Channel J: Lofty Expectations, and Season Two of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS

A second season of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS was released recently on Netflix and it’s been receiving mixed reviews.

I wonder if one season was all that we should’ve got of this show.  That first season was praised by audiences but the second season has had far lower ratings, according to Rotten Tomatoes.  The critics still love the show, but it’s not resonating with the public as it once did.  As of this writing, season one was given a 92% audience score opposite a 77% critic score, but season two has dropped to 50%, opposite an 89% critic score.  Critics adore the second season more than the first, but audiences are expressing their dissatisfaction and disapproval.

To me, I think several things might have gone wrong with the second season in the eyes of its audience.  For one thing, the first season was a relatively massive 18 episodes, but the second season (and the third season as well, to arrive in 2022) is only eight episodes long.  It feels like we’re only getting a half season.  Not even a half season, as that would’ve been nine episodes.

I will admit that the first season did have episodes that varied in quality.  “Alternate Histories” was my least favourite of the first season, but that’s only because I didn’t appreciate its humour and the experimental way it chose to tell its story.  However, the variance in quality is balanced by the sheer number of stories that are told.  I also feel like they told complete stories, like “Zima Blue”, where we found out at the end that a world famous artist, one the entire world has been following the career of, was just a modified worker bot and his final work of art involved turning himself back into that mindless worker bot.  I think my favourites of season one were “Sonnie’s Edge” because of its twist ending and “Good Hunting” which didn’t stick a knife in the ending and twist, but still ended in a… shall we say, uncomfortably satisfying manner.

A couple episodes did feel like scenes playing out in a larger narrative and we didn’t get to see as much of the big picture as we’d like.  “Blindspot” felt like chapter one of a story and I would very much have enjoyed seeing where it went.  “Fish Night” also felt like it straddled the line between complete story and a scene that happend.  For the most part, these episodes were balanced out by the full and complete stories the rest of the season told.

If season one’s stories felt like the kinds of short stories I typically would find in a science fiction and fantasy anthology magazine, season two’s stories mostly feel like the kinds of tales you see in graphic novel anthologies.  They’re more works of art than stories and this might turn away some viewers.  If you’re familiar with the Flight anthologies, that’s what episodes like “Ice”, “The Drowned Giant” and “All Through the House” remind me of.  The setting of “Pop Squad” seems like one I’d rather explore in an interactive medium like a video game.  These are imaginative episodes, don’t get me wrong, but they feel like one chapter of something bigger, not complete stories.

That’s not to say there aren’t complete stories in season two.  “Automated Customer Service” is a great laugh for people who find themselves sick and tired of navigating through menus on a phone and who just want to be able to speak to a live person.  “Snow in the Desert” tells a story of a hard to kill man whose unique physiology makes him a target for people who wish to unlock the secret of immortality and who bonds with a woman who is also effectively immortal but through different means.  That said, I think Snow’s skills at staying one step ahead of bounty hunters are a bit overblown, considering the only two times we see him defend himself, he needs to be bailed out by the woman he only just met.  It calls into question how he’s been able to survive up until now, considering he comes up one person short of defeating an entire team twice.

There’s also a lack of diverse storytelling in season two, which could be contributing to the lower approval rating.  Whereas season one featured stories inspired by different cultures, like the influence of Chinese culture and mythology in “Good Hunting,” season two feels very white in its storytelling, using mainly white characters and drawing from white experiences.  Only “Ice” and “Life Hutch” make any effort to buck the trend.

The recent revival of The Twilight Zone proved that you could tell compelling stories and still draw influence from a variety of viewpoints.  One of my favourite episodes was “Replay,” a story which conveyed quite well the reality that Black Americans face when trying to interact with law enforcement.  The ending was perfect, too.  The main character, Nina, had been able to protect her family with the use of a supernatural video cassette recorder and used it to avoid a prejudiced sheriff determined to prosecute her and her son for no reason, but at the very end, the device broke and she looked on in dismay as she realized that her family would no longer be safe.  As soon as we, the audience, realized the significance of that moment, we felt the full weight of what families just like hers felt on a daily basis.

Most of the episodes of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS are inspired by short fiction, and the selections for season two are an unfortunate reminder that much of what sells in the speculative fiction market are by and for a predominately white audience.  This has been changing in recent years, but unfortunately not fast enough.

In the end, I think the biggest obstacle for season two of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS is season one of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS.  Its audience came into the first season with no expectations and got taken on so many interesting and enjoyable journeys.  Season two has lofty heights to aspire to and with a significantly lower episode count, doesn’t get the chance to really soar.  If anything, they probably should’ve delayed the release of season two by a year so that they could release a sixteen episode season and maybe develop a more diverse set of episodes.  That said, I actually liked some of season two, but even so, I still think season one was better.