Latest news with #SecUnit
Geek Girl Authority
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E07) Complementary Species
Murderbot Season 1 Episode 7, 'Complementary Species,' finds our humans debating whether they should dump SecUnit in the middle of nowhere or keep it. Will it inevitably kill them or continue to protect them? The episode is also a clever meditation on the price of human life, and whether it's okay to take one if your own life hangs in the balance. 'Complementary Species' is bolstered by solid performances and a nuanced display of character dynamics. Plus, that cliffhanger will hopefully yield fruit in the form of narrative answers in the remaining three episodes. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'Command Feed' Murderbot, 'Complementary Species' We open with a flashback to the PresAux crew on Port FreeCommerce one month earlier. They're all having dinner while playing an honesty game. Everyone's airing their grievances, mending fences and forcing those skeletons out of the closet. Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) admits she told Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) that she had feelings for them. She apologizes to them for making them uncomfortable, which Pin-Lee accepts. Then, it's Gurathin's (David Dastmalchian) turn to share a deep, dark truth. Remember, we can talk about this! Gurathin discloses that he used to be a spy for the Corporation Rim. The Corporation Rim induced Gurathin to be addicted to a number of substances. Unfortunately, only they possessed the formulas for them. His job was to acquire sensitive information that the CR could use to destroy their adversaries and further their reach. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) was his target. At this point, Gurathin considered ending his life. Then, he met Mensah. He told her everything — being a spy, his addictions. And Mensah forgave him. She supported his desire to leave it all behind. What a beautiful, understated performance from Dastmalchian here. Thankfully, Bharadwaj, Pin-Lee, Arada (Tattiawna Jones) and Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) still love him anyway. RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer After this confession, Gurathin and Mensah have an aside. He gives her the cold, hard truth: She's naive. Also, this expedition isn't a good idea. Mensah counters that they'll have a SecUnit with them. However, that makes Gurathin feel worse. He doesn't trust the Corporation Rim, and knows better than anyone what they're capable of. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 7, 'Complementary Species.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Pack It Up In the present, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) orders our crew to finish packing so they can depart in the hopper. Leebeebee's employer is undoubtedly close. Our titular bot can't believe its risk assessment module didn't clock the late Leebeebee as a hostile. Gurathin should probably spend more time in the med bay as he's still pretty injured, but there's no time for that now. SecUnit barrels into the habitat, its helmet on, and orders the crew to pile into the hopper before they lose their lives. Not by it, of course. Whoever employed Leebeebee has it out for the PresAux gang. RELATED: David Dastmalchian Joins Apple TV+ Murderbot Adaptation Later, in the hopper, Ratthi strikes up a conversation with Murderbot to assess its current state. Its inner monologue tells us that the group's 'unwarranted' distrust and fear of it is getting on its nerves. It saved their lives. Why can't they be more grateful? You heard it here first — exploding heads saves lives. Leaving on a Hopper Ratthi admits, in his amiable, disarming way, that the crew is startled. He not-so-subtly wonders if Murderbot was aiming for Gurathin's head, not Leebeebee's. SecUnit states that if it wanted Gurathin dead, he would be, well, dead. So, there's that. Arada asks Ratthi if SecUnit showed any remorse for killing Leebeebee. Well, not exactly. Mensah lands the hopper in a new location on the planet. Murderbot decides to check the perimeter, which is its favorite thing to do — and a means of getting away from the humans. Before it goes, it remarks that Gurathin's body temperature is spiking. Bharadwaj adds that he has a fever. He needs medical care. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (June 15 – 21) After it leaves, the PresAux team engages in a moral debate. Pin-Lee states that, yes, Murderbot defended them. However, what if it turns on them? It seems inevitable at this point. Mensah counters that she's more concerned about the humans trying to kill them. Mensah adds that it spent years in forced labor and subjugation. Of course it wants autonomy. Wouldn't you? MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 7, 'Complementary Species.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Fine Outside, SecUnit wonders what might happen if it stays in the woods forever, just binge-watching its favorite shows. It could allow itself to shut down organically. It admits that it's quite confused at the moment. Meanwhile, Gurathin asks Mensah if she has a crush on Murderbot. I mean, it does look exactly like Alexander Skarsgård… Then, SecUnit reunites with Mensah. She asks it how it's doing. Our sentient construct had hoped it wouldn't have to answer inane questions since it confessed to hacking its governor module. However, it decides to opt for a very human response: 'Fine.' RELATED: On Location: The Lighterman in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses The others venture outside. Pin-Lee inquires about Murderbot's security methods. It rattles off a retort about Pin-Lee's mission to litigate the Corporation Rim to hell, proving it listens in on their conversations. Also, SecUnit is extra sassy in this episode, and I love it. We Can Talk About This Mensah makes an executive decision — they're gonna hash this out now. We can talk about this. The group, sans Gurathin, encircles SecUnit. They join hands. SecUnit refuses to partake. Mensah asks it to lower its helmet. She explains that she wants the team to 'get past the violence.' She believes that SecUnit removing its helmet will convince the group that it's trying to help. This does the trick. We see its face again. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 7, 'Complementary Species.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ After this, SecUnit orders everyone to board the hopper. Suddenly, a two-headed creature bursts from the ground, launching itself at the hopper. Murderbot trains its weapon on the beast. However, another, different creature emerges from the other side. And just when our crew thinks the monsters will kill each other, they start mating. Arada is fascinated. She remarks that they're 'complementary species.' RELATED: On Location: The Phoenicia Diner on Apple TV+'s Severance Gotta love it when two alien creatures f*ck on top of a ship. Once the lovers depart, the PresAux team heads back outside. They discover egg sacs on the side of the hopper. Mensah says they can leave them there for now. Please Remain Calm (or Don't) Suddenly, a top-of-the-line SecUnit launches itself toward our SecUnit. It jammed our bot's threat assessment module. 'Please remain calm,' the enemy says as it kicks Murderbot. The crew attempts to defend themselves and protect Murderbot. Ratthi throws a spear. Arada shoves the hostile, and Pin-Lee kicks it. Murderbot multitasks here, simultaneously attacking the other SecUnit while protecting the humans from it. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 7, 'Complementary Species.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Then, the enemy SecUnit fires on the egg sacs, taking some of them out. The two-headed creature returns. It rips the SecUnit's head off before grabbing the remainder of the egg sacs and burrowing back underground. The gang celebrates. Seccy does it again. RELATED: Read our Murderbot recaps Next, Gurathin collapses. His fever is rising. The PresAux team decides to return to the habitat to get him proper medical care. (They're also still a month out from the Corporation Rim arriving to take them home.) Murderbot believes this is unwise. The habitat will be crawling with hostiles, especially since it killed Leebeebee. Mensah makes another executive decision. They're going back to the habitat whether it likes this choice or not. It can join them or stay. They take care of their own (even Sanctuary Moon haters like Gurathin). 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.
The Review Geek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Murderbot – Season 1 Episode 7 Recap & Review
Complementary Species Episode 7 of Murderbot begins with us at Port Freecommerce, one month earlier. It's the eve of the Chatterjee memorial lecture and Gurathin immediately lowers the mood when he admits that he was a corporation spy. His target is Mensah and he's sick of lying to everyone. He even wants to end his life. This is why he moved to the Preservation Alliance, to get away from everything. Outside, Gurathin admits that he's nervous about this new expedition and he's not sure it's a god idea. He's also nervous about the SecUnit joining them. Back in the present, the group are still reeling after LeeBeeBee's death. Murderbot is adamant that they need to move, and he tries a softer approach than his initial stern hook, which actually works surprisingly well. The group leave the base, jumping onboard the hopper, but they're still not sure whether they can trust Murderbot or not. As they weigh up their options, so too does our titular character. It wonders whether to just leave them to it, or even sit around and watch Sanctuary Moon until its battery runs out. Eventually both sides hash out their issues, with Mensah explaining that she looks at Murderbot as someone trying to help. She wants it to have that same feeling and look at them favourably, but their chat is interrupted. Hostile creatures surround the hopper, but they're not actually fighting, they're mating. Both Gurathin and Murderbot contemplate whether to just electrify the hull, but the humans refuse. Unfortunately, the creatures also leave eggs all over the ship. There are bigger problems though, when another SecUnit shows up and jams the assessment threat for our Murderbot. When the hostile SecUnit destroys some of the eggs, one of the creatures arrives and absolutely obliterates it, ripping its head off. Thankfully it doesn't attack Preservation Society, who stand and watch as the centipede-esque creature grabs the eggs and heads underground. Gurathin is not in a good state though, and as he collapses on the ground, the group decide to take him back to the habitat, despite the risks and the potential hostiles crawling round the area. The Episode Review Murderbot returns with another good episode this week, zeroing in on the threat the group are facing and presenting this hostile SecUnit as another of the company's minions looking to take the group down. There's some pretty good questions about morality in here too, namely that of the two creatures mating and whether to kill them or not. While the humans all have empathy and decide this isn't a good idea, the androids – namely Murderbot and Gurathin – both think they should kill them. It's a nice way of presenting the difference in machine and human thinking, and it works well to add a slightly more dramatic side to what's otherwise only really been explored through the lens of comedy. This has been a good watch though and it'll be interesting to see where this one goes next. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
Geek Girl Authority
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E06) Command Feed
Murderbot Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed,' is wall-to-wall narrative action. Not a minute is wasted. The outing also deftly balances that story movement with character development, particularly for Mensah. I love her burgeoning bond with SecUnit and how that takes shape this week. Anna Konkle also proves her versatility, doing quite the heel turn as Leebeebee's true motivations come to the fore. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'Rogue War Tracker Infinite' Murderbot, 'Command Feed' We open with a scene from episode 356 of The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon , featuring Flight Captain Hossein (John Cho) and Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise). They're stranded on a planet. SecUnit (Alexander Skarsgård) tells us this is a crucial turning point in their romance. Hossein tells Navigation Unit a joke, causing her to laugh awkwardly. It's a love story for the (space) ages. In real life, SecUnit and Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) narrowly evaded death by explosion after a mysterious someone took out the emergency beacon. Unfortunately, the hopper is out of commission. Sure, it's structurally sound, but it can't fly at the moment. Mensah remarks that SecUnit has something protruding from its abdomen — a piece of the printer. Eh, it's fine. Make Room for TV Mensah asks if our titular bot has copies of the repair manual in its system. Murderbot admits it cleared said copies to make room for Season 19 of Sanctuary Moon . Mensah is incredulous. How could it shirk its responsibilities in favor of binge-watching a crappy show? Hey, Sanctuary Moon is quality entertainment. Mensah decides to fix the hopper herself. SecUnit removes the printer fragment from its abdomen; unfortunately, it starts to leak lubricant. Uh-oh. RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer Meanwhile, back at the PresAux habitat, everyone scrambles to pack their belongings while Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) tries to ping Mensah. Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) asks Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Arada (Tattiawna Jones) if they need assistance, but our fave couple assures him they're fine. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Leebeebee (Konkle) thanks Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) for allowing her to help after Gurathin rejected her. They chat about Bharadwaj's scar from the two-headed monster that attacked her. It's clearly still a traumatic memory for her. Leebeebee kisses her hand, where the scar is. Leebeebee wonders if that was too weird, but Bharadwaj reassures her that it was a sweet gesture. Just Breathe After this, Bharadwaj asks Gurathin for an update. So far, it's all radio silence. Leebeebee believes Mensah is fine — she has that cute SecUnit with her. The conversation pivots to ownership of sentient constructs and how the Corporation Rim believes they don't have rights. However, Bharadwaj thinks consent and autonomy are important. And she's right. RELATED: David Dastmalchian Joins Apple TV+ Murderbot Adaptation Then, SecUnit realizes the wires are the issue. Mensah starts having a panic attack, which she mistakes for a heart attack. SecUnit is used to protecting clients physically, so this is the first time it has observed what's transpiring internally. It reassures her that she's not having a heart attack. It pulls up an episode of Sanctuary Moon that alleviates anxiety. Mensah sits beside it and notices it quoting the episode verbatim. Mensah finds her heart rate slowing and her breathing more regulated. She smiles at SecUnit and seems to understand why it loves this show so much. This is a sweet scene. Backstory Next, SecUnit rises to its feet as it inexplicably spouts gibberish. Suddenly, it collapses. It has lost too much lubricant from the damage inflicted by the printer fragment. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (June 8 – 14) Later, Gurathin asks Leebeebee why she joined the DeltFall survey team. She explains that DeltFall purchased her indenture from her previous employer, SysCommSols. She had four years left, but participating in this survey is knocking off time. So, she could be finished in two and a half years. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Then, Leebeebee plans to buy a license for childbirth with her earnings. Bharadwaj is confused. In the Preservation Alliance, you don't need a license to have children. There, the community comes together to help fund childcare, education, medical care, etc. The way it should be. Heel Turn The chat pivots to the gaps in the maps. DeltFall had the same issue. When the team would approach the areas omitted from the maps, the two-headed creatures tried to eat them. Then, when the team returned to the habitat, the rogue SecUnits carried out a massacre. RELATED: On Location: The Lighterman in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses Gurathin and Bharadwaj comfort Leebeebee. Well, until she produces a gun and trains it on them. Leebeebee demands that the pair give her access to their HubSystem. Meanwhile, SecUnit wakes up on the floor of the hopper. Mensah improvised — she hooked SecUnit up to the hopper, utilizing the hopper's lubricant to revive it. She figured both shared a similar lubricant. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ This gives SecUnit an idea. They could use fiber from its spine to repair the hopper. After all, human tissue is used to fuel a lot of things. It instructs Mensah to make the incision in its back, crack open its spinal cord and remove the fiber strand from there. Murderbot reassures Mensah that it turned off its pain sensors, so it won't feel a thing. Procedures and Massages Mensah understandably panics as she conducts this procedure, but she gets it done like the badass she is. At the same time, Ratthi walks in on Pin-Lee giving Arada a shoulder massage. He offers to massage Pin-Lee's shoulders. We've got a massage train here, folks. Ratthi asks Arada and Pin-Lee how they feel about SecUnit being rogue. Arada is fine with it. However, Pin-Lee is in panic mode. RELATED: On Location: The Phoenicia Diner on Apple TV+'s Severance Then, Bharadwaj calls the trio downstairs, where they discover Leebeebee is holding her and Gurathin hostage. Thankfully, SecUnit uses its fiber strand to power up the hopper, so our dynamic duo is on the way home to save the day. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Meanwhile, Leebeebee explains that Gurathin will grant her access to HubSystem, including all the maps. Gurathin claims he can't. Leebeebee shoots him in the knee. Bharadwaj instinctively moves to help him, but Leebeebee reveals that if anyone moves a muscle, she'll kill someone. Bharadwaj starts negotiating. She declares she can help Leebeebee get sanctuary on Preservation Alliance. Heads Will Explode Leebeebee asks Bharadwaj if the latter can get her millions of credits. Gurathin logs into HubSystem. Arada reminds Leebeebee that they saved her life. However, Leebeebee was never in danger. She didn't work for DeltFall. She warns that the group will meet her employer soon. Oh, and more SecUnits (probably rogue) are on the way. RELATED: Apple TV+'s Neuromancer Series Uploads 3 New Cast Members Leebeebee urges the crew to give her what she wants. They could walk away (mostly) unscathed. Then, Leebeebee admits the childbirth thing was a lie before also confessing to orchestrating the emergency beacon explosion. She states that Mensah and SecUnit won't come to the rescue because they're dead. Thankfully, the gang has little time to mourn before Murderbot barges into the habitat, wrist raised. Leebeebee moves behind Gurathin and puts her arm around his neck. She presses the gun against Gurathin's temple. Before she can finish her threat, though, SecUnit explodes her head. Her body hits the floor with a thud. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 6, 'Command Feed.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Feelings Naturally, the group all have different reactions to Murderbot killing Leebeebee. Ratthi vomits. Pin-Lee bursts into uninhibited laughter. Bharadwaj is in shock. SecUnit insists they all get in the hopper before Leebeebee's employer arrives. Mensah agrees with it. RELATED: Read our Murderbot recaps However, before they depart, Murderbot needs to repair itself. We see more footage from Sanctuary Moon as our bot explains that feelings are, well, strange. The humans undoubtedly thought that it was close to becoming like them. Outside, Arada comforts Bharadwaj after the latter bursts into tears. Can they trust SecUnit after this? Do they see it as a human-killing machine? As for Murderbot, it might have enjoyed exploding Leebeebee's head a little too much. 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.
Los Angeles Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
In ‘Murderbot,' an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond
Alexander Skarsgård was initially worried 'Murderbot' would be too dark. The actor had come off a string of intense films, including 'The Northman' and 'Infinity Pool,' and he was looking for something more comedic. The title of the series, based on Martha Wells' popular science fiction books, didn't suggest it would be particularly funny. 'I wasn't familiar with Martha's novellas, so I just heard the title and I heard 'sci-fi,' ' Skarsgård says, speaking over the phone from Los Angeles. 'If you're not familiar with the books, you think it's probably going to be an incredibly testosterone-driven, tough guy android kicking ass in space. But I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading [the script]. I had never encountered a character like this.' The actor was so struck by the titular character that he not only signed on to star in the Apple TV+ series but also joined as an executive producer alongside creators Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz. 'Talking to Chris and Paul and getting to know them got me even more excited,' he says. 'They're so brilliant, and their vision for the character and for the show got me fired up.' Season 1, which began streaming in May, is based on 'All Systems Red,' the first book in Wells' futuristic series 'The Murderbot Diaries.' It follows a private security cyborg, known as a 'SecUnit,' who hacks its governing module, allowing it newfound autonomy. An eclectic group of researchers, led by Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), are forced to accept the SecUnit as part of a planetary mission, and it slowly begins to learn the way of humans. The relationship between Mensah and their SecUnit, who refers to itself as Murderbot, is charmingly awkward. The pair are forced to trust each other as the mission goes awry, leading to an unlikely friendship. In 'Command Feed,' the sixth episode released on Friday, Mensah saves Murderbot from destruction by reluctantly performing surgery on its wiring. 'Is that what they call trauma bonding in this day and age?' Dumezweni says of the scene in a separate interview over Zoom from New York, where she is preparing to star in 'Duke & Roya' on Broadway. 'Filming it was extraordinary because the special effects guys were amazing. It [Murderbot] was literally in front of me, but that obviously wasn't Alexander. It looked so real.' 'That dynamic was led by the script, and it was very interesting,' Skarsgård adds. 'It was clear that Mensah would be an empathetic character. And Murderbot is not used to being treated respectfully by humans or even being treated as a sentient construct. He's always been a piece of equipment. Noma and I talked a lot about it. It was a gold mine to explore because there's so much comedy in their differences.' Leading a TV series is a first for Dumezweni, who has previously been cast in smaller roles. She wasn't convinced by the initial pitch at first because sci-fi hasn't traditionally had a lot of major roles for actors of color. 'Usually I'd come in and play the receptionist,' she says. 'I love to watch sci-fi. But I wondered: Who am I going to be in this sci-fi world?' However, once she learned more about the world and the character, the actor changed her mind. 'It was an absolute joy to discover that there was nothing that Chris and Paul had to change to make it representational,' Dumezweni says. 'It's lovely not to have to fight for people's positions in the world based on their skin color.' Both actors were drawn to the series in part because of its unique tone, which lands somewhere between action, comedy and drama. Murderbot is stoic but awkward and unaccustomed to human emotions, which it learns about by surreptitiously watching hours of soap operas. Mensah's Preservation Alliance team is composed of misfits, including David Dastmalchian's Gurathin and Sabrina Wu's Pin-Lee, who often confound Murderbot's expectations. The laughs don't come from intentional punchlines, but instead from situational circumstances and Murderbot's dry voice-over, as well as its disinterest in dealing with humans. 'The writing was so surprising and different and had such a unique tone from the beginning,' Skarsgård says. 'What works is that it has this instant combination of being a big, action-packed sci-fi show, but it's also a workplace comedy.' Because the voice-over is essential to the story, getting it right took a lot of trial and error. Skarsgård says he worried about how it would be incorporated during shooting, particularly because Murderbot is so expressionless and not very verbose in many of the actual scenes. 'How would we juxtapose that with an inner monologue that is more expressive?' he says. 'How do you find a fun and interesting balance between the way Murderbot speaks and the way he thinks?' The voice-over became an evolving component of the episodes. On set, an assistant director would sometimes read the narration off camera if it felt relevant for the actors to hear during a particular scene. After filming, Skarsgård, Chris and Paul got together in Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles for several recording sessions to try out different versions of the voice-over lines. 'It was quite exhausting, but also quite fun creatively because you could see how much the tone of the scene changed when we tweaked the voice-over a little bit,' Skarsgård says. 'You could have a moment where there's no voice-over, and it's like a non-moment where nothing happens. But then just by adding a little commentary by Murderbot, it suddenly pops into a funny little moment.' Although the series adheres to Wells' book, some aspects of the characters have been expanded. In the show, Mensah struggles with anxiety in a few vulnerable moments, which differs from her portrayal on the page. Dumezweni says she has observed some pushback from fans of the book about the changes, an experience she understands from playing Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' when it opened in the West End. 'That's what you have to do in film and TV,' she says. 'You have to expand, not change. You have to fill in. I love it because only Murderbot can see what's happening to her in that moment. None of her team can see it until Episode 4. I love those moments. For me, they grow her.' For Dumezweni, these scenes give Mensah a point of connection for the audience, as does the way Murderbot is 'autism-coded,' as some fans have noted. Skarsgård says the creators didn't set out to make the character overtly neurodivergent in the series. 'It's very clear when you read the novellas and the scripts that it is a character who is not always comfortable in settings with other people and can find interactions with humans tricky to navigate,' Skarsgård says. 'To me, it was a character we hoped would be relatable to people in the neurodivergent community, but also in a lot of fans in the LGBTQ community. Murderbot not having a gender or being subscribed to binary sexuality could be relatable, but it's natural to Murderbot. That was important — this is how Murderbot was created, and none of this [identity] is a big deal to Murderbot.' At the core of the show is the concept of Murderbot's free will, something that gets more fully explored in upcoming episodes. 'It's now understanding it has free will truly and that there are choices to be made in the world,' Dumezweni says. 'Meeting these people gives it a chance to understand that not all human beings are idiots.' 'For me, the inner journey for Murderbot over the course of the season is about what to do with that autonomy,' Skarsgård adds. 'The character has unleashed something inside of itself by hacking the governing module and gaining this independence. The journey becomes: I have this autonomy now, but who am I? What am I capable of? What am I willing to do? What are my desires?' Although 'Murderbot' has yet to be renewed for a second season, there is a lot of source material available. Wells has written seven books featuring Murderbot, and Skarsgård is excited about the potential for more episodes. 'I love Murderbot,' he says. 'I love playing Murderbot. Chris and Paul are not only supremely talented but incredibly nice and generous. If you talk to anyone who worked on the show, I guarantee that everyone had the time of their lives.' The remaining four episodes will reveal the antagonist behind the attacks on the Preservation Alliance and whether they'll successfully be able to escape the planet. They also offer essential backstory into characters like Mensah and Gurathin. 'I can't wait for people to see each and every story,' Dumezweni says. 'And what Alex does in the last two episodes is amazing. I don't care if I'm in no more seasons, but Alexander Skarsgård has to carry on making seasons of 'Murderbot.' He does so much with the tiniest movement of his face. He is extraordinary and he honors the character beautifully.' 'Murderbot's job will get harder and harder trying to protect these very lovely but also quite naive and inexperienced humans,' Skarsgård says. 'It's not a spoiler to say that eventually Murderbot will care about these humans, but we didn't want to rush into that. We leaned in slowly. So much of the comedy results from the character's absolute reluctance to save their lives.'
The Review Geek
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Murderbot – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review
Rogue War Tracker Infinite Episode 5 of Murderbot begins with our titular character still very much alive but in a rough state. After shooting itself in the chest, the group decide to pick Murderbot back up and bring it to base. Arada is panicking and winds up shooting at someone in the distance though. It's a DeltFall survivor, who recounts how their SecUnit has also gone rogue. LeeBeeBee is the name of this woman and she's from one of the Industrial Junctions. She's not sure whose SecUnit attacked them, but she's pretty shocked when she finds out that Murderbot shot itself to stop attacking the Preservation Society. Bharadwaj does her best to try and save our SecUnit, removing the Combat Override Module and rebooting before turning it back online. However, Gurathin is here and he starts sifting through Murderbot's code to make sure there's nothing untoward there. Gurathin realizes that Murderbot has already gone rogue and hacked its Governor Module. The group are split though with half of them (including LeeBeeBee) believing its scheming to undermine them. Bharadwaj and Ratthi believe its on their side side. The company have a financial interest in keeping them alive but Gurathin believes that they need to keep it immobilized. That's not going to happen but Mensah wants Murderbot to stick around for the foreseeable future. Murderbot reveals to them though that the HubSystem may have been hacked by an outside force. Thankfully, Murderbot has hacked the command flow and is feeding the company redundant feeds so they don't suspect anything. The Preservation Society aren't able to access the beacon though so Mensah and Murderbot decide to head off together and access it manually. On the way, Murderbot and Mensah talk casually, which our protagonist is taken aback by but certainly enjoying. As they get near the beacon, Mensah looks like she's about to share information about Gurathin but they're quickly interrupted. The beacon blows up, forcing them to quickly move the ship at then last second. The Episode Review Murderbot returns this week with another solid episode, this time with our protagonist back online and very much part of the group. Now that Murderbot's secrets are out (kinda) it adds a new dimension to proceedings, and it's quite amusing to see how these guys and gals react to Murderbot's 'humanity'. The situation between Gurathin and Murderbot is still at breaking point though and it'll be interesting to see exactly who this saboteur is within the group. For the time being though, Murderbot continues to deliver the goods. Roll on next week! Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
