Netflix’s Love Death + Robots Season Four has just landed, and it’s another wild ride through a diverse landscape of animation styles and storytelling. That said this season seems to lean into a more playful and sometimes weirder energy, continuing the anthology’s tradition of exploring technology and eternity through unpredictable lenses.
Love Death + Robots continues it’s long-standing trend of featuring impressive animation and the show’s willingness to push boundaries and experiment with different genres. The short-form nature of the episodes remains a strength, making it easy to jump from one distinct story to the next and this season also ambitiously revisits some previously established universes, but fair warning, if you are JUST jumping into this franchise, it’s best you do start from episode one.
For long-time fans of the franchise, Season Four might not hit the same high notes for everyone. The new crop of ten brand-new stories seems to lack the depth and impact of previous seasons, even if the visuals remain stunning, I’m somebody who always values plot over aesthetic any day of the week. . There are standout episodes, for starters expect a lot of cats this season for whatever reason. Not even like tigers and lions, but just regular house cats doing everything from setting up plans for world domination, fighting Satan, and shitting in talking litter boxes. The franchise loves its space lore as well, aliens are all over the place, deep space adventures, the whole bit. The overall season length of 10 episodes will probably be fine for fans of the show’s later seasons but if you preferred the near 20-episode count of the show’s first season you’re out of luck.
The guest voices this season are few but there are some big names attached to the series, most specifically with the “Smart Appliances” sketch that features Kevin Hart, Ronny Chieng, and Amy Sedaris among the ranks and all of whom throw strikes down the middle in terms of execution. All of the voice performances are strong and mix in both the serious dramatic flair coupled with a number of comedic performances, all of which make for a spontaneous series that does it’s job of being an anthology series which might be just good enough for our end of year awards due to the fact this year seems to not have a bunch of anthology series to speak of especially whence compared to the much busier last year.
Love Death + Robots Season Four appears to be a mixed bag, but still offers plenty for the show’s enthusiasts and fans of the series. While it might not be universally hailed as the best season, the visual artistry and imaginative storytelling that define the show are still very much present.