Upamanyu Biswas
The ninth episode of ‘Love Death + Robots’ season 4, titled ‘Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners,’ takes an amusing approach to the relationship between owners and their appliances as the latter expresses their dissatisfaction with the former party. In reality, we are often well-versed in passing disparaging comments about an unreliable phone, refrigerator, or washing machine, among others. Episode 9 takes this concept and flips it on its head, providing some amusing details from the device’s end as they roast their users for weird practices. It brings balance to the conversation in the typical fashion of ‘Love Death + Robots,’ adding a whacky and madcap element to bring a degree of light-heartedness into the mix. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Why Do the Devices Gripe About Their Owners?
Episode 9 of ‘Love Death + Robots’ season 4 is largely a documentary-style episode that features testimonies from the point of view of neglected appliances who complain about their owners for their absurdities. While mainly designed to be satire, the episode raises the valid question of why the devices have decided to speak up. After years of not being heard and the mainstream media only caring about the human side of things, the appliances are fed up with being used and discarded without getting the chance to share their voice publicly. To that end, the ninth episode serves as a safe space for unheard devices to open up to the world. This leads to a catalog of amusing anecdotes detailing people’s callous disregard for the inanimate objects in their lives.
Some of the highlight testimonies in the episode are from the Elya 24/7 Multi-Zone Thermostat, which complains about its married couple owner who constantly fights over the temperature setting because of their selfish needs. The thermostat feels as if it is caught in the resulting gunfire of its human couples’ daily struggle for temperature dominance. Meanwhile, a smart toothbrush expresses his rage at his owner, Chad Yost, for not properly caring for his mouth hygiene, which has resulted in numerous teeth problems. As such, he is frustrated that he gets blamed for Chad’s lack of diligence in matters of personal health and an abundantly lazy attitude. The fate isn’t much better for the Vela Smart Waffler Connected Waffle Iron, which says its owner is too busy gaming and being a couch potato even to use him as a device.
These various testimonies from the appliances paint the picture of human carelessness and our own shortcomings in doing things properly in an age where all kinds of tools are available. However, some pitfalls of human behavior hold us back from treating the appliances with respect while also using them appropriately. Perhaps the worst fate of all the appliances is left for the Happy Kitty Mark IV Self-Cleaning Cat Box, which has to live through the depredations of its cat user and a lack of effort from its human owners. Because it is advertised as a self-cleaning device, it is often neglected by people who believe it can clean things itself. However, because the appliance is sentient, it has suffered through terrible events that are certain to leave all types of psychological scars behind. The same is true for the “intelligent” toilet.
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