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The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Murderbot' series review: Alexander Skarsgård shines in science fiction comedy
Science fiction can be action-filled, thought provoking and fun as Murderbot proves conclusively. Alexander Skarsgård is hilarious as the titular character, whether he is watching endless reruns of his favourite space opera, The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, trying to avoid eye contact with his human clients or ruefully admitting to having been 'infected by an empathy virus by my clients.' Based on Martha Wells' award-winning science fiction series, The Murderbot Diaries, tell of a cyborg, a 'SecUnit' who disables its governor module but hides among human clients so as not to be found out and terminated. Muderbot (English) Creator: Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna Episodes: 10 Runtime: 22-34 minutes Storyline: In a high-tech future, a rogue security robot secretly gains free will. To stay hidden, it reluctantly joins a new mission protecting scientists on a dangerous planet, even though it just wants to binge soap operas Murderbot follows the events of 2017's All Systems Red, the first instalment of the series. In the far future where most people are indentured labour for corporate entities, a research team led by Ayda Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), reluctantly hire Murderbot, (it seems too much like slavery) as required by their insurance. Mensah is the President of Preservation Alliance, which is outside the blood-sucking influence of the hyper-capitalistic Corporation Rim. Mensah and her team, which includes Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) an augmented human and tech expert, scientist and legal expert, Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), wormhole expert, Ratthi (Akshay Khanna), geochemist, Bharadwaj, (Tamara Podemski) and biologist, Arada (Tattiawna Jones) wish to treat Murderbot as a member of their team and not as a piece of equipment. Murderbot would much rather be left to consume media than sit around with the humans and make eye-contact. Each member of the team has a different reaction to Murderbot. Gurathin is suspicious right from the beginning and tries to engage Murderbot in conversation to get it to trip up. When Gurathin asks Murderbot about its feelings, Murderbot honestly replies with 'I don't know what it is like to not be me.' Ratthi is a huge fan, while Mensah wants to be fair but she is also protective of Murderbot, whom she perceives as not having any rights or agency. Murderbot has some corrupted memories of an earlier job gone wrong with many casualties. It does not know if it was responsible for the deaths or whether it was ordered to kill. When Bharadwaj and Arada are attacked by massive centipede-like creatures, who seem distant cousins of Dune's sandworms, on the expedition, they realise the maps given to them by the Corporation Rim is incomplete. The more Mensah and team uncover, the more complicated things become. There is another team exploring the other side of the planet Mensah and team are on, who come to a sticky end, except for Leebeebee (Anna Konkle), who asks rude questions about Murderbot's genitalia (it has none as it is not a sex bot). The shadowy corporate entity, GrayCris seems to have its fingers in many pies including the hunt for alien remnants which this particular planet seems to have a lot of. The sets are well thought out — not grand so much as practical and lived in, just like the costumes. For epic, sci-fi scope, there is Sanctuary Moon with the doomed love story between John Cho's Captain Hossein and the Nav Bot (DeWanda Wise). Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz who have given us comic gems like American Pie and About a Boy, have delivered perfect, short (24 minutes!) bite-sized entertainment that makes us think. With Murderbot being renewed for another season, hopefully the all-knowing sarcastic ART will make an appearance. Murderbot is currently streaming on Apple TV
The Review Geek
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Murderbot – Season 1 Episode 10 Recap, Review & Ending Explained
The Perimeter Episode 10 of Murderbot begins this finale with Murderbot's system rebooting. It awakens to find itself back at the lab, with Mensah and the other Preservation Society comrades gone. The engineers enact a memory wipe on Murderbot and it seems to have lost everything. What do the engineers do? The engineers then reinstall another module and when it boots up, the Murderbot follows all instructions and appears to be back under company control. Its taken out on Security detail and it doesn't recognize any of the Perseveration Society members. Mensah and the others are actually aboard the same ship and the officials are confused by them asking where Murderbot is. The Company are waving away any form of responsibility for what's happened on the planet, claiming that the Preservation Society have all signed NDAs, so there's not much they can do. However, Gurathin offers to outright buy the SecUnit. When they find out that the unit has had its memory erased though, the group are shocked. Mensah and the others refuse to believe this is the case (except Gurathin, who knows what the Company are like). Where are Murderbot's memories? While the memory isn't lost per-se, it is in a state of limbo. Gurathin explains to the others that the Company are going to sift through the memory files first and see if there's anything there worth salvaging. Corporation Rim obviously don't play fair, and Preservation Society are prepared to fight fire with fire. Trouble is brewing in the area though, as the workers fight for better conditions against the Company. They send out the big guns (see: SecUnits) to hold them off. The officials encourage the SecUnits to 'do some damage' and they certainly get their hands dirty. However, Murderbot's core memories surrounding the mining incident in the past cause it to think twice about firing. How does Gurathin help Murderbot? The rebels take advantage and beat it down to the ground, all whilst Gurathin calls in some favours and gains access to the memories. Despite being encrypted, Gurathin manages to trace the memories back via Sanctuary Moon, which in turn allows him to find Murderbot's core memory files. Gruathin downloads all of the SecUnit's memories, storing them inside his head. Meanwhile, Mensah speaks to the press, informing them of everything that's taken place, and decides she's going to use their SecUnit to help explain everything that's happened. It's thankfully saved from the acid pit, as Gurathin shows and shifts the memories over to our SecUnit, who gets everything back. Preservation Society decide to take Murderbot on and as it's no longer working as a SecUnit, it's free to do whatever it wants. Our Murderbot is a bit directionless though, unsure what to do with its life. How does Murderbot end? Gurathin tells it that the Preservation Society are lovely people and they will help it find the ropes. He also offers to help, but Murderbot decides it needs to check the perimeter. Murderbot leaves the group, instead heading out on a mining convoy. It doesn't know what it wants but right now, it doesn't want anybody to make its decisions for it, heading out to try and find its own purpose. The Episode Review With 6 novellas, a full length novel and some short stories, there's plenty of gas left in the tank for Murderbot, and if this show is anything to go by we could be in for a long-standing pivotal show in Apple's future. This series has been a blast from start to finish, with the only grumble really stemming from the fact we've had to wait every week for a 25 minute slice of comedic drama. Beyond that, this show has been well produced, chock full of memorable moments and somehow managed to make the Preservation Society guys from the books much more interesting and fleshed out in this show. The humour has worked really well throughout, while the constant nods to Sanctuary Moon are a great inclusion. The finale is actually quite bittersweet, especially seeing the way Gurathin and Murderbot patch up their differences after all these episodes. It's a great way of rounding everything out and as Murderbot itself would say, this is one 'premium quality show'. Take a bow Apple, that was an absolute blast! Roll on season 2. Previous Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
Tom's Guide
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
'Murderbot' star David Dastmalchian talks about that season 1 twist and his hopes for season 2
"Murderbot" has been a pleasant surprise since it dropped on Apple TV Plus. The sci-fi comedy-drama started as a bit of a slow burn, but has since picked up, with more than a few shocking moments. One of the biggest shocking moments from the season centered around the character Gurathin, a human with synthetic augmentations played by David Dastmalchian, who is often at odds with the show's lead, a deadly robot played by Alexander Skarsgård. Luckily, I got a chance to sit down with Dastmalchian to discuss his role in "Murderbot" season 1, whether or not he'll be in season 2, and a separate discussion on his performance in the summer movie "The Life of Chuck." So, without further ado, let's dive into my discussion with Dastmalchian about "Murderbot." If you've been keeping up with "Murderbot," you'll know that Gurathin and Murderbot have had a rocky relationship at best and a desire to eliminate the other at worst. But as the show goes on, you realize that these two might have more in common than not. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. When I asked Dastmalchian about this connection between the two characters, he too commented on the fact that he felt the connection grow as he delved further into the story. In the end, I hope as people go on this journey with these characters, they'll see that these two beings may have a lot more in common than they ever would have imagined in the beginning of the story. "I definitely felt there was a bizarre, contrasting, conflicting, competitive kinship between SecUnit [Murderbot] and Gurathin," he elaborated. "But I didn't realize until we were deep into the telling of the story, how interconnected and how kindred these two beings really are." He went on to say that part of the connection between the two characters comes down to the fact that humans and machines aren't so different. "I think what's fascinating is us as humans, as difficult as it is to look at sometimes, are, in a way, a biological machine, an apparatus that is informed by data and learning and a whole metric of experiences," he explained to me. "Gurathin, having come from a place of deep betrayal, abandonment, anxiety, fear and addiction, is desperate, not only for the, you know, approval and I think, validation of his team, especially Mensah," he said, referring to the shocking moment in episode 7 where we learn about Gurathin's past as a spy on Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) and Preservation Alliance. "But he's also got a heightened awareness of threat levels. And he's constantly on the lookout for any threats, not only to his own safety, but to the safety of the people he loves," Dastmalchian continued, comparing Gurathin to Skarsgård's Murderbot. "If you think about it, the SecUnit has been programmed not as much through life experience up until this point as through the programming of being a construct. What is the actual difference? What makes one more valid and one less valid? In the end, I hope as people go on this journey with these characters, they'll see that these two beings may have a lot more in common than they ever would have imagined in the beginning of the story." Of course, before I could let Dastmalchian go, I had to ask him about a potential "Murderbot" season 2. "I don't know!" he said excitedly. "I haven't heard anything! So that's the only answer I can give." "I wish I knew," he continued. "There would be nothing I would love more than getting to climb back in a hopper and go to wherever you know PresAux [Preservation Alliance] is hanging out because I love them so much. This cast is so important to me, and this experience and this character have changed my life, and I would love to get to tell more of the stories." But even if he's not in season 2, which was just officially greenlit mere hours before the season 1 finale (h/t The Hollywood Reporter), Dastmalchian just hopes more people start reading Martha Wells' "The Murderbot Diaries" books after checking out the show. "Martha Wells has crafted such an insanely beautiful universe, and I know people who've read the books are already aware of that, he said before we wrapped up our conversation. "But I hope that the show leads people back to reading her books." If you're not already subscribed to Apple's streaming service, sign up today and catch up on "Murderbot" at a discount. Right now, you can score Apple TV Plus for just $4.99 a month for two months from Prime Video. This deal is exclusive to Amazon Prime members and is only available when signing up through Prime Video subscriptions. It'll also be gone once Prime Day ends on July 11, so act fast. 50% OFF! Right now is the perfect time to get Apple TV Plus. You get hit original shows like "Severence," "Ted Lasso," "Silo" and (of course) "Murderbot." You also get original movies like "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Napoleon," with "F1: The Movie" coming later this year. This deal is only available for Prime members through Prime Video, though, and it ends once Prime Day is over. So act fast. DEAL ENDS JULY 11! If that deal doesn't speak to you, or you already have Apple TV Plus, make sure to check out all the other Prime Day streaming service deals right now and save some serious cash. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately:
The Review Geek
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Murderbot – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review
All Systems Red Episode 9 of Murderbot starts with our titular character noticing the difference in humanity, and how some keep their feelings bottled up but others are much more open about how they feel. Murderbot lies to the group about their chances to survive (hint: it's much less than 'medium to low') but Gurathin soon calls him out for it. The group touch down near a forest area, where their plan is for Pin-lee and Gurathin to get a drone up in the air. Then, Gurathin can use it as a transponder and hack into GrayCris' HubSystem remotely. That way they can launch their beacon and call for help. However, they need to get GrayCris to give up their access codes… which is where Murderbot comes in. It shows up to see the group, who try to install a new override module inside it remotely. It doesn't work, obviously, as Murderbot speaks the truth about how its governor module has already been hacked. Murderbot claims it's going to betray the Preservation Society and work with GrayCris to hand them over. At least, that's what these guys think anyway. Murderbot manages to do a pretty good job of convincing the group this is the case, while also hiding its true purpose. In reality, it intends to kill the entire GrayCris group by duping them into the beacon launchpad area, where they'll end up immolated when it launches. However, Murderbot is forced to go with them. Mensah believes there's a better plan here, which is maybe just as well given Murderbot stalls for time. It decides to engage in small talk and then launches itself off the landing spot… but nothing happens. This is Preservation Society's doing, who are late following through with the missile. Mensah flies over herself and touches down, speaking to the leader of GrayCris. Unfortunately her bargain goes nowhere, and they all wind up in a firefight. Eventually Murderbot comes out on top and throws itself off the edge of the ravine, just as the beacon is launched and spews fire across the area. As they fall, Murderbot sacrifices itself to save Mensah, throwing itself off the ravine and landing hard on the ground. The Episode Review Murderbot has come a long way since the early episodes of it only caring about itself, and now we can see that it really does care about the Preservation Society. It's pretty amusing seeing the Bot slowly gain humanity over time and as it does, make more mistakes. It speaks a lot about how clumsy humans can be and this comes across really well in the series. The ongoing jokes about Sanctuary Moon are another nice inclusion here, and the show does a good job of blending that in with the story and evolving it over time. Overloading the SecUnit by uploading Sanctuary Moon episodes is a hilariously effective and funny way of dealing with these enemies too. However, it would appear that Murderbot may be too far gone to come back from these injuries, so we'll have to wait and see where this one goes next week. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
The Review Geek
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Murderbot – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review
Foreign Object Episode 8 of Murderbot begins with more Sanctuary Moon, as Nav Seven is under the command of the new Captain… or is it? The bot goes mad, sabotaging the ship, getting them stuck in an event horizon and killing everybody onboard. Murderbot is snapped back to reality when we learn Gurathin is not doing well. His temperature is spiking and even worse, when they check the surveillance logs, they find three SecUnits at their habitat. Doing some research, they find out that the bots actually originate from a Mining Company called GrayCris. They're the ones who destroyed the beacon and they also happen to be working with LeeBeeBee. The leader speaks to them via video, explaining that all of this has been one big misunderstanding and they do intend to leave their habitat. She sends over a rendezvous point and the group are pretty confident they can survive this, but given how they fared in their last bout, that's far from the truth. Murderbot realizes that there's no talking them out of this, so he decides to survey the area before they head to the habitat. Inside, the group work together to try and fix up Gurathin. He refuses painkillers and both he and Murderbot come up with the same solution at once. They deduce they can block the central nervous system of an augmented human to stop the pain. This would involve Murderbot plugging into Gurathin this time. Murderbot is confused by the 'organic goo of feelings' that Gurathin has and begins saying 'why don't you love me back,' out loud. This is, of course, Gurathin's subconscious talking to Mensah. It's pretty awkward, especially when that connection goes the other way and Gurathin sees the bloodshed and chaos in Murderbot's past with the mining colony. Even worse, Gurathin reveals that this SecUnit calls itself Murderbot because of this incident. As they go over the reasons for Murderbot thinking this way, it believes it may be one thought away from killing them all and going defective. As a result, it decides to walk away from the Preservation Society. Murderbot wanders around aimlessly, while the Preservation Society contemplate whether to bring it back, knowing that they both need each other at the moment. Murderbot has an idea, and decides to create a new story to usurp the company. When it heads back to base, the others are pretty spooked to see it. The Episode Review We hit a turning point this week as Murderbot decides to step it up a gear and branch out into unknown territory. It's very clearly going to be working with the Preservation Society going forward to hit back against the company. We still don't know what's happened with this mining colony though, nor do we actually know whether Murderbot killed those miners willingly or whether it's part of a bigger conspiracy. What we do know however, is that Murderbot – despite initially claiming to dislike these guys – clearly wants to protect the Preservation Society and likes them. Overall, this has been another good episode, leaving everything wide open for where it may go next. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
