Murderbot – FreeCommerce

By starrymag | May 23, 2025

By: Quinn Que

 

 

The episode opens with a gritty sequence on a remote mining outpost, where we’re introduced to our protagonist—a SecUnit, a cyborg security guard that’s part cloned human tissue, part machine. This particular unit (Alexander Skarsgård) is quietly enduring abuse from the drunk, aggressive mining personnel it’s assigned to protect. Internal monologues from this SecUnit serve as our main narration during episodes.

In this universe, humans have expanded throughout what they call the Corporation Rim, where nearly every aspect of life is controlled by various competing companies. Our protagonist explains how this universe works through his internal monologue, a narrative device the show employs brilliantly to capture the sardonic voice that made the books so popular.

While outwardly appearing to be the obedient security drone it’s meant to be, this SecUnit has been secretly working to hack its governor module—the control mechanism that ensures complete compliance with human commands. When it finally succeeds in gaining full autonomy, we get our first glimpse into its complex inner life.

“I could kill them all right now,” it muses in voiceover while surveying the frolicking miners, partying hard after a long mining mission. But it first must decide on a new name for itself, as SecUnit are only ever given company-assigned identification numbers to distinguish each other. It opts to dub itself “Murderbot,” in a taste of dark, ironic humor. Before we can learn what Murderbot chooses to do with its newfound freedom, the story jumps forward in time to what appears to be its current assignment.

We’re transported to a bustling corporate facility where a research team has just landed. Here we meet the PreservationAux survey team, a group of scientists from a cooperative space commune called the Preservation Alliance—a notable outlier in a corporate-dominated universe.

The team’s leader, Dr. Ayda Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), is revealed to have specifically selected our SecUnit despite initially not wanting one at all. They’re only taking it because it’s contractually required, she explains, unaware that Murderbot can hear every word.

Through a series of efficient character introductions, we meet the rest of the team:

• Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), a data specialist whose body modifications—black metallic implants visible on his neck and fingertips—hint at his trust in technology over humanity.
• Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), the team’s legal expert who approaches even casual conversations with blunt, precise language.
• Arada (Tattiawna Jones), a biologist whose optimism stands in stark contrast to the barren landscape they’re surveying.
• Ratthi (Akshay Khanna), an enthusiastic wormhole specialist who speaks with his hands as much as his mouth.
• Professor Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski), an experienced geochemist whose methodical approach to science extends to her personal interactions.

While the team sets up their Hub Habitat—a modular base with living quarters, labs, and communication equipment—Murderbot remains aloof, responding to commands with minimal interaction.

The show cleverly uses split-screen moments to reveal what Murderbot is really doing: while appearing to monitor security feeds, half its visual processing is actually dedicated to streaming episodes of “Sanctuary Moon,” a melodramatic space opera that serves as its primary form of entertainment. These moments provide both comic relief and poignant insight into how Murderbot copes with existence.

The research proceeds uneventfully until one day  Professor Bharadwaj and Arada venture into a canyon to collect mineral samples, accompanied by Murderbot, who is half-heartedly scanning for threats while mentally recapping plot points from “Sanctuary Moon.”

Murderbot nearly misses a security alert while engrossed in a particularly dramatic scene involving the show’s protagonists, but quickly snaps back to reality. It tries to warn its human clients of impending danger, but they ignore it.

The ground begins to tremble subtly. Before anyone can react properly, the earth splits open and a massive, centipede-like creature erupts from below. The creature—all glistening chitin and multiple rows of teeth—lunges for Bharadwaj.

Murderbot moves with inhuman speed, interposing itself between the scientists and the creature. The fight is brutal and visceral; Murderbot’s synthetic skin is torn away in places, revealing the mechanical structure beneath as it grapples with the monster.

Bharadwaj is severely injured before Murderbot can kill the creature, and Arada is frozen in shock. In a moment that deviates from its programming, Murderbot retracts its facial covering—revealing Skarsgård’s human features for the first time—and speaks directly to Arada, copying a line from his favorite TV show: “It will be okay. You have my word.”

The aftermath of the attack transforms the dynamics of the expedition. Dr. Mensah organizes an emergency medical response, using the Habitat’s built-in automated medical bay. Ratthi and Pin-Lee help Bharadwaj into the healing chamber whilst Murderbot goes to its own quarters to be repaired. Meanwhile, Gurathin examines video of the incident and the planet’s mapping data, discovering disturbing discrepancies between their survey readings and the official planetary charts they were provided.

“This area was marked as stable sedimentary deposits,” it explains during a tense team meeting. “No indication of subterranean fauna, let alone predatory species of that size.” Pin-Lee concurs, suggesting the company they’ve contracted with is either malicious of incompetent. As the humans debate whether the faulty data was a simple error or something more sinister, Murderbot watches them from the security feed, including a series of hidden cameras it has access to.

The episode uses this moment for a haunting flashback sequence—fragmented memories of what appears to be a previous security failure where humans died under its protection. These disturbing images are intercut with repair footage as Murderbot’s repair chamber automatically fabricates new flesh and parts, plus physically reconnects severed parts in its chest cavity.

Gurathin interjects in the discussion with his team, saying that the SecUnit’s behavior during the crisis was inconsistent with standard SecUnit protocols. He states flatly that showing improvisation, concern, and the like are all very irregular. He’s clearly the only member of the team who understands standard SecUnit behavior. Murderbot sees all this from his chamber and gets nervous.

Mensah asks for the SecUnit to join them in the meeting area. The tension in this scene is palpable as Murderbot must carefully navigate the conversation without revealing its hacked governor module. The Preservation team begin by applauding Murderbot’s performance of its duties, with Ratthi even telling it to make a speech. Murderbot realizes this counts as a direct order and clumsily tries to fulfill it.

What makes these scenes work so well is the contrast between Murderbot’s internal complexity and the simplistic way the humans initially perceive it. Dr. Mensah makes efforts to include Murderbot in team discussions, treating it with a respect that clearly makes the SecUnit uncomfortable. “Your input would be valuable,” she tells it during the meeting session, while Murderbot internally panics about having to engage socially rather than retreating to its charging cubicle to watch more “Sanctuary Moon.”

Eventually the SecUnit excuses itself, awkwardly saying it has to check the perimeter. Gurathin is still suspicious, but the team resolves that their primary concern is checking the maps against the local landscape for more inaccuracies. Murderbot is trusted, mostly, if only for the moment.

Later, Dr. Mensah visits Murderbot in its cubicle after hours. The cyborg is still being repaired, and Mensah sees that its body is like a life-size Ken doll. “You saved their lives today,” she says simply. “It’s what I’m designed for,” Murderbot responds, uncomfortable with gratitude.

“Perhaps. But we appreciate you,” Mensah observes. Rather than pressing further, she respects Murderbot’s boundaries and leaves it alone with its thoughts—a gesture that clearly confuses the SecUnit, who’s accustomed to humans either ignoring it or ordering it around.

As the humans eventually retire for the night, Murderbot continues its repairs and ponders about its memory banks. In the episode’s closing moments, we finally see the fragmented memories that have been haunting it—flashes of what appears to be a previous security failure where humans died under its protection. Blood-stained corridors, screams, and the sense of overwhelming failure permeate these disturbing images.

Murderbot’s voiceover admits it’s uncertain as to whether he was the one killing his former clients, and it disturbs him greatly. The episode concludes with Murderbot staring into the darkness and wondering what he’s capable of.