Love, Death + Robots is an ongoing anthology series that is arguably been one of the best projects on Netflix on Netflix. Over the course of three seasons, the series has never failed to bring about new, exciting stories, delivered in hand with gorgeous animation. Every episode of Love, Death + Robots is always something to look forward to.
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That said, some episodes place a greater focus on animation than others, and some episodes better use their animation to tell a story than others. The best episodes are, arguably, those that both deliver beautiful animation and use it to amplify the story they tell.
10 "Fish Night" Goes Swimming With The Stars
"Fish Night" is an episode from Love, Death + Robots' first season, and tells the story of two salesmen stranded in the middle of nowhere after their car breaks down. After spending all day hiding from the intense heat, the night brings with it a discovery.
The men witness a sea of colorful aquatic life swimming through the skies, and one of the men even joins them, swimming amongst the stars. It's a beautiful, color-filled scene that is a veritable feast for the eyes. The animators demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the colors they use, as the hues on the screen shift with the scene's mood, making for a fascinating watch.
9 "Good Hunting" Is A Beautiful, Classic Tale
"Good Hunting" tells the tale of a spirit hunter and his son in China as they hunt a spirit that seduces men. It is quickly revealed that there is more to these spirits than it seems, and the plot follows the story of a hunter and a spirit struggling to adjust to a new world as China industrializes around them.
The story is beautifully animated, with graceful, water-like movements drawn for the spirit and hunter in contrast to the crude, brutish movements of modern men. The story is deep, with themes of changing times and the expungement of cultures under colonialism, and the animation communicates those themes beautifully.
8 "The Witness" Is A Brain Bending Loop
"The Witness" starts off with the protagonist witnessing a murder and being pursued by the perpetrator through a surreal, hauntingly empty city. The story climaxes with her killing the murderer, only to find him oddly facing her across the street in a situation repeated from the start of the episode.
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The plot of this episode is fairly confounding and is never fully resolved, as the episode ends on the cliffhanger that it all might be a loop. The viewer is treated to a deluge of sensory overload throughout the episode as the protagonist runs through a surreal city with strange settings and stranger people, and the animation is what brings it all together.
7 "Swarm" Contains Some Beautifully Animated Life
"Swarm" follows two researchers deep within an alien hive. First thought to just be a thriving ecosystem, it's quickly revealed that there's more to the hive than it seems and the creatures surrounding them, as a much deeper history to the hive itself.
The core of "Swarm" is the ecosystem the researchers find themselves in. The various creatures throughout the hive are vital to both the ecosystem they live in as well as the plot of the episode they star in. As a result, it's very important that the creatures are realistic and believable, and the animators have produced one of the most believable ecosystems to ever be shown on screen.
6 "Night Of The Mini-Dead" Shows Off A Mini Apocalypse
"Night of the Mini Dead" showcases the start, continuation, and conclusion of a zombie apocalypse, all while the viewer watches from a bird's-eye view. Every step is animated in painstaking detail, with the feeling that every single zombie (of which there can be thousands on screen) has been painstakingly and individually animated.
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In any apocalypse media, it's important to nail the believability of the apocalypse in order to make it as impactful as possible. An apocalypse feels darker, and more real when it is believable, and "Night of the Mini-Dead" nails that by showcasing a beautifully animated zombie apocalypse, step by step.
5 "The Very Pulse Of The Machine" Is A Trippy Voyage On An Alien Moon
"The Very Pulse Of The Machine" features an astronaut making a desperate trek across the barren surface of an alien moon after a disastrous rover crash. As they do, the body of their dead friend who they have been dragging with them begins to speak to them.
A lack of oxygen, energy, and sleep, as well as days of trekking alone across an alien world, causes a series of intense hallucinations that lead to the astronaut "joining" with the moon in a haunting and ominous conclusion. The experience is shown as an almost transcendent experience for the astronaut, and the animation doesn't fail to match that, with eerie, trippy, and colorful visions haunting the astronaut throughout their journey.
4 "Sonnie's Edge" Was A Triumphal Start For Love, Death + Robots
"Sonnie's Edge" was the opener for Season 1 of Love, Death + Robots, and as naturally expected for the first episode of a new project, it's an excellent episode. Following fighters in an underground ring that sees pilots using massive monsters to fight each other, the episode escalates into a life-threatening confrontation.
There are many hidden themes and stories that the animation helps communicate wonderfully, not to mention the animation for the episode as a whole is excellent. The battle between the two monsters is beautifully animated and an absolute joy to watch, and combined with the more subconscious storytelling, it also communicates, "Sonnie's Edge" is one of the best-animated episodes of the series.
3 "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" Is A Haunting Dive Into The Depths Of The Earth
A haunting, tale of a Lovecraftian god entombed deep under the earth, "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" follows a team of Special Forces soldiers as they dive deep into the surface of the Earth after their mission goes horribly wrong.
The action is viscerally animated, as soldiers are torn apart in front of their comrades' eyes, and the great hulking god at the center of it all is hauntingly depicted. The conclusion is grim and bloody, as deserving of a Lovecraftian tale, and the animation does an excellent job communicating the sheer mind-shattering insanity that is at the core of Lovecraft's tales.
2 "Beyond The Aquila Rift" Is Downright Lifelike
"Beyond The Aquila Rift" follows a cargo hauler crew as their voyage through the stars goes awry. As indicated by the title, they find themselves beyond the Aquila Rift and are stranded in unknown space on a mysterious space station. The captain is awake on the station while his crew are sealed away due to suffering some sort of madness.
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It is quickly revealed that there is more to the station than meets the eye, and the animation pulls out all the stops in a haunting, horrific conclusion that reveals the truth behind the station and its custodian. The episode is likely the most life-like in the series, with animation quality so stunning it's hard to tell it's not real. Combined with its surreal ending, the animation leaves a lasting impression on any viewer.
1 "Bad Travelling" Takes The Cake In Animation
"Bad Travelling" follows a crew of fishermen on an alien world infested with horrible creatures. A Thanopod, basically a giant murderous crab, finds its way onto the ship and, after finding refuge below decks, strikes a parley with the crew. If the crew sails it to a nearby island with a large local population, it will let them live.
The Thanopod hauntingly communicates through the dead body of the crew's captain and begins laying thousands of eggs during the voyage. The crew has to feed their own crewmates to it to keep it sated, and they slowly begin turning on one another. It is a grim, dark story of ethical dilemmas done with incredibly chilling animation, making it arguably the best-animated episode of the entire series.
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