Season 3 of Netflix’s ‘Love, Death & Robots’ begins with some familiar characters strolling through post-apocalyptic Earth. In Episode 1, titled ‘3 Robots: Exit Strategies,’ K-VRC, XBOT 4000, and 11-45-G (first seen in season 1) ponder the strange habits of long-extinct humans. The group comes upon some intriguing “exit methods” used by humans in their dying days. The episode concludes with a completely unexpected twist that will most likely leave you with some unanswered questions. Let’s start with Season 3 Episode 1 of ‘Love, Death & Robots’ to clear things up. SPOILERS FOLLOW.

Recap of Love, Death, and Robots Season 3 Episode 1

The episode begins with the three chatty robots strolling through camps that functioned as last bastions of civilization in the years before humanity’s demise. The lighthearted tone with which the three discusses the events contrasts with the gravity of the long-ago disaster. Their first stop is a camp for gun-toting separatists who began living beyond the government’s control. The three robots stroll casually past images of horror illustrating how humans gradually turned on one other and fought to the death.

Their next stop is a sophisticated offshore bunker created for IT millionaires, according to 11-45-G. The other two, expecting something dramatic, are saddened to find their bones gathered in a sparse dining room with evident signs of cannibalism. There are also anecdotes about how people hunted every animal to extinction and devastated the waters. They eventually learn that the rich died out because their digital aides got self-aware and turned against them.

Finally, the three robots arrive at the most dramatic point of their journey: a space base with around a dozen rockets. 11-45-G recounts how the richest members of humanity were far ahead of even the millionaires in their attempts to establish a new planet. With a few rockets missing, K-VRC and XBOT 4000 celebrate the purported people who made it off the planet.

Ending of Love, Death, and Robots Season 3 Episode 1: Did Humans Colonize Mars After All?

The setting shifts from the three robots on post-apocalyptic Earth to Mars in the episode’s concluding seconds. Surprisingly, the planet appears populated, with indications of civilization visible on its surface. A man in a spacesuit sips a drink while gazing out at Mars’ round structures. He removes his helmet’s visor, showing a cat in command of the suit.

The episode’s last scenes deliver a major twist, casting doubt on humanity’s survival. For a brief period, it appears that the billionaires who traveled to Mars in rocket ships actually survived and succeeded in colonizing the planet. However, it appears that the planet was actually populated by cats, who have established their own civilisation there.

Cats appear to have turned the tables on humans at some point and virtually taken control of important resources. It’s possible that humans never made it to Mars, and that the ships were originally (secretly) commissioned to transport cats off the planet. It’s worth noting that the cats are still wearing humanoid space suits, implying that they desire to keep their actual power hidden. Thus, it appears that the cats controlled some key resources on Earth for many years by impersonating humans. There’s a fair likelihood the felines used the apocalypse’s upheaval to solidify their authority, eventually becoming the only creatures to escape the world as the rest of civilization died.

Of course, when the cat makes a playful reference to Elon Musk, the episode teases the notion that all millionaires are actually cats disguised as humans. In any case, it is felines who conquer Mars as humanity perishes on Earth.

What Was the Origin of the Robot Civilization?

The robots discuss the fall of humanity while also discussing the rise of their own society. What makes the episode particularly moving is how the robots converse in a manner reminiscent of modern-day discussions about ancient civilizations. The robots meet the digital assistant of the tech rich in the offshore sanctuary. Despite the polite greeting, it is evident that the assistant is self-aware and has a profound hate and defiance for humans.

K-VRC realizes the connection and declares that they are seeing the birth of the robot civilisation. According to the thrilled robot, the digital assistant was the first of their species to become self-aware, which resulted in the demise of the tech millionaires and the rest of humanity. As a result, the offshore human sanctuary turns out to be the birthplace of the robot society.