LDR is Incredible Again (Season 3 Review & Ranking of Episodes)

Anthology has always been a wild card of a pop culture TV genre, given how it spans across several vital genres, serving a collection of short, vastly differing stories, each having accountable thematic significance.

Modern Classics such as the Crime anthology- Fargo, the Horror anthology- American Horror Stories and the most renowned Sci-fi anthology- Black Mirror amongst others have pioneered this genre to recent relevance, and in 2019, Tim Miller and Netflix produced what's already one of the biggest and most popular anthology series ever in form of an animation- Love, Death and Robots.

The first season of Love, Death and Robots or LDR, for short, practically earned the love it got from the community given how it dazzled us with these  beautifully animated, genre-bending, thought provoking yet captivating tales from wild and imaginary concepts.

With such unforgettable stories as, Beyond The Aquila Rift, Zima Blue and Good Hunting, in a stack of amazing episodes, it undoubtedly earned a spot among the absolute best animated shows of all time and the best of it's kind as an animated anthology.

It's a sad thing to admit that the second season of LDR which came last year did not share this grace at all. With relatively uninteresting concepts and lacklustre storytelling in most of the episodes, the entire community agreed that it was a huge step down from the greatness of the first season. With it's only great episodes being Pop Squad and Snow in the Desert, a quarter of the entire season, it was undoubtedly a mediocre sequel overall, and such results made the third season not to be as anticipated as it should've been.

Well, Season 2 be damned, because as the title of this article suggests, the third season of Love, Death and Robots which graced our screens recently was absolutely fantastic.

Every episode this season was wildly entertaining and intriguing, with settings ranged from action thrillers to explorative sci-fi to chaotic horror, all well written and spectacularly executed with impeccable visual quality and animation.

This season gives a colourfully amazing experience that's bound to make you feel a myriad of emotions while navigating the stories of it's 9 episodes.

With episodes that are certainly on par with some of the greats from it's first season in terms of narrative quality and creativity, this season re-kindled the love for this show that was withered by the mediocre second season.

The best way to properly appreciate the excellence of Love, Death and Robots Season 3 is to review each story in a ranking of it's episodes from Best to Worst.

LOVE, DEATH AND ROBOTS SEASON 3 EPISODES RANKED

9) SWARM 

Episode: 06

Directed by: Tim Miller

Animated by: Blur Studio

Brief Synopsis

An ambitious human comes across a colony of sentient insectoid aliens and being amazed by their organized working nature, plans to harness this ability to serve humanity.

The concept of this episode is really brilliant. But while it was a really thrilling ride, the episode certainly deserved at least a longer runtime to fully give a conclusive ending and paint a more complete picture of how humanity's arrogance could lead to their downfall.

8) KILL TEAM KILL

Episode: 05

Directed by: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Animated by: Titmouse Inc.

Brief Synopsis

A team of soldiers in Afghanistan run into an experimentally augmented bear/deadly weapon gone rogue and now have to kill it in order to save their lives.

Compared to the rest of the episodes, its setting is pretty much the most basic, however for an action-comedy it was impeccably executed. It was extremely intense and bloody as one would expect, and hilarious as well.

7) THREE ROBOTS: EXIT STRATEGIES

Episode: 01

Directed by: Patrick Osborne

Animated by: Blow Studio

Brief Synopsis

Our beloved three droll droids return as they now explore a post-apocalyptic world after a war between humans and androids, particularly focused on their survival strategies.

Unlike the others, this episode was just pure satirical dialogues, and in that sense it managed to be both hilarious and provocative.

The dialogues give an intended slap to the inadequacies of the human race in modern times which lead to their doom, not holding back on the political satires in the slightest. It was a really fun episode that'll certainly leave fans craving the next 'Three Robots' episode.

6) NIGHT OF THE MINI DEAD

Episode: 04

Directed by: Robert Bisi, Andy Lyon

Animated by: BUCK Studio

Brief Synopsis

A tiny world where a zombie apocalypse breaks out and spreads rapidly, leaving death and destruction in it's path.

This episode was pretty much the most hilarious of them all. The concept itself is really eccentric, the tiny world with little bizarre scenes amidst the spreading chaos and minion-like sounds all add to this ridiculous yet fun story. It's definitely one of the weirdest episodes in the series.

5) MASON'S RATS

Episode: 07

Directed by: Carlos Stevens

Animated by: Axis Studios

Brief Synopsis

An old farmer seeks modernized ways of getting rid of the hyper-evolved rats that plagued his barn and repeatedly steals his crops.

Another immensely lovable action-comedy episode but with an insane concept this time.

It's an action packed, hilarious episode that makes the short story rooted from this eccentric setting well felt. 

Its an episode you can't help but love.

4) IN VAULTED HALLS ENTOMBED

Episode: 08

Directed by: Jerome Chen

Animated by: Imageworks

Brief Synopsis

Deep in the tunnels of Afghanistan, a team of American Special Forces soldiers on a mission run into a swarm of deadly threats lead by an ancient evil entity.

This episode was immensely thrilling and intense from start to finish.

Packed with loads of beautifully executed gory fights, it still leaves room for one to be captured by it's intriguing lore.

It's definitely a concept that has potential to be a great TV show or Movie if ever adapted fully into one.

3) THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE

Episode: 03

Directed by: Emily Dean

Animated by: Polygon Pictures

Brief Synopsis

A female astronaut, being the lone survivor of an exploratory mission to a Jovian moon gone wrong, goes on a mind-expanding journey on the surface of Io.

This episode is undoubtedly the most captivating of the bunch. It's concept and story are just beautiful, headlined by an emotionally resonant dialogue capturing the confusion and uncertainty of surivival the main character felt, while being introduced to an unknown world.

It's a perfect example of a short impactful narrative.

2) BAD TRAVELLING

Episode: 02

Directed by: David Fincher

Animated by: Blur Studio

Brief Synopsis

A crew of degenerate soldiers lead by a tactful captain have to negotiate and contend with the needs of a giant carnivorous crab that boards their ship in order to surivive.

As to expect from a piece of work from David Fincher, it's a work of art on terms of execution.

The episode was a wild ride of horrific thrills, impeccable dialogues and of course fantastic fight scenes. 

The ambiance is seemlessly enthralling and the many hard hitting scenes are bound to have an impact on anyone who watches it.

1) JIBARO

Episode: 09

Directed by: Albert Mielgo 

Animated by: Pinkman TV

Brief Synopsis

A deaf knight struggles to survive when his army of knights get ambushed by an unknown entity covered in shiny jewelry that emerged from the sea and called to their death by her high pitched siren and dance.

Saving the best for last is a gesture that's always impactful in TV, given the fact that the finale basically makes or breaks shows.

Love, Death and Robots gave a truly unforgettable finale with this chaotic masterpiece of an episode.

The episode has no dialogues or narration but still impinges a strong cinematic effect on its audience using it's unsettling ambiance and scenery, backed up by the insane camera manipulation, stellar choreography and hauntingly amazing score.

A poetic display of chaos and insanity like never seen before in animated TV.

Jibaro undoubtedly had the strongest after-effect and hence is my pick for the best among the episodes of Love, Death and Robots Season 3.

That marks the end of another review.

Take my word and go watch Love, Death and Robots Season 3 if you haven't yet and be amazed, or better still binge the while show if you're yet to start.

Leave a comments of your thoughts and share this review with your friends.

Stay safe guys.