How do you heighten a family drama involving individual self-exploration, development and relationships? Put them in deep space. That’s right. A family adventure set in alien planets with wormholes, creatures, robots, and lots of intergalactic conflicts is what Netflix’s reimagining of the 1965 TV series LOST IN SPACE has been up to. In the series, actress MINA SUNDWALL stars as Penny Robinson, a teenager who is part of the Robinson family.

In the 2nd season of the series, Sundwall’s character Penny alongside her family, continue on their exploits to find the Resolute, a spaceship on course to the Alpha Centauri System, while navigating the bigger, challenges brought to them this season.

In this exclusive interview, Mina Sundwall dishes on Lost in Space Season 2, playing Penny Robinson for 2 seasons, what’s in store for the audiences this season, her relationship with Vijay and why she would be a collection of Agatha Christie books.

What’s in store for Penny and her family in Season 2?

We started this season seven months after last season ended and in that time the Robinsons had gone amiss a water, methane, gas toxic planet and so they’ve had some time that’s not everyday being like a life or death situation. They’ve had some time being a family. In this season, we see them on their journey towards the Resolute.

For Penny, a lot of this season is about finding what she’s good at and what she can contribute to the family. She’s a good teenager, though she goes a little bit up and down. For instance, last season, you can see that she’s not science oriented so she felt a little out of place sometimes like she can’t do anything or she doesn’t have the answer. But this season, she finds more of what her place is- she is a people person. She is a writer. She thinks differently from everybody else in her family because she understands people and how they work and because of that she was able to compete with Doctor Smith and kind of stand up to her level of psychology.

That is such a good skill to have.

Yes definitely.

In this season, did she help bridge the gap between the dad and the rest of the family?

She does a bit. I think because the Robinson’s have been through a lot together since season 1, and have some time to process everything that’s happened, their gaps and conflicts are lessened. They are now much closer than they were in season 1 from the get go.

How did you prepare for Penny’s role?

From Season 1 to Season 2, since we have to shoot for six to seven months in a time, I had Penny in my head a lot so I’m quite comfortable in being Penny and being in that mindset. But there was also a time jump to season 2. So taking that into consideration and what it means to have to struggle and fight to survive for so long and then have a moment to sit down and process how to be a family, and go back to being in a crew and then go back into this adventure of sailing, meeting creatures and the Resolute. It took a lot of exploring the growth that happens in the between those moments- the moments that you don’t see on screen and where do we start versus where do we left off. 

What’s the best part about playing Penny?

It’s fun to be able to have both an internal and an external perspective of her. I know that in playing Penny, I can be in it and I can be in the moment. But at the same time, reading the scripts and understanding her arc with a little more objectivity, understanding that she is smarter than she thinks she is, that she doesn’t give herself the credit that she always deserve, and that she’s finally coming to her own and becoming her own person- for me is a proud, exciting moment whenever I read the script. And I ‘m glad to be able to see that finally, she’s able to do that.

How was it like to be in a show set in space in another planet?

It’s great! It was a lot of fun. You can use your imagination. Especially because sci-fi open up these whole new worlds that are beyond what we know in space. There’s so much creativity and imagination that goes into it that the possibilities are endless.

Let’s talk about Vijay Dhar. What can we expect from Vijay and Penny this season?

Because a lot of the beginning of their reunion is overcoming a conflict, and trusting each other again and learning how to do that, they became such a strong team. And when you go through such intense up and downs in life, it is important to keep people that know you, can support you, and that you can trust around you. We will definitely see “Penjay” come back. In what form? That’s up for this season to uncover. But it is definitely there. They’re a very strong team and they’re good for each other.

You said in one interview that you want to slap either Vijay the character or Ajay Friese himself. Has it happened yet?

Well, I tried to but everytime I try he is just too quick. I’m kidding (laughs). I love Ajay. He is so much fun. Ajay and I are very good friends and doing scenes with each other is so much fun. We had so much fun whenever we’re filming that we completely forget that we’re filming a scene and when we come of it, it’s just gone past us because we just work with each other so well. I still think that there’s an opportunity for Penny to slap Vijay in the face, although she did that a bit emotionally this season.

Out of the roles that you’ve played, which one resonated with you the most?

It’s probably Penny because I see a lot of myself in her. She went through a lot of ups and downs plus she and I are of similar age so I’ve been able to learn from the experiences that I’ve had from a little more of an objective standpoint. We were both outsiders, we didn’t always fit in and didn’t really try much. We think and act differently from what was expected of us. So yeah, definitely Penny.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I’d be a collection of Agatha Christie books, cause even though things may seem fun and simple at face value, they’re more complex and layered the deeper you get and you need lots of little clues to figure them out.

Catch Mina Sundwall as Penny Robinson in Netflix’s Lost in Space Season 2 streaming now