Episode 1 – Can’t Stop

A marionette performance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers which while creative was not overly attention grabbing unless of course the viewer is a fan of the band.  While a fan of some of the bands music, this viewers opinion is that this episode could have been left on the cutting room floor in favor of a more interesting animated short story.  Or, maybe it would have served better within the extra features content of a blu-ray of a live performance release.  Overall, not something that seems to fit into the flow of this show when looking back at previous chapters of past seasons.

Episode 2 – Close Encounters of the Mini Kind

After an encounter between visiting aliens and inept humans goes violently awry, all out war breaks out between the human and alien races, leading to an outcome neither side anticipates as they try to eradicate each other.  With the use of tilt shift photography to create a variety of scenarios and locations, combined with some off-beat humor, it’s episodes like this that make this series fun to watch.  Maintaining a fast paced story while not losing focus on visual details and finishing with a satisfying big yet miniscule ending makes this episode a highlight of the season.

Episode 3 – Spider – Rose

 Loss, revenge, and unexpected friendship befall a lone trader living in isolation aboard a space station.  After the death of her husband at the hands of an enemy she’s worn to kill, a tech enhanced woman befriends an alien creature as part of a conditional trade for an item one of her clients wants.  Haunted by the loss of her partner the woman is once again confronted her sworn enemy who she engages with while facing death in more ways than one.  Visually this animated short looks great and conveys the sense of isolation the main character is experiencing within the darkness of space.  In the short amount of time this story unfolds, there’s enough of a backstory to gather why the protagonist is haunted while also fueled for revenge, however the final confrontation and conclusion just don’t leave much of an impact.  With what might be expected to garner some sort of response from the final reveal in this short story, things just fall flat as the screen goes black.

Episode 4 – 400 Boys

After the world is destroyed by war, survivors who have formed rival gangs must unite to survive against giant formidable foes known as the 400 Boys.  Armed with what appears to be limited psychic abilities and assorted melee weaponry, the survivors go to war with the agenda of regaining the territories they lost.  Where to go with this episode …  There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for this story, it didn’t serve a point and is a reminder of why this series lost its steam.

Episode 5 – The Other Large Thing

When cats and robots with thumbs join forces against humanity, that about sums up this seven minute long episode.  Dingleberry Jones …

Episode 6 – Golgotha

A space alien, a priest, and a dolphin go to the beach.  No, this isn’t the beginning of some strange joke.  However, this episode makes about as much sense as a joke of that caliber would make.  As this season progresses the theme of humanity ‘fucking up’ somehow and being destroyed by aliens is definitely not missed.  Yet, again what’s viewed with this short is another story that’s just shy of eight minutes and has no point what so ever.

 Episode 7 – The Screaming of the Tyrannosaurus

In space no one can hear you get trampled by a dinosaur ….  The future of sports entertainment has evolved as enhanced humans trained to be elite warriors fight to eliminate one another while riding on the backs of genetically recreated dinosaurs, all for the viewing pleasure of the rich elite. Racing across a dirt track a top these deadly behemoths, the race progresses until there remains only one warrior and their dinosaur. 

But wait there’s more … the final boss.  The one dinosaur every movie brings out to represent to biggest threat to the protagonists existence.  That’s right the T-Rex. 

 However, this story just isn’t about dinosaur racing for the entertainment of the wealthy, it’s about one warriors rebellion against the elite who seek entertainment in the deaths of those who dwell below their social status.  A tale that’s been told many times before, this one just happens to involve said dinosaurs on a space station.  It almost feels as though the story would have done well enough with only the visuals, the narrative and voice acting feels like it just cheapens the story.

Episode 8 – How Zeke Got Religion

While on a bombing mission in France to destroy a Nazi occupied Church, the crew of The Liberty Belle experience a horror from beyond leading a crew member to rethink his beliefs on mortality and the great beyond.  This story is a nice change of pace from all the no plot outer space warfare of the previous episodes.  This story and its animation reminds this viewer of the Nineteen Eighty One animated movie titled Heavy Metal with all the gore and violence.  The thought of being stuck in a flying metal coffin while staring down death from beyond really makes this story a stand out of this Season.

Episode 9 – Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners

A story told from the viewpoint of disgruntled appliances, not the least bit entertaining.  Just another pointless short that could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Episode 10 – For He Can Creep

An institutionalized poet and his cat are the only two being who stand in the way of Satan claiming the verses that could end the world.  Another lackluster story be told, but saved by an amazing animation style combined with the voice acting for Satan.  If not for those two factors, this story would have been just as forgettable as most of this season.

Conclusion:

Three out of ten episodes build the lopsidedly stacked foundation for Season Four of Love, Death & Robots.  What had started out as a strong series back in Season One has in this viewers opinion long ago fallen by the wayside.  It’s as though the creators of this franchise should really reevaluate quality over quantity before releasing another season of this mostly unentertaining material.