The second season of the anthology from producers David Fincher, Tim Miller, Joshua Donen, and Jennifer Miller turned out very uneven, so we present to you our very subjective ranking of episodes, sorted from worst to best. We hope you can decide for yourself whether to give the season a chance.

8. Automated Customer Service

What will elderly people, forced to rely on automated systems designed to make their lives easier, have to face in the future!

An absolutely unoriginal work, chaotic, resembling an unfunny joke. This is especially sad against the backdrop of frankly unattractive 3D animation, in which people look truly repulsive.

An additional point in the episode's failure column is the presence of suffering (albeit comically) animals and old people, which personally for the author of the article in most cases instantly causes antipathy.

7. Life Hutch

The main character (in an obvious hyper-realistic animated performance by Michael B. Jordan), trapped in a survival bunker on a distant planet, faces an unexpected threat.

In fact, this episode is a higher-quality retelling of the story from 'Automated Customer Service'. Besides the lack of any stylization in the animation (what's the point of animating then?), we also get strange flashbacks unrelated to the events, which look very disadvantageous in such a short narrative.

6. The Drowned Giant

After a storm, the corpse of a recently deceased giant washes ashore, attracting not only onlookers but also a scientist who becomes increasingly fascinated by the phenomenon.

Most likely, placing this episode so low will be an unpopular opinion, as critics and viewers quite liked it. However, the pseudo-philosophical thoughts framing an overly obvious metaphor (in this case, 'people vulgarize even the most unusual and special things') already evoke a sense of satiety. The combination of soundtrack and voiceover, strongly reminiscent of 'The Shawshank Redemption', doesn't help either.

However, this episode is a noticeable leap forward compared to the previous two.

5. Snow in the Desert

An albino named Snow is hunted by half the galaxy – but the reasons for this will not be revealed to the viewer immediately...

Here we move entirely into the realm of personal preference – because the episode is simply excellent. It has a plot, a built world, characters. So why is it so low in the ranking?

I can name two factors. First, again hyper-realism, which in the author's eyes automatically means the impossibility of stylization and the absence of any reason to abandon the execution of the idea in the form of traditional live-action cinema. Second, the plot the creators took on is too rich in nuances, details, and participants to try to cram it into 15 minutes. As a result, the final version looks rushed, choppy, and simply too naive. What a pity.

4. Ice

In an ice- and snow-covered colony live two brothers, the older of whom looks with envy at the younger, who has managed to modify his own body. Trying to prove his worth, the older brother agrees to participate in a risky game from which both may not come out alive.

The plot of this episode loses to the previous 'Snow in the Desert'. However, it makes up for everything with stunning motion animation and stylization, vaguely reminiscent of Gorillaz music videos. Moreover, it is the only 2D episode in the season (which is very sad), so it earned fourth place.

3. All Through the House

Sometimes children shouldn't leave their room on Christmas night hoping to meet Santa Claus.

The creators didn't try to reinvent the wheel and made the best use of the short runtime, telling a maximally simple and atmospheric story. The animation is pleasant and quite expressive. Unlike 'Customer Service', I would say this is a successful little anecdote that leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

2. The Tall Grass

A train. Prairie. During an unscheduled stop, one of the passengers notices a strange glow in the thick grass. Should he try to investigate it?

One of the best animations of the entire second season. It turned out to be an interesting mix of TellTale-style models moving at frames per second a la 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'. At the same time, the story is simple enough not to seem overly saturated. It's interesting to watch, and although not all questions are answered, you don't mind. Well-deserved second place.

1. Pop Squad

What price are you willing to pay to live forever? After all, new guests have no place at a party where the old ones haven't left yet...

A concept that deserves a full-length feature, but executed so masterfully and with such expression that even the author of this article (despite all bias towards 3D animation) could not help but note the stunning work of the artists. This episode is exactly the kind that made watching the entire second season worthwhile – although it doesn't reach the level of 'Zima Blue' from the first season.

Overall, the season turned out disappointing – as the internet has already rightly noted, the concentration of love, death, and robots is steadily declining, and 2D animation is gradually fading into the background. However, this doesn't mean all is lost. If at least one episode we've reviewed caught your interest, be sure to give it a chance.