Even with two standout shorts in its latest collection, there”s still plenty more room for this animated series to break free of the box it”s built for itself.
“Love, Death & Robots”
Netflix
The show isn’t made inherently better by the smaller episode order, but from a curation standpoint, Season 2 has weeded out more of the chapters that offer little besides an aesthetic. The least satisfying episodes of “Love, Death & Robots” are transparent technical exercises, designed around proving that something can exist on screen rather than proving that it should. In Season 2, most of these shorts at least have an idea that they’re wrestling with, even if the execution of the animation itself is more successful than the performances and characters that make up part of it.
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More isn’t necessarily better in the world of “Love, Death & Robots,” though some of these shorts continue to be breathtaking in their amount of detail. Sparseness or simplicity don’t guarantee quality, either. “Life Hutch” and the early-season “Automated Customer Service” have roughly the same plot mechanic, but the latter is trapped in an ineffectual midpoint between farce and genuine danger. The best part of the Joe Lansdale adaptation “The Tall Grass” (aside from offering a distinct visual style) is when it evokes the same feeling of panicked helplessness that last season’s “Helping Hand” crafted in the vast vacuum of space.
“All Through the House” might be the most curious entry of Season 2. It’s a Christmas-themed story that, without divulging too much, is the most tangential “Love, Death & Robots” entry. Like last season’s “Beyond the Aquila Rift” — source of the aforementioned creative use of sparkling wine and directed by the team that returns for “Snow in the Desert” — most of its value is contained in its parting, unsettling visual idea. (And of course, in the case of “All Through the House,” it’s an idea preceded by the season’s most obvious nod to the film work of the show’s most famous executive producer.)
The show remains an anthology, but look hard enough and you’ll see at least one hint that these shorts might not be occupying wholly distinct universes after all. Then again, that idea is dangled in a way just casual enough to be a possible afterthought. Whether a production in-joke or a signal that any future additions to the collections could become more interconnected, it’s one last signal that “Love, Death & Robots” usually ends up trying to explode its cake and eat it too.
Grade: B-
“Love, Death & Robots” Season 2 is now available to stream on Netflix.
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This Article is related to: Television and tagged Love Death + Robots, Netflix, Tim Miller, TV Reviews
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