The third Volume of Netflix's much-anticipated originals, Love, Death + Robots, is here. The first volume took the world by storm with fans wanting more, but somehow, the second volume didn't quite hit the right chord with them. Instead, it broke the fanbase into two, one faction debating how the show was just as good as the first volume, while the other felt they fell into a sequel trap.
However, the third volume looked promising with the trailers, and the return of a few lead directors from the first volume added more fuel to the rage. Nine episodes, nine tales - it was that time to get the anthology series back on track!
9 Swarm
Starting off the list is the Tim Miller directorial "Swarm." Make no mistake, the short may be the least ranked in the list, but it still works better when compared to most of the episodes from Volume 02.
The episode follows Simon (played by Jason Winston George), who has a hidden motive to take control and use the swarm to better the Human Race, while Galina (played by Rosario Dawson) believes that might be a bad idea. However, the two reach an understanding, eventually falling in love. But there is something more brewing, and the two might have just doomed the Human Race with their actions.
8 In Vaulted Halls Entombed
The director of "Lucky 13" from Volume 1 returns with another entry with the same formula "In Vaulted Halls Entombed." A squad of marines is sent into Afghanistan to locate and rescue captured hostages.
As per the marked location, the squad finds a dwelling that goes in deeper with illuminated goo, and as they venture into its depths, things go from being normal to everything abnormal. Finally, all things lead to a mysterious place, a prison holding something positively Lovecraftian. Can the squad move out, or do they set the monster from another realm free?
7 Three Robots: Exit Strategies
This Patrick Osborne directorial takes the story through a post-apocalyptic world where three robots visit the remnants of the lost civilization. This is a sequel to the 2019 episode, "The Three Robots," and continues on the same narrative.
The Robots travel through three peculiar locations the humans picked to avoid the aftermath of the apocalypse, and while doing so, the story tells itself. The locations throw light on three different social sections of the human race - the rich tech bugs, the average humans, and the billionaires and their take on working through the apocalypse.
6 Night Of The Mini Dead
Directed by Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon, "Night of the Mini Dead" is a masterpiece on its own terms bringing back the stop-motion miniature set designs animation with modern technology.
The story kicks off with a horny couple getting weird in a cemetery. A series of inappropriate actions to the holy site brings the underworld's curse upon bringing back the dead to life. What starts then is a zombie apocalypse that quickly spreads throughout the world. Most zombie flicks usually have a happy ending, but this one might surprise viewers with its end, especially with its satirical approach to politics. With a Runtime of seven minutes, this is the shortest episode of the season.
5 Kill Team Kill
"Kill Team Kill" is the fifth episode in Volume 3, and it takes a very different approach in terms of animation style. The 2D-styled animated short by Jennifer Yuh Nelson is thirteen minutes long and tells the story of Sgt. Neilsen and his special army forces that were sent to check out the mysterious killings in a top-secret CIA Base.
The Team quickly meets up with a cyborg killer bear which happens to be a CIA experiment gone rogue, or that is what they have been told by their newly met acquaintance SFC Morris. The Team's battle with the robot grizzly is what constitutes the rest of the narrative and has a quick twist to the end, as in any other episodes of Love, Death + Robots.
4 The Very Pulse Of The Machine
This one has the franchise's theme written all over it - sci-fi, mind-bending, twists and probably should be higher up the order, but sadly there are plenty more episodes to talk about. Directed by Emily Dean, "The Very Pulse of The Machine" takes place in IO, one of the moons of Jupiter.
It follows the experience of astronaut Martha Kevilson who is left stranded alone after a sequence of errors led to the death of her partner Burton. With low oxygen supplies and an injury from the previous events, Martha is forced to medicate herself with infusions that have halogenic side effects. As hours go by on the moon, Martha learns that IO is actually a machine interacting with her. A tale that shrinks the thin line between reality and the imaginary is something sci-fi fans can get behind!
3 Bad Travelling
Next on the list is the masterpiece from the showrunner himself. "Bad Travelling," directed by David Fincher, the story follows the crew onboard a shark hunting ship wherein they have an unsolicited guest causing them all sorts of troubles.
The episode starts with a giant telepathic crustacean getting onboard the ship on a stormy night, feasting on a few crew members before settling down below deck. As misfortunes favor the lead Thorin, he is bullied by the rest of the crew to negotiate with the beast and change the ship's course. What follows is a manipulative game between Thorin, the crew members, and the beast with an ending that is everything "David Fincher."
2 Mason's Rats
If Pixar made a violent movie taking inspiration from the 1996 movie Little Soldiers and replacing the AI toys with rats, it would be "Mason's Rats." Directed by Carlos Stevens, the story takes place in the futuristic countryside of Scotland.
Mason, a farmer who has been frequently troubled by rats in his warehouse, one day realized that the rats are no longer the pests that plagued humans. Instead, they have somehow evolved into six-sensed beings and can now fight and strategize their approach. Mason decides to pay the big bucks to hire AI pest-killing robots and the conflict between the two sides makes up the rest of the plot.
1 Jibaro
When Netflix opened its tease to the public, everyone knew "Jibaro" would be unique. The way it looked and felt had something to it, a calling of sorts. Director Alberto Mielgo returns to the realm after his Volume 1 short "The Witness" to craft the epitome of animative artwork.
"Jibaro" is dark, gritty, eerie, and everything that can leave a heavy heart. The narrative takes to the 16th century and follows the intimacy between an inquisitor and a siren. But there is more to it than meets the eye, as the story shows only the beauty over the dark truth of colonization hidden beneath.