Released to Netflix in 2019, the sci-fi anthology features individual episodes that encompass various speculative aspects of the future. Each episode is preceded by three relevant logos (a reference to the three core concepts: love, death, and robots) which signify the motifs present in that episode. Winner of an impressive 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, the series as a whole explores different angles of the classic question characteristic to the science-fiction genre: What does it mean to be human?Love, Death & Robots offers a variety of stories, ranging from humorous to dark, with striking animation techniques. Each story encapsulates in some way the series' central theme. Created by film legends David Fincher and Tim Miller, the conceptual anthology is an impressive artistic portfolio, but some of its tales simply stand apart from the rest. These are the best episodes of Love, Death & Robots, ranked.
7 Pop Squad
In the episode Pop Squad, an overpopulated world's gaping wealth disparity is reminiscent of that of Piltover and Zaun in the hit Netflix series Arcane. Taking place in a futuristic, dystopian society, the short reveals that the rich elite gladly sacrifice their reproductive rights to live forever and enjoy grandiosity and leisure. On the other hand, the impoverished "breeders" are brutally punished for having and harboring children.
The protagonist is a police officer (Nolan North) experiencing inner moral conflict, as he is tasked with exterminating children. Whereas the wealthy all appear to be in their twenties, Officer Briggs is somewhat aged, suggesting that it may have taken him some time to decide to live forever — or perhaps he never chose to at all. Toward the end, Briggs confronts a woman with her child to ask questions, which gives the woman the opportunity to humanize her daughter in order to protect her. She breastfeeds her, shares her name with Briggs, and recalls the first time her daughter called her "Mommy." By sharing personal details, she forces Briggs to empathize and potentially saves her daughter's life.The thought-provoking premise and ambiguous ending make this episode a top contender.
6 Three Robots
It seems fitting to include the series opener on this list, titled Three Robots, which bears the responsibility of aptly setting the tone for the show in its entirety. In this short, three robots with different base functions are exploring a post-apocalyptic city. There is a small, bubbly robot descended from baby monitors (K-VRC), a monotonous informational bot who swears at inopportune moments (11-45-G), and XBOT 4000, a descendent of a video game console that resembles the Xbox.
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As they wander, they make hilarious remarks about the stupidity and hubris of man, which would ultimately lead to their downfall. Their final sightseeing destination is a nuclear bomb, about which one robot asks if this is how the humans brought about their own extinction. It was instead, however, man's idea to genetically modify cats to have opposable thumbs, which would result in a total feline takeover. This tongue-in-cheek satire is the perfect first episode, landing a position on this list for its incredible animation, clever dialogue, and very dark humor.
5 The Drowned Giant
The season two closer of Love, Death & Robots is a thoughtful, erudite story told from the perspective of a scientist. The scientist narrates the story of a colossus, or humanlike giant, whose massive corpse has washed ashore in the seaside town of Ipswich in Suffolk, UK. The premise alludes to Jonathan Swift's famous novel Gulliver's Travels, in which Gulliver stumbles upon Lilliput, an island of pointedly superficial, six-inch tall humanoids. Threatened by his immense proportions, the Lilliputians can only feign hospitality for so long.
Similarly, Tim Miller's giant, whose features deliberately represent the "ideal human," piques initial interest and awe. Then, people begin to climb the body; they balance on his nose, slide down his sternum, and use his ear as a hammock. A few days later, when the narrator returns, he peers into the corpse's now clouded eye. If you look closely, you will notice cigarette butts along the giant's waterline. As decomposition sets in, onlookers steer clear of the corpse that is now missing limbs and covered in graffiti. The once handsome figure becomes unrecognizable. The Drowned Giant thoughtfully pokes fun at the fleeting nature of human curiosity and trivial obsession with novelty. Just like the Lilliputians, the humans grow tired of polite respect and reveal their true intentions. The story's purpose, pensive reflection, and incredible attention to detail earn this title a well-deserved place on the list.
4 The Witness
The Witness is a trippy, comic book-style story in which two characters are caught in an inexplicable time loop, a detail that is not revealed until the end. A woman sees a man kill someone from her window, and when he catches her looking, he chases her in a thrilling pursuit. When she eventually catches him and accidentally shoots him after stumbling into his apartment by what seems like happenstance, she peers out the window to see him watching, in horror, from her hotel window. The dizzying colors and bright, flashy design are almost overwhelming. This effect brilliantly emphasizes the episode's frenzied chaos and confusion. The incredible art and character design alone warrants praise, but the dread elicited by the plot twist induces goosebumps.
3 Sonnie's Edge
The episode Sonnie's Edge presents a cool concept subverting the fight ring trope, and features a thrilling yet fulfilling plot twist. Sonnie is a "pilot" who operates a large, reptilian "beastie," which she uses to fight other beasties in matches. On a 17-straight winning streak, a wealthy gambler tries to tempt Sonnie to throw her next match, offering a significant sum. When he continues to press the matter, Sonnie and her friends aggressively turn him down, stating that Sonnie doesn't fight for pride, status, or least of all money. It is apparent that she is more dignified than that, but we don't know exactly why — all we know is that she has been traumatized by vicious men and is determined to control her own fate, giving her an edge on her arrogant male opponents.
An intense battle ensues, in which Sonnie barely comes out on top. What we later realize to be Sonnie's true edge is the fact that she is not merely a pilot; due to the injuries she sustained during her traumatic incident, her spirit resides within her beastie. She literally cannot afford to lose, because if it dies, she dies. This action-packed revenge tale's satisfying conclusion makes it one of the best episodes of Love, Death and Robots.
2 Beyond the Aquila Rift
Beyond the Aquila Rift is a disturbing futuristic tale that takes place on a distant space station. Thom and his two crewmates wake in the wrong station, several light years off course, due to an anomalous routing error. He is greeted by a woman named Greta, whom he knows from the past and is surprised to see. Knowing something is off, Thom's engineer crewmate begins to panic and is put back to sleep. Thom's subtle skepticism understands that this is impossible, but he doesn't want to believe that to be true. It turns out that outside of his own delusion, the entire station is an idealistic simulation.
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The simulated Greta admits that they are considerably farther from home than Thom had initially thought--so far that all of his family on Earth has long since passed. Horrified, Thom demands to see the reality his corporeal form is trapped in. Greta is hesitant at first but eventually concedes, revealing a scene out of a horror film. Thom wakes from his surge tank, emaciated and haggard, and stumbles forward into a Lovecraftian hellscape where his crewmates are dead, and he is greeted by a terrifying alien organism. He then wakes again, his recent memory wiped, and is greeted by Greta just the same as before. There is no telling how many times he has endured this painful discovery, a realization that instantly fills viewers with dread. The clever yet haunting narrative and double plot twist earn this episode the slot of second best.
1 Zima Blue
Zima Blue, based on Alastair Reynolds's short story and directed by Robert Valley, is the brilliant tale of a world-renowned artist who has finally agreed to speak with a journalist, the narrator, in anticipation of his final piece. Zima is heavily modded, allowing him to endure extreme conditions on planets where he draws inspiration. Ambitious to achieve something greater than cosmic murals, Zima added a mysterious blue square tile at the center of one of his paintings. He continues to add the tiles until the entire mural is blue. Then, he expands the scale of the murals, eventually reaching space.
He recounts his personal history to the journalist, who is floored to learn that he is not actually human but began as a simple pool tile cleaning robot who underwent a series of upgrades. That specific shade of blue, called "Zima Blue," was the color of those tiles. In his most simple, primal form, this color was all he knew. His final installation is performance art, in which he sheds his modded exterior and reverts to his original form, scrubbing away at pool tiles, finally achieving what he had been yearning for in his art: simplicity and total understanding. This beautiful, compelling tale deserves the title of the best Love, Death & Robots episode.
