Profound & Beautiful
Zima Blue is one of those episodes that really stands out as a beautiful piece of art. The idea of finding purpose in life is explored through the medium of art, with a surprisingly profound plot twist that works perfectly here. The story begins with a reporter zooming across the blue expanse of a distant planet in a hovership. Unable to make out the difference between the invitation she holds in her hand and the blue expanse of the sea and sky, she recounts the tale of an infamous artist and his pursuit of perfection. This culminates in a profound revelation with his art work; a strange blue dot in the middle of every painting. Once she arrives in the presence of this cool, metallic man, Zima Blue changes the perspective, and narrative voice, over to Zima himself who tells her his side of the story. He recounts a tale of a simple cleaning robot that evolved over time to become an AI capable of dreaming and thinking. That AI being Zima himself. As the reporter looks on in startled realization, Zima invites the press and public to his final triumphant art piece. In a beautiful display of purpose, Zima dives into a swimming pool and sheds his artificial skin to reveal his original cleaning robot form. Content with the simple mundanity of his newfound life, the episode ends with the public watching on in stunned silence as the robot begins cleaning the pool. When it comes to strong themes, Zima Blue is one of the stand outs of the anthology. This beautiful episode uses the colour blue to really illustrate its point, along with the idea itself. It’s an interesting episode, one that makes for real thought-provoking contemplation when the final credits roll. The art is pretty unique too, using bold colours and lines to really accentuate the colours used throughout the episode. No other art style would really have done this one justice really and thankfully Zima Blue nails every component of its aesthetic. Artistic, beautiful and really well paced, Zima Blue is another fantastic episode and easily one of the best on offer in Love, Death & Robots.
