The first season of Love, Death + Robots (or from now on: AMR) was a perfect example of a series that fills a void you did not even notice. Leave the question for now whether you liked it or not: a series that can be swallowed in two days even if you Not binge lovers, one that gives a measured dose of action, suspense, fantasy and humor – and that if you did not like, you can always move on to the next video that will be almost completely different (or just watch to the end, it’s all 12 minutes).
Beyond the viewers, the great importance of the joint project of David Fincher (who produced, and for the first time even wrote one of the episodes in the new season) and the screenwriter Philip Glatt (who wrote or took part in most of the episodes) was probably also for the animators in the studio, who can finally Work on a project with tremendous exposure – one that can be poured into all of their artistic aspirations – without focusing on a two-hour feature that takes years of work.
Last season went a little under the radar. It had some successful episodes, but also a certain sense of cycle and unwillingness to shake the boat and the crowd. Splitting the season into two parts also did not help, and instead of creating a sense of anticipation for the next part, a sense of a YouTube channel was created that releases a few invested episodes, and immediately moves on to the next project.
With this charge went on air last Friday the third season. Nine episodes, some “much” longer than we are used to, i.e. 17-21 minutes long. Some of the episodes feature new creators, while some have been created by studios that have starred in one success or another in the previous two seasons. This is a great opportunity for in-depth viewers to discover new studios and of course, to argue Which of the episodes is best, and which is an eye attack. This is how it is when it comes to a series without a plot, linearity or consistent artistic vision, and with a very loose connecting theme, that of “Love, Death and Robots”.
On the Internet you can read debates about debates and ratings about episode ratings, with rare cases where critics agree. Here, too, it’s a great cracking of how to make a series without a sweeping plot produce an echo on the net. And here, too, the third season ranges from some of the best episodes we’ve seen to date (Night of the Mini Dead, Jibaro, Bad Traveling) and, uh… Three robots: exit strategies. How did the studio that directed the worst episode of the series to date (The Drowned Giant) get another chance, and manage to direct the worst piece of animation of the year?
There is a certain sense of formulaicity, with half of the episodes revolving in one way or another around the plowed narrative from previous seasons of “a group encounters a force greater than itself that kills group members one by one.” The better episodes are the ones that managed to avoid it and tried a whole new plot direction. Sometimes, as in the case of jibaro, the plot connects with such a spectacular visual vision that it is unclear why not all of Netflix is made from this format. But the question – as in any non-linear series, about one that costs quite a bit – is where does it go from here?
The big advantage of AMR is that it does not have to provide an answer to this question. This is also one of its weaknesses – what makes you sit down and watch the new season?
The truth? No one forced me to sit and watch and I still did. Have I been waiting for the new season? Not very. Did I invest a moment of thought in “I wonder what will happen next”? Walla no. Did I watch the whole season and will probably watch next season as well? Obviously. It’s a few short, beautiful, uncommitted episodes. This is a much more fun minimum threshold than most of the things that are on streaming services right now.
The third season of “Love, Death and Robots” is fully available on Netflix