're salvaging parts. He asks Scarecrow if he has a plan for how to get the engine. "You can take 'em, right?" asks Don.
Scarecrow lays out a set of twelve rocks. He pulls away two. John is gobsmacked that Scarecrow apparently wants them to take on ten robots. He says it's a bad deal, but Maureen says it's apparently the only one they have. "You bring in a new guy, everything changes," quips Don. On the shattered planet, Judy and Grant Kelly take stock following their wild journey. "Here's to diving off a two-mile high canyon wall on an alien planet," quips Grant. They toast with water and Judy tells him that as she was falling, she thought that nothing else mattered, nothing else that she was worrying about. Grant tells her it's why he loves flying. They are greeted by Penny, who races up and gives her a hug. Judy starts to introduce Grant, but she says she already knows, saying it's good to meet him. Vijay and Liam come up and shake his hand as well.
They return to camp, where Judy tells everyone that Grant and his people are part of the crew now. She continues that they have 19 hours until the launch window closes and asks for a progress update. Suddenly, the Robot approaches Grant. "Hello," he comments nervously and Dr. Smith tells him he's just trying to decide if he's a threat. He says that Judy told him about him, but he's stranger than he imagined. Smith introduces herself, saying it's nice to have another adult. He comments that Judy mentioned her too. Smith asks if she went into detail. Grant says she told her she was the French teacher.
The crew gets down to work, getting things ready for the launch. As they prepare the pods, Dr. Smith looks troubled by Judy's comment that they'll need the empty pod. Penny tells Judy that Will is off documenting the alien city. She explains about what happened while she was gone. A the city, Will narrates that they've discovered the most important archaeological site in history and he only has 19 hours to document it. He finds pyroclastic ash, realizing that there was a volcanic eruption. He discovers some alien skeletons and realizes that the builders built the Robots in their own image. He thinks to himself that it's human nature, even if you're not human.
The question is who programmed the computer[]
John, Maureen and Don hash out their plan to take the engine. Maureen will confront the Robots along with Scarecrow, while John and Don confront them in a jerry-rigged Chariot ATV. John is troubled by Maureen being with Scarecrow. Maureen says that Scarecrow isn't the problem, but that John says that he isn't helping them just to be a good samaritan. Don agrees that there's something Scarecrow wants from them and they get something in exchange. He says it's how the world works, no matter what planet you're from. Back on the shattered planet, Grant asks Judy if spaceships are like bikes, which every kid having one. "Not yet," Judy tells him, saying that she's only one trained to fly it. She suggests that they might give him a ship when they get to the colony. He tells her he's eager to see her in action, but she tells him not to expect too much, that the computer does most of the work.
"The computer?" asks Grant. "You know, spaceships have them these days," quips Judy. He tells her that he hasn't been asleep that long, he's just wondering how far automated things she have gotten. She tells him it's pretty much fully, especially for things like asteroids. "The question," he says, "is who programmed the computer." She tells him that Maureen did. He says that even the best computers have limitations, that they can handle 99% of problems until they hit the ones they can't. Meanwhile, Vijay gives Dr. Smith a physical. She asks why she's the only one. He tells her they're just starting with her. "To make sure there's enough air for everyone to breathe," she comments. She asks if being in suspended animation carries any health risks. "You want to put me in that tube, don't you." He tells her he's only trying to take her blood pressure. "It's rising by the minute," she shoots back.
Will continues to document the alien city, finding what he calls "a bridge that drops into infinity." He drops a flare and it falls for miles. "What happened to them?" he wonders. He finds what appears to be a control panel. He places his hand onto it, but gets no response. He heads to one of the alien skeletons. Apologizing, he breaks off a hand. Back on the Chariot, John discovers Scarecrow prowling around. He sees a display on a monitor and asks if it was there before. Maureen admits she doesn't know. John wonders if he could have been spying. Maureen goes to another monitor, telling John to look. The monitor has Ben Adler's personnel file. "Maybe he was remembering," says Maureen. "Maybe," agrees John. "What if they weren't good memories?"
Back on the shattered planet, Will uses the hand to activate the alien control panel. It creates a sound, one like the sound from the alien ship. He comments that they thought the sounds were interference, but perhaps they're more than that. He tries to different spots on the control panel, each time producing a different sound. On the Jupiter, Penny tells Judy that everything is packed. She says they can go now, calling Will, only to hear the humming and whining of the alien sounds. She declares that she should go get him, asking Penny to show her where he is on the map. "Will was in charge of the map," Penny tells her. Smith approaches, saying she knows the way and can take her. Judy reluctantly agrees.
Delegate[]
John and Maureen ready themselves, John wondering how they know that Scarecrow won't just fly off and leave them once he's on the alien ship. Maureen says she doesn't think he'll will, but that they'll just have to trust him. John says that what they need is to protect themselves. "That is why you brought this from the Resolute, right?" he asks, handing her a bag. She wishes him luck and they kiss. "You too," he agrees. Back on the shattered planet, Vijay and Penny discuss Liam, whom Vijay finds to be a show-off. Penny points out that Liam helped him back to camp and he says it's exactly what show-offs do. He says he snores, but Penny says that everyone snores. He asks her if her if John and Maureen mentioned his parents when she talked with them. She tells him they didn't have a lot of time to talk. He says that in the last year he's been pretending that they're at summer camp, but it's hard for him to think that maybe they didn't make it. She puts her hand on his shoulder, saying she's sure his parents are fine.
An alarm sounds. He asks what they do. "Delegate," she tells him. She reports to Grant Kelly, telling him she can't get in touch with Will or Judy and that the computer wants them to launch now, or else it'll be too late. He tells her to calm down, that they'll talk through it. He asks what's changed and Vijay tells him that the receiver Judy left behind found new data. Penny explains that there are so many asteroids, crashing into each other and making baby asteroids. They need to launch or it'll be so dangerous the auto-pilot won't even let them launch. "The computer can ground the ship?" wonders Grant. "If it thinks we're doing something crazy," agrees Penny. She says she doesn't want to leave everyone there. He says it's not a decision she should have to make, but she tells him she's acting co-captain. He disables the auto-pilot. She says they can't launch without. "Sure we can," he counters.
In the cave, Smith leads Judy to Will. She tells her she has a confession, that she can fly the Jupiter. "Since when," asks Judy, quizzing her about the ship. Smith gets it right and Smith says she could step in. "This is about the cryotube, right?" asks Judy. She tells her to next time not send Vijay to do her dirty work. Judy tells her they just don't have enough air left and that the only reason they had enough before is that she was the margin of error. Smith retorts that it's because of Grant Kelly they don't have enough air. She says he should go in the tube. Judy points out he's a decorated astronaut, but Smith says his decorations are twenty years old. She calls herself "the devil you know." Judy says that she knows everything that matters about Grant Kelly. She tells Judy that she won't willingly climb into a prison she can't escape from, that she can't trust them. She can't trust anyone. She asks why she would want to get into a cryotube when there's nobody who would want to wake her up. She continues that the only thing that's worse than being bad is being powerless and she needs a guarantee. Judy tells her that her word is all she has.
They hear the alien sounds and proceed inside. Will is still testing the control panel. On the ship, the Robot briefly stops the work he is doing. "Trust Will Robinson" he comments. In the cave, Will is forced to abandon his efforts when the sounds very nearly cause a cave-in. He races to escape and Judy and Smith hold the door, him making it through in the nick of time. Back with Don and John, Don asks John if he's the jealous type. He asks if he thinks Maureen's okay with the new guy and John tells him that she knows what to do if things go bad. Maureen asks Scarecrow what he's going to do when it's all over, if he has a place to go after taking them to Alpha Centauri. She asks if he's looking for a new home, like them, or if he's just going to keep going. She tells him that what they did to him was wrong, that she can't imagine the suffering he went through. He turns to her and she tells him it will never happen again, that they need to trust each other. She tells him she hasn't been worthy. She tells him she wants to give him what's in the bag. However, the weapon inside is damaged. She asks if he did that and he turns away.
Last hope[]
Judy asks for a final double-check before they launch off the shattered planet. Penny tells her that she needs to talk with Grant. Will tells the Robot that he did the right thing to stay with the ship, saying he thinks he found something that can help them later. Grant and Judy argue, Judy saying that her mission was to get the kids to Alpha Centauri and now they can never leave. Grant tells her it hasn't failed, that the auto-pilot tried to leave her behind. He tells her that he can fly the ship off the planet manually, that she puts too much faith in computers. He says the Fortuna put him on ice to keep him safe, but if it were up to him, he would have woken up and turned off the signal that drew them off-course. He promises her that he can fly them. "I don't know," she tells him, but he tells her that she does and walks away.
Will finds Smith, who is fiddling around with the camera that he found. She says it must be important and that it'll be safe inside the cryotube with her. She says he'll just pop the hatch and get it back. She calls it her insurance policy. He tells her that he is her insurance policy, that after they get to the colony, he and the Robot have something they need to do that his family won't like. He's going to need her to run interference. She hands him the camera, saying she's had some influence on him. She asks if they're going to do something foolish and heroic. He tells her isn't foolish. Judy and Will then seal her in. Will says that she looks peaceful and Judy agrees that "she should be unconscious more often."
Liam asks why they need the Jupiter engine when they can just switch on the alien engine. "Danger," comments the Robot. Will tells him that they'd have to be in orbit to use it safely. Judy and Grant begin the launch. They liftoff and get safely off the planet, but soon encounter the asteroid field. Grant begins navigating around the asteroids. He says they're almost out, but then the computer issues a warning that their flight path has been compromised. Judy tells him of the computer's recommendation, which he says is wrong, that it would fly them directly into an asteroid. She warns him to proceed to the recommended course or stand down. When he ignores her recommendation, setting off an alarm, she reboots the autopilot. He tells her she doesn't know what she's doing. "Maybe not, but my Mom does," she replies. The autopilot finishes rebooting, Judy saying to trust her. They proceed and it's a harrowing ride, but they make it safely through. Judy sighs with relief and Grant gets up. "Chair's yours, Captain," he tells her. She says he doesn't have to call her that, but he says he does, that Maureen's auto-pilot worked. It's why she was top of their class. He tells her they were both in the astronaut training program.
Maureen watches the robot spaceship from a distance. John and Don take off in the Chariot. "You're up," Maureen tells Scarecrow. John and Don take fire from the robots from behind. Maureen wonders what is taking Scarecrow so long. John and Don wonder what's taking Maureen so long. Maureen gasps as a robot part tumbles from the spaceship. Scarecrow emerges and she smiles. She calls it a nice job. Suddenly, John brings the Chariot to a halt. The robots are in front of them. "We weren't distracting them, they were distracting us," realizes John. "It's a trap!" Maureen readies to set off the flare, but Robots emerge and begin attacking Scarecrow, with SAR in the lead. "Find home," Scarecrow tells Maureen and then SAR disables him. The spaceship takes off. John and Don arrive. John asks what happened, where Scarecrow is. "SAR took him," Maureen tells them. Maureen tells them that Scarecrow wasn't going to betray them and he was their last hope.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Molly Parker as Maureen Robinson
- Toby Stephens as John Robinson
- Maxwell Jenkins as Will Robinson
- Taylor Russell as Judy Robinson
- Mina Sundwall as Penny Robinson
- Ignacio Serricchio as Don West
- Brian Steele as The Robot and Scarecrow
and
- Parker Posey as "Dr. Smith"
Guest starring[]
- Russell Hornsby as Grant Kelly
- Ajay Friese as Vijay Dhar
- Charles Vandervaart as Liam Tufeld
- Nevis Unipan as Samantha
- Elias Leacock
- Zehra Fazal as Jupiter / Resolute computer voice
Gallery[]
Still images[]
