Love Death and Robots (season 3)
As I mentioned in my review of the second season of the anthology series “Love Death and Robots,” the third season appeared (at least for me) unexpectedly on Netflix. After the phenomenal first season, the second had a small, let’s say, drop in quality (though visual progress was obvious). I wondered if this third season could fix the situation?
The third season didn’t just fix the situation, it (at least for me) even surpassed the first season!
If you happen to need a reminder of what “Love Death and Robots” is:
“Love, Death and Robots” is an anthology animated series for adults. Don’t let this “animated” confuse you, this is truly a series for adults. The themes/episodes are quite adult, heavily inspired by the “Heavy Metal” series, and are of different genres (from science fiction, through fantasy, to horror and comedy).
To start, let’s quickly run through the episodes:
Three Robots: Exit Strategies – The goofy robot trio from the first season returns in a new post-apocalyptic adventure! Visiting several “tourist destinations” (an abandoned oil platform turned into a luxury resort for the rich, a bunker where government officials hid, and a rocket base), our goofy robot trio tries to discover how the human race managed to be so retarded that it exterminated itself… and whether, perhaps, some human still survived?
Bad Travelling – A huge monstrous crab (that looks like it came out of Lovecraft’s novels) has taken over a ship and killed (and eaten) most of the crew and is now hiding below deck. It has presented the remaining crew with a demand to “transport” it to a nearby populated island, or they’ll end up as dinner too. The crew now has two choices – leave this monster near the populated island and save their heads (but sacrifice the island’s inhabitants) or try to reach a slightly more distant deserted island and most likely sacrifice their lives… what will they choose?
The Very Pulse of the Machine – Astronaut Martha is left alone on the moon Io after an accident that led to the death of her colleague Barton. Martha tries to drag her colleague’s corpse to their distant spacecraft. However, due to the great pain she’s suffering, Martha injects herself with various painkillers to endure until the spacecraft, and now she’s constantly followed by hallucinations that the planet Io is addressing her through her deceased colleague… but are those really hallucinations?
Night of the Mini Dead – A young couple in love’s rapture desecrated a church and its cemetery, which resulted in summoning a zombie apocalypse… can the human race resist this end of the world?
Kill Team Kill – A team of Green Berets is sent to investigate mysterious murders, and discovers that the culprit is a strange genetically modified grizzly, because of which even the Terminator would have to change his underwear if he saw it… can this hardened team of Berets deal with a hybrid of bear and enraged machinery?
Swarm – Explorer-soldier Simon joins scientist Galina who has devoted time to studying an unusual alien race that survives by absorbing other races and creating an unusually functional and programmed ecosystem… can this race be used for humanity’s needs?
Mason’s Rats – In a futuristic version of Scotland, farmer Mason discovers that the rats in his barn have evolved, and now use various tools and crossbows to defend themselves. Confused, he calls a high-tech rodent extermination company, which equips him with various automated technology. However, the rats seem to adapt in the fight against technology… who will win in the end?
In Vaulted Halls Entombed – America sends a special unit of Marines on a rescue mission. The Marines discover a cave where terrorists are holding hostages… however, everyone is dead… or better said, gnawed to the bone… have the Marines discovered some ancient alien location… or something much worse?
Jibaro – A group of conquistadors and priests wanders through the Puerto Rican jungle, when they come across a mysterious girl, all covered in gold and various trinkets, dancing on the lake’s surface. The mysterious girl (?) emits a voice similar to sirens, which makes men go crazy and start madly rushing toward her, killing each other and/or drowning under the weight of their armor along the way. The only one immune to her voice is the deaf soldier Jibaro. Intrigued by each other, they begin a strange (and bloody) game of seduction… what are their motives?
Watching the phenomenal animation and approaching ever closer to photorealism in some episodes, one can’t help but remember how more than 20 years ago “Final Fantasy: Spirit Within” left audiences breathless with its visual aspect (and what technology had to be harnessed then to present people in the film). Watching the latest season of LDR, I’m truly amazed again at how much technology is advancing, that especially from the visual side, the difference between live action and animated is decreasing, so you no longer know what’s real and what’s not. “Avatar” did something similar in 2009.
Simply, regardless of whether done in cartoon version or CGI, the third season will leave you breathless from the visual side. Period. 😀
And the themes covered by the third season are even more serious… but it’s particularly interesting how much the theme of human greed and stupidity is covered.
I particularly liked the following episodes:
- Three Robots: Exit Strategies – The goofy robot trio with their comments clearly shows how much the human race is its own worst enemy and how the division of power (was and will be) everything and everything
- Bad Travelling – Besides the Lovecraftian atmosphere on the ship (and great graphics like a trailer for some video game), the most interesting is the crew’s moral choice
- Night of the Mini Dead – The entire film is done in miniature form, and then moreover sped up… and because of that it turned out hilarious, how zombies quickly conquer the planet and how the rest of (currently surviving) people manage
- Kill Team Kill – No-brainer action (and plot too) with Marines, but in the spirit of the best animated adult series/movies/games
- Mason’s Rats – The rats’ showdown (evolving as a mini-civilization) with modern technology for exterminating them is insanely well done (and it all happens in a barn!)… just keep in mind it’s also extremely bloody and violent
- Jibaro – this is perhaps the best episode of this season (and maybe all of them), starting from the unpredictable unfolding of the plot to the fantastic visual presentation
In principle, I liked almost all the episodes. 😀
A detail I particularly liked is that the episodes are conceived in such a way that you often have no idea how they’ll end (moreover, there will be some unexpected endings too). 😀
Let’s say, the “flaw” of the series is that you simply feel sorry there aren’t more episodes, as excellently done as these seasons are.
Although there’s no news yet that the series has been renewed for a fourth season, it would be a really idiotic move by Netflix (despite the crisis they’re currently in) not to continue working on this series. This series can be filmed for another 10 years. Series creator Tim Miller (the man worked on the first “Deadpool” film, as well as visual producer for one of the top video games, “Mass Effect 2”) knows his job, and knows how short films should be made and what graphic quality is expected from them (and which animation studio to engage), and Netflix is hopefully smart enough not to let go of the golden goose that has won 11 Emmys and a pile of other awards, especially for animation.
All in all, the third season of “Love Death and Robots” is a real treat you shouldn’t miss!
I can hardly wait for the next season. 😀
And you, dear reader, what’s your favorite episode of the third season? 🙂
Trailer
IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic
Format: Series
Number of Seasons: 3 (nine episodes in the third season)
Average Episode Duration: Under 20 minutes
