Golgotha, the sixth episode of Love, Death & Robots, seems like a live-action iteration of the second episode of this season, i.e., Close Encounters of the Mini Kind. In Golgotha, the Lupo, a delegate from a sea-dwelling alien race, contacted the United States to seek an audience with a Catholic priest named Donal Maguire, who had previously witnessed the resurrection of Blackfin, a dolphin who had come back to life. In the second episode, the aliens tried to establish contact with the US in a similar fashion before they were shot down by the sheriff in the middle of the desert, thereby starting a war with the extraterrestrial beings. [Spoiler Alert] However, in Golgotha’s ending, it was the aliens who launched an attack and attacked the “land” after having a serious talk with the Blackfin. So what did Blackfin tell Lupo that made it declare war against the whole of humanity?
Why Did Lupo Come To Earth?
Just like the second episode, the running theme in Golgotha is environmental damage and animal cruelty. Humans, in their greed to exploit the Earth’s precious fossil fuels, are putting tremendous pressure on Earth’s flora and fauna, because of which many species have gone extinct. One such incident was brought up at the beginning of Golgotha, where an oil spill in some part of the ocean wiped out a whole pod of dolphins. The episode suggested that it was Donal who found the dead bodies of these aquatic mammals on the shore, and while he was mourning their death, one of the dolphins, Blackfin, came back to life. Well, Father Maguire wasn’t really sure if it was a resurrection, as some newspapers called it. It could be possible that Blackfin hadn’t actually died from the oil spill and had somehow managed to survive, but the aliens and some human fanatics had a different view on the matter. Lupo and his race, who were a sea-dwelling alien species, considered the resurrected Blackfin as some sort of messiah. Well, Father Maguire understood what kind of prophet Lupo was talking about. It was no coincidence that Lupo planned a trip to Earth soon after the world was made aware of Blackfin. It was evident that he had come to meet this new messiah.
Why Did The Alien Attack The Land Dwellers?
In its own language, Blackfin told Lupo how the humans and their immoral practices had killed not just its pod, but also countless other aquatic animals, some of which have gone extinct. Blackfin made Lupo believe that humans deserve damnation for their sins. Father Maguire did try to tell Lupo that it was being a bit hasty in its decision, but the octopus-looking alien didn’t listen. Just like humans never questioned the word of their so-called gods or prophets, Lupo too followed in their footsteps and signaled the spaceships in the Earth’s orbit to show no mercy on the humans below. It called this attack a crusade against humanity, similar to the numerous military expeditions being sanctioned by the medieval churches on Earth to cleanse the land in the name of God.
Lupo’s choice of words makes it evident that these aliens won’t stop until they have wiped every single human off the surface to make the planet safe. For ages, the Homo sapiens had considered themselves the superior race and had taken advantage of their intelligence to rule over the so-called inferior species who do not speak their language or look different. But now, the aquatic animals themselves have found a new friend in the form of these technically advanced extraterritorial sea-dwellers who want to help the speechless animals to get rid of their human overlords and save the planet from their wrath.
Will Humans Resist the Alien Attack?
As seen in Close Encounters of the Mini Kind, the humans won’t let these aliens wipe them out of existence and will resist the attack till their last breath. Even though Lupo and his race have far more superior weapons, mankind will eventually find a way to fight back against the foreign threat. The devastating war between the aliens and the humans will eventually put the planet on the brink of destruction, which might make Lupo and his race realize that their crusade isn’t worth it. Drawing a parallel from the real-life crusades, it could be possible that the aliens will eventually shrink the human population to the point they no longer pose a danger to other species, and when that time would come, the aliens might return to their planet with a promise to come back if the humans dared repeat the same mistake again. I mean, we can always look at the brighter side instead of saying that the aliens will annihilate the entirety of mankind.
