John is putting up a perimeter fence. Will and the Robot come up, and Will suggests that John let the Robot help. When John reluctantly agrees, the Robot easily drives the post into the ground. Will wonders what the fence is for, and realizes that it's meant to keep out more than people. John says that he and Maureen are going to head out and see if anyone else has contacted the Resolute, and the fence will keep them safe. Will figures that they're safe with the Robot, but John points out that they don't know what it is. He tells Will to review the Jupiter expansion protocols with his sisters because they might be there for awhile, and Will and the Robot go looking for them.
Later, Will and Penny watch a promotional video for Alpha Centauri showing how to begin the expansion. Smith comes in as the siblings go off to begin the expansion. As they begin the protocols, Penny complains that they were left behind while the others went to find survivors. The Jupiter expands but fails when it hits a boulder. Will goes to check it and tries to push the boulder aside. and the Robot does it for him. The expansion continues and Smith watches from the gangplank as Will cheers. She comes over and says that it was something, and points out that the Robot never leaves Will's side. Smith wishes that she had a friend like that, and points out that the lights on the Robot's face are a means of communication but they don't understand. She offers to spend some time studying the Robot, but Will tells her that it isn't necessary. Smith figures that Will is protective of her and leaves.
John, Maureen, and Judy drive the Chariot to the Watanabe family's Jupiter, and John hopes that it has a radio that will reach the Resolute. He suggests that they don't talk about the Robot. When Maureen points out that the Watanabe father, Hiroki, is an exobiologist, John says that he's not worried about Hiroki but who he talks to and how they react. Maureen warns that the truth will come out eventually.
Hiroki and his daughter Aiko are looking at an alien bug and they return to their Jupiter as more bugs gather. The mother, Naoko, joins them as the Chariot arrives, and the two families greet each other Don comes out of the Jupiter and introduces himself, and asks who the doctor is. Judy goes in and Don follows her, saying that he saved Angela's life and she's awake now but it hasn't made difference. Angela is in shock and hasn't said a word, and Don leaves Judy with her. Judy tries to reassure Angela but gets no response.
Naoko reports that there are 63 survivors and 27 causalities, and they know the locations of thirteen Jupiters. None of them can take off because of the eels, and they're all stranded. Aiko says that they're in range, and everyone listens as Radic transmits from the Resolute. The Watanabes' radio doesn't reach him, and John points out that one of the ships that the Watanabes mapped isn't a Jupiter.
Angela winces in pain as Judy checks her injured arm. Judy injects a painkiller and Angela whispers her name.
As the two families examine the item and conclude that it's manmade. Don listens. John suggests that they check it out, and Don offers to go with John and Maureen. They decline, but soon end up taking Don with them. They try to ignore him and call the Jupiter 2. Penny responds and Maureen says that they need to recover some equipment and won't be back for a while, and Will and Penny should stay behind the fence until Judy gets back.
Judy continues checking Angela, and Angela says that she was injured in an attack on the Resolute. Once Angela says who the attacker was, Judy asks Naoko where her parents are, and Naoko says that they went looking for supplies in the Watanabe's Chariot.
Outside the Jupiter, Will draws a stick figure of the Robot in the dirt. It draws a figure eight and Will does a video log saying that it's a figure of art. The Robot says, "Danger", and Will suggests that they try something else. Judy returns in their Chariot as Will tries to show the Robot how to play tic-tac-toe. She calls Will over and the Robot comes with him until Judy says that she wants to talk to Will alone. Judy tells her brother that Angela said that the Resolute was attacked by what she claimed was a robot. She realizes that Will knew about it and goes to call their parents. Will reminds her that the Robot saved her life, but she doesn't care.
Judy enter the Jupiter to use the radio, and Will secretly overloads the circuit. He goes to his quarters and starts packing, and Smith comes in and asks where he's going. He claims that he's going to collect more stuff and he's taking the Robot. Smith sees the map unit that he's using, gives it to Will, and promises not to tell Will's parents. Once Will leaves, Smith gets the gun from beneath the mattress.
Penny finds Judy and says that the radio is working but is recovering from a power spike. She says that Will has gone, and Judy realizes that the perimeter fence is turned off.
Will and the Robot walk out past the deactivated fence and into the woods. Judy runs after them and orders Will back inside, but he refuses. He insists that the Robot has changed, and Judy says that she's trying to protect her brother. Judy wonders what happens if the Robot changes again, but Will tells her that it deserves a second chance. He wants to hide the Robot in a cave that he's scouted, and wants to tell John the truth himself. Penny arrives and figures that whatever is going on is great because they're outside the fence. The others walk away and Penny follows them.
John, Maureen, and Don arrive at the wreckage, and Don explains that the chicken had a locator chip on its leg and that's how the Watanbes found him. They discover that the wreckage is part of the Resolute, and figure that something blasted it away from the ship.
Penny asks Judy if she believes the Robot has changed, and Judy tells her that they're going to help Will hide the Robot and then she'll tell Will where it is. Penny notices that they're in the middle of flowers that respond to noise, and clap their hands to get them to blossom. The Robot claps its hands as well, and they hear something roaring in the distance. Will's guardian warns that there's danger, and they move off as something looms over a nearby ridge.
Will reports that they're getting close to the cave, and they hear the creature coming after them. They run but come to a cliff, and the Robot downs a tree to act as a bridge. They cross over, Will first, and the Robot mimics the creature's roar to drive it off. It then raises its arms, mimicking Will's raising his arms in triumph earlier, and joins the others crossing over the makeshift bridge.
The trio continue searching the wreckage for backup synthesizers, and Maureen asks Don what Alpha Centauri is like. He warns that the problem is the people because they bring all their problems with them from Earth. Maureen finds a crate filled with whiskey and Don admits that he's a smuggler of sorts and used the box with the synthesizers. Exasperated, Maureen goes outside and sees the Resolute's communication dish, so they'll never hear their broadcasts. She goes inside and takes a whiskey bottle from Don.
Smith follows the children's trail and finds the bridge.
The children reach a waterfall, and the Robot practices clapping its hands. Will explains that the flowers aren't there, and Judy watches. She tells them that they have to get moving, and mentions to Penny that she'll be moving out once they reach Alpha Centauri. They hear voices up ahead and Judy tells Will that they can't let them see the Robot. A group of Resolute survivors go past and Penny recognizes the leader, Victor Dhar, as the colony representative. Victor tells his son Vijay to pick up the pace.
Once they move past, Will finds an envelope that one of the survivors dropped. Vijay comes back and says that the envelope is his. He sees the Robot and tells them to get down, and then throws a rock at it. It catches it and tosses it back. They ask Victor to keep it secret, and Penny tells him that his father isn't in charge until they get to Alpha Centauri. She holds the envelope hostage and Vijay agrees. Exasperated Judy walks off and the others follow.
The children finally reach the cave and go inside. Judy says that they need to head back, and Maureen calls over the radio and asks where they are and why no one is answering at the Jupiter. Will claims that they're there but busy, and Penny takes the radio and says that they're checking and securing the pop-outs. Maureen tells them that they've run into car trouble and won't be back that night, and John and Don discover the Chariot batteries are drained. Their mother says that she feels better knowing that the Robot is there, and Judy starts to tell her what she knows. Will looks at it, and Judy tells Maureen that they'll talk about it when she gets back. Her brother mouths his thanks and then suggests that they stick around until daylight. Penny agrees and after a moment, Judy gives in but says that they'll leave at first night.
As night falls, Smith continues along the trail and finds the cave.
Penny tags "The Robinsons Were Here", on the wall and says that early humans started to draw so that they could sign it. She dips her hand in the red ochre and puts her palmprint on the wall, and Will does the same. They get Judy to do it as well, while the Robot watches.
At the wreckage, John tells Maureen that they'll come up with another way to reach the Resolute. She worries that she doesn't have another plan, and John assures her that it will never happen. They sit together and share the whiskey, and phosphorescent flares glow in the sky.
At the cave, Will and the Robot see the flares and Will calls Penny and Judy over to see them.
Smith sees the lights as well.
Jellyfish-like creatures drift through the sky, following the flares. As Will and the Robot go inside, Judy tells Penny that she thought she'd be glad that she was moving out.
John and Maureen look at the stars, and Maureen points out that they've lost before in Tuscany on their honeymoon. She jokingly blames John, and asks where John plans on living when they get to Alpha Centauri. John is surprised at the question and says that he wants to be close to his family. Maureen wonders how long, and refuses to discuss it further. John asks her to discuss it, and she says that she found the letter. As she walks away, the ground shakes and the dish falls on top of them.
The couple are trapped inside of the dish, and the metal is too thick to let a signal through. Don doesn't hear them and is busy loading his whiskey into the Chariot. John and Maureen sit and wait for Don to figure out they're in trouble, and Maureen explains that the letter came in the mail and she thought it was an invite to a military social function so she opened and read it. She cried because she had to lie to their children about how John chose to go to his assignment rather than being ordered. John tells her that says that he felt responsibility to the world and Maureen could have asked him to stay, but she didn't. He figures that his leaving was for the best, and Maureen wonders if they're pretending. Before John can respond, Don knocks on the outside and says that it'll take some time to get them out.
In the cave, Judy lies awake and hears the Robot moving around. She watches as it goes to the wall and studies Penny's writing, looks at its hands, and then puts its handprint along with the others. It turns and looks at her, and Judy rolls over and goes to sleep.
The next morning, Don blows a hole through the dish wall and starts talking about exasperation. Maureen tells him that they should go.
The Robot gives Will a rock for his collection, and Penny tells it that they'll come back for her. Will says that he has to go and the Robot has to stay there, and it warns that Will is in danger. The boy says that the Robot is the one in danger and it has to stay there. It tries to go with him, and Will tells it to stay and leaves. Smith is sitting nearby and watches them go.
John drives the Chariot back to the Jupiter, and Jupiter 4 calls them. It's Victor, who thinks that he's talking to the Watanbes until Maureen corrects him. Victor tells her not to go off again without checking with him, and says that he wants to amplify the signal. Maureen explains that they found the Resolute's satellite dish, and Victor says that he'll meet them in an hour with other survivors and they should get ready to get their hands dirty.
When they reach their Jupiter, John and Maureen thank Don for his help. He prepares to get into the Watanabe's Chariot, and looks at the crates they brought from the wreckage. Meanwhile, John and Maureen discover that their children aren't there. They finally find Will in the hub, listening to his headphones. Penny and Judy come in, pretending that they never left and saying that it was boring. John asks where the Robot is, and Judy tells them that "he" wandered off. Maureen figures that something is going on but isn't sure what, and John figures that they have to look for it. Once he and Maureen eave, Will points out that Judy called the Robot "he". She says that it's just a pronoun, and makes Will promise that he'll tell John. Judy and Penny assure Will that they're the only ones who know where the Robot is.
Smith enters the cave and tells the Robot that they should get to know one another. She says that they have so much in common: they were both someone else on the Resolute, and have to keep secret who they were. Smith tells the Robot that they can help one another but wonders how, and figures that if she had found it then it could have been her. She draws the gun but says that she won't hurt the Robot and knows that it won't hurt her because of Will's command to never hurt anyone. As the Robot studies her, Smith says that she needs the Robot to have all of the options available. She notices the handprint and figures that the Robot wants to belong, and it thinks that it's doing the right thing. Smith warns that eventually it will learn that people will turn on it, even Will. When he does, Smith says that she'll be there to save it. She leaves the cave and the Robot behind.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 10, 2018