Continuing our editorial tradition, started last year, we present our subjective ranking of the episodes of "Love, Death & Robots" — an animated anthology that turns science fiction and fantasy stories into beautiful works. And just how beautiful they are, we'll try to figure out.

Spoiler: this season turned out much stronger than the previous one, but it hasn't quite reached the level of the first yet.

9. "Swarm"

Director: Tim Miller, Blur Studio

Two scientists find themselves at the center of an alien ecosystem, but attempts to understand and interpret it could lead to dangerous consequences.

Alas, the most derivative episode of the season. The beloved sci-fi themes of humanity's aggressiveness and environmental protection don't even try to cover themselves with anything original here. It's just "humanity is problematic." The beautiful animation (Blur Studio's work is always beyond praise) saves the situation a bit, but it's catastrophically insufficient. Add to that the fact that "Swarm" is essentially based on two dialogues, which are written so unnaturally that the main characters seem like robots. Fittingly so.

8. "Mason's Rats"

Director: Carlos Stevens, Axis Studios

In the distant future, a farmer faces hordes of evolved rats that have taken over his barn. To reclaim his property from the rodents, the protagonist is ready to arm himself with the most advanced technology.

I really want to rank this episode higher, because mocking action movie clichés through intelligent military rats is original and funny. But your humble servant cannot positively perceive violence against animals in a comedic context. Especially when it's shown particularly brutally and in detail. I honestly wanted to love the episode and even giggled out loud a few times, but then I felt very ashamed of it. Which is not good.

7. "The Very Pulse of the Machine"

Director: Emily Dean, Polygon Pictures

Two astronauts explore Jupiter's moon Io when they get into an accident. Now one of them faces a long journey to salvation that will test the limits of human capabilities and reveal another of the cosmos's secrets.

Essentially, this episode is psychedelia for the sake of psychedelia. On one hand, it's very beautiful. On the other, you can't shake the feeling that the studio is just showing off its skills. Surprisingly, "Pulse" strongly resembles the episode "The Tall Grass" from last season — in that it seems to borrow graphics from TellTale video games. Although the episodes were made by different studios. Hmm, is TellTale-itis contagious?..

6. "In Vaulted Halls Entombed"

Director: Jerome Chen, Sony Pictures Imageworks

A squad of American soldiers discovers a cave harboring an ancient evil. Now they must fight not only enemies but also themselves.

A well-shot, solid episode with a fun Lovecraftian twist. Why so low on the list then? First, as always, I discriminate against hyper-realistic computer animation, which kills any creative stylization at the root (why draw if you can shoot live-action?). Second, this season has way too many "team of humans vs. monster" episodes, and here the theme is probably explored the least. Third, you simply can't shake the feeling that you've turned on the latest episode of the Dark Pictures video game called "House of Ashes". This is from the "copy, but not word for word" category. Of course, many viewers haven't played it and won't notice the striking similarity, but I had pure deja vu. It's a shame.

5. "Jibaro"

Director: Alberto Mielgo, Pinkman.tv

During a campaign, knights stumble upon a strange golden woman whose power only one of them can withstand. Will he become a hero or a villain in this story?

Oh, how subjective this is. This episode probably deserves to be higher on the list — a metaphorical, original, very beautifully animated story that leaves the viewer to try and figure out what's happening on their own. Let's add that telling an interesting story without words is a separate, very difficult task. But originality here is both a gift and a curse. That is, both a plus and a minus. Mielgo got so carried away with the process that he overcomplicated the allegory. Heavily overcomplicated it. And of all places, in animation, I definitely did not expect to see a camera shaking in an epileptic fit; by the end, I almost felt nauseous. So... Ambiguous, but beautiful.

4. "Three Robots: Exit Strategies"

Director: Patrick Osborne, Blow Studio

A continuation of the first season's episode. Three robots go on a tour to learn how different members of society tried to escape the apocalypse.

Purely social commentary. So shameless and "in your face" that it's even funny. At least a few phrases and scenes evoke bitter laughter, because our human society is so absurd that it can't help but amuse. The lack of a plot arc is compensated by the stark contrast between the post-apocalypse and the cheerful, curious robots. Not the height of comedy, but a pleasant episode.

3. "Night of the Mini Dead"

Director: Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon, BUCK

The thoughtless actions of a couple of lovers lead to a full-scale zombie invasion. But the word "full-scale" can be understood in different ways.

The author of this article doesn't know what came over her, but she started laughing indecently loudly at the beginning and couldn't stop until about the middle. The simplest and most banal zombie apocalypse scenario, shown in fast motion and from a distance, somehow looks uproariously funny. Everyone's sense of humor is, of course, different, but there's a pretty good chance you'll like it (even though the episode violates my rule about violence against animals).

2. "Kill Team Kill"

Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Titmouse, Inc

A US special forces squad encounters a strange robotic bear that seems designed specifically to counter heavy weaponry.

How the eye rejoices when it finally sees 2D animation! How great it is! Moreover, the humor and interactions among the squad members turn a standard fable into an active and funny action piece, mocking both clichés and the entire US military system. Add to that scenes of graphic ultra-violence, and you get a killer cocktail of humor and testosterone.

1. "Bad Travelling"

Director: David Fincher, Blur Studio

Due to a twist of fate, a carnivorous sea monster is trapped in the hold of a hunting ship. The crew must make a difficult decision about what they are willing to sacrifice to save their own skins.

It was worth watching the season for this one episode alone. It doesn't have robots or love, of course, but it grabs you by the throat at the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. Fincher himself took the director's chair — and it shows. Every scene works for the atmosphere and characters; there are no unnecessary details or pointless distractions. There is only the sea, the ship, and the monster. An absolute favorite among all other episodes.

P.S. It's a pity that this time there was no episode from Passion Animation, who made the best series of the entire anthology so far ("Zima Blue"). It would have been very interesting to see what they would offer viewers this time.

Joking P.S.: The creators of the series have finally discovered the potential of the crab people from South Park, there were so many of them.