MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E04) Escape Velocity Protocol

Murderbot Season 1 Episode 4, 'Escape Velocity Protocol,' is an action-packed, high-octane, hilarious and heartbreaking installment. Alexander Skarsgård kills it here. He deftly captures our eponymous sentient construct's damaged state and its nuanced feelings toward the humans it serves. The episode skillfully balances humor and heart while delivering that jaw-dropping cliffhanger.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'Risk Assessment' Murderbot, 'Escape Velocity Protocol'
We open in the Threshold Pass Fabrication Center, which is part of the Corporation Rim. It's time to see how the sausage is made, as it were. The lab technicians there are hard at work creating sentient constructs, aka SecUnits. It seems the techs are mostly indentured servants. One tech has six years left of their sentence, while their pal has much longer. They talk about not 'surviving' this ordeal.
Our titular bot (Skarsgård) narrates as we watch the construction process. It sings the praises of SecUnits and how they're carefully constructed (ahem), versus the random jumble of DNA and cells in humans. However, these workers toil in inhumane conditions, often cutting corners due to exhaustion and lax oversight. You can't half-ass making SecUnits. What if the one you create goes rogue one day?
One lab tech teases her trainee, claiming that SecUnits incessantly go rogue and always go after the trainee who made it. The trainee zeroes in on the head of our SecUnit, which is in a jar like strawberry preserves. He tells it to f*ck off.
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Later, we return to the present. The Black SecUnit drags our bot through the halls of the DeltFall habitat. SecUnit shares that it's immobile. Its memory keeps dumping its most used data, which is, naturally, The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon . The theme song for the space opera plays out in SecUnit's head. However, the visuals and audio keep hitting snags, indicating Murderbot's frayed state. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 4, 'Escape Velocity Protocol.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+
Meanwhile, Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) tries to hail Mensah (Noma Dumezweni). They inform Arada (Tattiawna Jones) and Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) that Mensah was behind them. Pin-Lee hails her again. This time, Mensah answers. Pin-Lee reminds her of what SecUnit said about returning to the hopper. Mensah orders Pin-Lee and the others to clear the emergency channel because she's attempting to ping Murderbot. Not Part of the Team
Next, we see Murderbot on a table. It's clearly not in a state to respond to Mensah's pings. The Black SecUnit (I'm gonna call it Dr. Evil) is preparing it for something. Murderbot wonders if this is how SecUnits die. Its pain sensors are off, so it can feel pain.
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Meanwhile, Pin-Lee reunites with Mensah and tries to persuade her to return to the hopper with them. Mensah refuses to leave SecUnit behind. Pin-Lee urges her not to anthropomorphize it. It's not part of the team. This hits home for Mensah. She orders Pin-Lee to go back to the hopper and wait there. 'Not cool,' Pin-Lee says, but they obey. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 4, 'Escape Velocity Protocol.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+
Then, Murderbot realizes that Dr. Evil plans to override its combat module like it did for the other SecUnit. Our SecUnit tries to buy itself some time, so it improvises. It starts singing the theme song for Sanctuary Moon . Perfection. Suddenly, Murderbot and Dr. Evil battle it out in a brief skirmish from which the former doesn't emerge victorious. Dr. Evil inserts the device to start the override process of the SecUnit's combat module.
So, in 10 minutes, Murderbot will be under Dr. Evil's — or whoever it's working for — control. In the meantime, its system will be more than a bit scrambled.
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Thankfully, help is on the way. Mensah impales Dr. Evil with a massive drill. She almost vomits after the act. She helps Murderbot to its feet. It repeatedly tells her that it must report her actions to the Company as a 'violation of security protocol.' Aw, it's stuck in a loop.
Meanwhile, Pin-Lee returns to the hopper, reuniting with Ratthi and Arada. Our trio debates Mensah's status in the group. Sure, she's technically the leader, but only at the PresAux habitat. When they're away on missions, they're all equal. Mensah's just another crewmember. Too Macho
Next, Ratthi makes an executive decision. He grabs a weapon despite having zero weapons training. Pin-Lee accuses him of macho behavior, but Ratthi can't sit idly by while Mensah potentially gets herself killed. Even if he doesn't understand how to fire a blaster or even how to hold it.
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Then, Mensah leads SecUnit to the habitat's exit. It notices that its input socket feels strange — that's where Dr. Evil put the device. However, Murderbot can't remove it. Its scrambled system returns to what comforts it the most: Sanctuary Moon . Here, it visualizes itself being in the show. Instead of John Cho being the captain, Mensah is in his place. O Captain! My Captain!
Jack McBrayer (the Navigation Officer) asks SecUnit why it isn't executing the escape velocity vector protocol. Murderbot responds that it doesn't know how to do that. The bridge crew learns of an incoming hostile starship. In real life, this is Dr. Evil. Apparently, Mensah's drill didn't kill it. Save the Day
Meanwhile, Arada and Pin-Lee discuss Ratthi's rashness. Pin-Lee reassures their wife that Ratthi will return unscathed. However, the three of them might need to reconsider their contract. Elsewhere, Ratthi finds the DeltFall habitat. He tries to open the entrance but fails spectacularly. Pin-Lee and Arada decide to join the others to assist. Arada has an idea.
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Murderbot admits it should be ready to fight Dr. Evil, but its threat assessment module tells it nothing is wrong. Suddenly, Dr. Evil blasts through the door to the room where Murderbot and Mensah are hiding. It knocks down Murderbot. Mensah fires on Dr. Evil, sending it flying backward.
Ratthi watches as Mensah blasts open the side of the habitat, through which she and the SecUnit emerge. They all reunite. We learn that in one minute, the overriding of its combat module will take effect. Mensah scolds Ratthi for not remaining in the hopper. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 4, 'Escape Velocity Protocol.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ New Hostiles
Dr. Evil starts firing at our trio. Murderbot observes that it keeps missing, like 'the crappy shock troopers on Strife in the Galaxy .' Love this Stormtroopers dig. Eventually, Ratthi knocks himself out while shooting at Dr. Evil. We see Murderbot's system informing it that its clients are hostiles. Targets acquired. Dr. Evil is biding its time until Murderbot's combat module is under new management.
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Thankfully, Arada and Pin-Lee crush Dr. Evil with the hopper, repeatedly smashing it under the hopper's legs. Like a pancake. Huzzah.
With Dr. Evil now dead, Murderbot removes the device from its input socket, but it's too late. The override on its combat module is almost complete. Murderbot informs the group that the carrier is nearly done downloading instructions. There's only one way to stop our SecUnit — they must kill it. I'm Sorry
Mensah, Ratthi, Pin-Lee and Arada all protest this. Mensah insists that Gurathin will fix it. They just need to return to the habitat. 'There's no time,' Murderbot declares. SecUnit states it will slaughter all of them in a few seconds if they don't kill it first. So, it grabs Mensah's blaster and apologizes before shooting itself. It collapses as the humans surround it.
RELATED: Read our Murderbot recaps
Murderbot drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
TED LASSO Season 4 Is Officially a Go at Apple TV+ Contact:
[email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.

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