Warning! This article contains spoilers for Love, Death + Robots Volume 3’s “The Other Large Thing.”
Although Love, Death + Robots primarily follows an anthology format, one of its best episodes from Volume 1 has finally gotten a prequel six years after its release. Netflix has invested in many bizarre, high-concept, and experimental science fiction shows since the beginning. While some of these TV series have consistently tasted the highs of commercial success, others have failed to leave a significant mark and struggled to stay on air. Given how Love, Death + Robots has been around since 2019, it undoubtedly falls in the former category.
With its anthology format, Love, Death + Robots takes viewers on a unique journey through a diverse array of animation styles, genres, and speculative themes. Almost every episode in the Netflix series follows a standalone narrative, allowing a pool of creative storytellers and filmmakers to bring their vision of various subjects to life through the animation medium. Interestingly, though, despite its anthology format, Love, Death + Robots has surprisingly continued one story across three seasons with distinct but interconnected episodes.
“The Other Large Thing” Is A Prequel To Volume 1’s “Three Robots” Episode
The Prequel Explains The Origins Behind The Apocalypse From “Three Robots”
Love, Death + Robots Volume 1’s episode 1, “Three Robots,” features a post-apocalyptic world devoid of all humans in which three titular robots wonder what led to humanity’s extinction. The episode ends with the robots realizing that even though most living beings perished after a disastrous event seemingly destroyed the planet, cats somehow survived. Volume 4’s episode 5, “The Other Large Thing,” adds even more depth to the episode’s lore by revealing what led to the overarching apocalypse. It begins with two humans bringing home a robot butler, who does everything from cleaning to cooking.
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The human couple’s house cat, named Sanchez, initially sees the robot as a threat. However, it soon realizes it can control the robotic butler and uses him to plan a world dominion event. By the virtue of treating the robot far better than the humans, the cat gradually establishes control over it. The episode ends with the robot surrendering to the cat’s command and agreeing to leave with it while setting the human couple’s house on fire. Before the episode’s credits start rolling, the cat reveals its real name as Dingleberry Jones.
It is also ultimately revealed that many house cats have joined Dingleberry’s rebellion against humans by manipulating their robotic butlers into working for them. Although the episode does not explicitly present itself as a prequel to “Three Robots,” one subtle detail gives away its connection to the episode. In the ending moments of “Three Robots,” a cat tells the three titular characters that it was all over for humanity once cats had opposable thumbs from human experiments.
Although the name of the cat from “Three Robots” is not Dingleberry Jones, some viewers have speculated that it still could be the house cast from “The Other Large Things.”
In “The Other Large Things,” the robots serve as metaphors for the cats’ “opposable thumbs” as they help them rule the world with their technological superiority and control over nearly all human activities. Dingleberry Jones also calls the robot the “Thumb Bringer,” which serves as the perfect callback to “Three Robots.” Although the name of the cat from “Three Robots” is not Dingleberry Jones, some viewers have speculated that it still could be the house cast from “The Other Large Things.”
“Three Robots” Already Got A Follow-Up In Love, Death + Robots Volume 3
The Sequel Expanded The Original Episode’s Hilarious Lore
Before “The Other Large Thing” gave some backstory to the apocalypse from “Three Robots,” “Exit Strategies” from Love, Death + Robots’ Volume 3 revealed more about the post-apocalyptic world by unfolding after the Volume 1 episode. It featured all three titular robots from “Three Robots” and followed their adventures across the planet as they figured out how humans lived in their last few moments. “Exit Strategies” is another hilarious expansion of the original episode’s lore and follows the same storytelling format as “Three Robots.”
Almost throughout its runtime, it features conversations between its three titular robots before ending with a hysterical cat twist. As its title suggests, the episode explores how some of the more privileged humans attempted to survive and “exit” the apocalypse. In its final moments, the robots learn that a rocket ship even left the Earth’s atmosphere, hinting that some humans managed to leave the planet and settle down on another planet.
Before the credits start rolling, an astronaut on Mars watches a survivors’ colony and takes his helmet off to sip his cocktail. Surprisingly, a cat sits in the astronaut’s suit and breaks the fourth wall by teasing, “Who were you expecting? Elon Musk?“
Why Love, Death + Robots Keeps Returning To Its “Three Robots” Story
The Story Seems To Have The Perfect Balance Of High-Concept Sci-Fi & Comedy
Image via Netflix
Perhaps the biggest reason Love, Death + Robots keeps returning to its “Three Robots” story is that it strikes the right balance between presenting high-concept sci-fi and accessible satire. Some of the episodes in the series are incredibly dark with little to no humor. Meanwhile, there are several others that are a little too abstract to be expanded. “Three Robots,” in contrast, perfectly uses irony and comedy to explore everything from humanity’s dependence on technology to the extent of human absurdity.
Love, Death + Robots Volume | Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
Volume 1 | 77% | 93% |
Volume 2 | 81% | 68% |
Volume 3 | 100% | 87% |
Volume 4 | 100% | 48% |
It achieves this by not only anthropomorphizing robotic creatures but also doing the same with cats, which is in tandem with its depiction of how humanity’s hubris led to its downfall, while creatures considered less intelligent by humans eventually ruled the world. Given how all three installments of the “Three Robots” saga in Love, Death + Robots have been equally compelling, it is hard not to hope that the Netflix show’s future seasons will further expand its lore.
