Love, Death & Robots: A Mixed Bag

Ten guesses which short was my favorite? "Suits" is the thing that my sci-fi dreams are made of, just big mech suits fighting hordes of foes.

Whoo boy, where do I begin with Love, Death & Robots? I was curious about this series for a while, first seeing it back in 2018, but at the same time I was wary about getting into another series. Well, long story short I watched it, and it was not what I was expecting. An anthology series, Love, Death & Robots is less Black Mirror and more a reel of shorts that tell a wide range of stories. There's big fights, surrealism, comedic sketches, and so on. However, my opinion of it is mixed. I liked much of it, loved some of it, and hated a bit of it. As each episode was made by a different team, there's definitely a range in quality/focus to be seen here, but without further ado let's get into why I feel the way I do about Love, Death & Robots because introductions are my least favorite part.

Essentially an extended sketch to start the show (for me), "Three Robots" is probably the best introduction to the show's irreverent and predictive humor.

There isn't any sort of overarching story to Love, Death & Robots, not even vague references to other episodes as in Black Mirror, with each episode being a short film ranging from six to seventeen minutes in length. It's a veritable smorgasbord of stories, ranging from action-packed battles, comedic sketches, horror stories, to crazy trips, and the choice is yours of what to watch and in what order. Surprisingly however, there is not as much robots as I would have liked, but there does seem to be a common theme of futurism throughout, with nearly every episode taking place in some glimpse of a more technologically advanced age than the one we now inhabit. Most simply act as window dressing, but others do delve pretty deeply into their world ("Good Hunting" and "Suits" especially). In terms of messaging however, there isn't really much to be found in terms of themes within Love, Death & Robots, which can easily be understood due to the short runtime. It is important to note here that no matter the genre of each short, practically all of them have an element of humor to them, be it from jokes to absurdity. Some do have notable themes, but only "Zima Blue" and "Lucky 13" have anything particularly complex to be found within them. "Zima Blue" is the king in this regard, offering up a poignant meditation on the personal meaning of art and the fulfillment and satisfaction felt by leading a life of service. "Lucky 13" is no slouch either, with being one of the few bits of media I've ever seen besides Event[0] to cover such seemingly alien concepts as faith in machines and feelings of loyalty to them, which is a subject that for some reason I find immensely compelling. Make no mistake, each of the shorts tell some sort of story, but most of them never try to be anything more than an adult animated short, which isn't as much a knock against their quality as it is to my expectations.

"The Secret War" is essentially a long game opening cinematic, and the amount of 'realism' (extraordinary stuff notwithstanding) to be seen here is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

It would be impossible to discuss Love, Death & Robots without at least mentioning the animation on display throughout, and similar to the stories told it's a veritable feast. This is not an exaggeration, each and every episode has seemingly its own unique style, and they all look pretty good, with some being almost awe-inspiring in their quality. There's also a nice mix between the realistic/grounded and the cartoonish, with the style of the animation more or less aiding in establishing the tone of each short. The best episode in this regard (in my biased opinion) would probably be "Beyond the Aquila Rift", "The Secret War", or "Helping Hand" with some of the most realistic animation (not crossing into the uncanny valley) I've ever seen. "Fish Night" and "Good Hunting" are also strong standouts in their artistry. There's also some great sound design throughout, with "Helping Hand" being the undisputed champion in this regard. It was shudderingly well-done, being a rare bit of media that made me actively wince through just the sound alone. Even though the quality of each story varies, each short is an incredible treat for genuinely cool animation, and in my option it's the strongest feature of Love, Death & Robots.

"Beyond the Aquila Rift" is probably the second-most common nightmare of those who are afraid of space. It's honestly straight out of the realm of nightmare.

Despite making Love, Death & Robots sound like an entirely enjoyable experience, I have several massive issues with the show itself, or more with the 'Love' part of the title, which should really be called 'Sex' (but that doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?). I do like this series, and at nineteen I would have hoped that I had outgrown such feelings, but to tell the truth I felt somewhat furtive watching a good chunk of this series, like I shouldn't. First is the nudity, and I'm generally fine with nudity in general, but it's on display throughout the show in copious volume. This is not an exaggeration when I say that I'm reasonably sure that I've seen more tits, ass, and dicks (yay for equal presence?) in this first series than I have in my life before watching this. It's also strangely in focus in several episodes ("The Witness"). My only criticism with "Beyond the Aquila Rift" was that there was this big sex scene in the middle of it that seemed to serve no purpose other than to titillate me. There's also something pretty weird regarding the presence of women in this series, and it seems to be pretty male-centric by and large with few female protagonists. They tend to fall into three categories when they actually appear in prominent roles: Dutiful people that aren't particularly emotional or personable, badass/crass/crazy warriors, and/or sexy seductresses. This isn't to say that there aren't good/fun female characters in this series, it's that they seem to be far more limited in depth than their opposites. Ironically, there are relatively fleshed out/organic seeming (in the context of each short's runtime) female characters in the series, with "Good Hunting" having arguably the most complex. The more I think about it, the stranger it is to me that in a season as diverse as this first one that they couldn't fit in more female characters that weren't essentially damsels under duress. "The Witness" is the absolute worst in this regard, seeming to just be an excuse to see a woman running for her life naked (full frontal) in a kimono for a quarter hour. In all honesty it seems crass at best, and occasionally exploitative at worst.

Yeah, there's something weird about this show and women, but ironically the most fleshed out female character is, at a glance, the sedductress (out of necessity) in "Good Hunting". It's one of the shorts I'd say is a must-watch.

Love, Death & Robots is a "show" that despite my continued reservations and criticisms, I enjoyed (mostly). I'm a fan of the format as this collection of short animated films, and I do hope to see more of this sort of thing on Netflix in the future (though hopefully with some improvements here and there). Not only would it expose more people to short film, but it would also be a boon to organization, making it simpler for people to find/access them. I would recommend this show to other people, but understand that it's certainly not for everyone (only two or three episodes I think are appropriate for all ages) and I'd semi-strongly recommend skipping some episodes. I could be worse, but it could certainly be much better, and at least it is brief.

"Fish Night" is one of the episodes that doesn't really fit in with the others aside from being an animated short. Still, it's one of the most visually striking ones, being prime wallpaper material.

In no particular order, here are my list of episodes that I particularly enjoyed:

• Beyond the Aquila Rift
• The Secret War
• Suits
• Zimo Blue
• Helping Hand
• Lucky 13
• Good Hunting
• Sonnie's Edge