Love, Death + Robots: Season 3 Episode 2 “Bad Travelling” Recap & Review

Bad Travelling

Episode 2 of Love, Death & Robots Season 3 delivers the longest episode of the series, and we begin with a brief outline of the world itself. On a distant alien ocean, sailors hunt the great Jable Shark. Ships were often lost during this time, chalked off as “bad travelling.”

On one such vessel we follow, numerous different sailors draw sticks to choose a leader – and who will descend down into the depths of the ship to take out a Thanapod that has taken refuge there. This monstrous crustacean hides in the shadows, and eventually uses a deceased human’s vocal cords to speak. Think: Independence Day for this one.

Torrin is the unlikely soul sent down to deal with the creature. The crustacean wants to be taken across to Phaiden Island. To save his own skin, Torrin strikes an uneasy alliance with it and agrees to sacrifice some of the crew to satiate its hunger.

The group remaining decide to vote on whether to drop off the creature at Phaiden Island, sacrificing numerous humans in the process given how inhabited the island is. The alternative, is that they go past Phaiden and drop the creature off at an uninhabited island. Only, Torrin has actually marked each of these ballot papers and after looking at the votes, decides to weed out the craven among them. Two voted for Phaiden Island while the rest decided to spare them.

The thing is, this crustacean has actually given birth to numerous babies, who all skitter out from the shadows when Torrin gives them an update. The others on the ship are more concerned about saving themselves though and eventually sacrifice their captain. In an act of mutiny, they head in that knight with weapons and begin plunging it into the bed. Only, Torrin isn’t there. He’s well prepared for them and eventually kills all the crew – save for one who stays in a storage box.

Torrin doesn’t keep him for long, admitting that he never actually marked the ballot papers as every single crew member marked with an X, signifying passing off this crustacean across for the people of Phaiden Island to deal with.

Torrin is unwilling to let any more innocent people die, so he cuts open oil barrels in the bowels of the ship and ignites them with his gun, letting the whole ship burn, taking the Thanapod out with it… hopefully. As for Torrin, he manages to hop aboard a small boat and leave, hopefully surviving the trip to nearby Phaiden Island.

The Episode Review

The second episode of Love, Death and Robots absolutely knocks it out the park. The intriguing idea of blending fantastical stories on the high seas against the concept of doing what’s right vs saving oneself is a great tool to root out the greedy and corrupt on the ship.

This journey is made all the more intriguing given  Torrin begins as a somewhat craven character, striking a deal with this creature. Only, it turns out he was playing them the whole time and had no intention of sacrificing innocent people. By the end, his heroics are plain to see. Everyone else on the ship are the real cowards and Torrin wants to stop the creature from causing havoc.

Whether this thanapod is actually still alive or not is up for debate but one thing’s for sure – this is easily the best episode of the season so far.