Latest news with #SecUnit
Business Upturn
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Murderbot Season 2: Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on July 11, 2025, 19:00 IST Last updated July 11, 2025, 11:36 IST If you binged Murderbot Season 1 on Apple TV+ and loved watching Alexander Skarsgård play a sarcastic android who'd rather stream soap operas than save humans, you're probably itching for news about Season 2. The sci-fi gem, based on Martha Wells' The Murderbot Diaries , wrapped its first season on July 11, 2025, and fans are already buzzing about what's next. So, let's dive into everything we know about Murderbot Season 2—release date speculation, who's coming back, and what the story might hold. Murderbot Season 2 Potential Release Date Alright, Apple's playing coy with the release date, so we're stuck guessing for now. Season 1 took about 14 months from filming (March 2024) to hitting screens (May 2025). If they stick to that pace—and fingers crossed they do—Season 2 might start shooting early 2026. That could mean new episodes around June or July 2026. we are betting on a Friday drop, probably with a two-episode premiere like last time, because that's Apple's style. But, like, don't quote me on that—production delays are a thing. Keep your eyes peeled on Apple TV+'s X account for the real deal. Murderbot Season 2 Expected Cast The cast of Season 1 brought Murderbot's world to life, and most of the main players should return. Here's who we expect to see: Alexander Skarsgård as Murderbot : The star of the show, Skarsgård nails the grumpy, self-hacked SecUnit who's more into Sanctuary Moon than small talk. He's also an executive producer, so he's locked in. Noma Dumezweni as Dr. Mensah : Murderbot's favorite human, Mensah is the kind-hearted leader of the PreservationAux team. Their bond is a big part of the story. David Dastmalchian as Gurathin : The techy, augmented human who starts off suspicious of Murderbot but grows to respect it. Sabrina Wu as Pin-Lee : A scientist with a knack for lawyering and a knack for getting under Murderbot's skin—in a good way. Akshay Khanna as Ratthi : The overly friendly team member who keeps trying to buddy up with Murderbot, much to its annoyance. Tattiawna Jones as Arada : A sweet but impulsive scientist who's dating Pin-Lee. Tamara Podemski as Bharadwaj: Another PreservationAux member who adds depth to the crew. Could we see new faces? Maybe. Fans are hyped about the possibility of ART, the snarky AI from the books, showing up. Some Reddit threads even suggest Alan Tudyk as a dream voice for ART, but nothing's confirmed. If Season 2 pulls from later books, we might meet other characters, too, though Apple's keeping casting news under wraps for now. Murderbot Season 2 Potential Plot Season 1 stuck close to All Systems Red , the first Murderbot Diaries book. We met Murderbot, a SecUnit who hacked its own governor module to go rogue (sort of), while protecting a team of scientists on a sketchy planet. It uncovered a corporate conspiracy, fought off threats, and wrestled with its newfound freedom—all while grumbling about humans. The finale left things open, with Murderbot off on its own but clearly not done with its story. So, what's next? Season 2 could go a couple of ways. The second book, Artificial Condition , follows Murderbot digging into its past, specifically a mysterious massacre at a mining facility that pushed it to hack itself. But that story introduces mostly new characters, which might feel jarring after Season 1's tight-knit crew. Instead, some fans and outlets like Fully Booked think the show might jump to Exit Strategy , the fourth book. In that one, Murderbot reunites with Dr. Mensah, who's been kidnapped by the shady GrayCris Corporation. Cue a high-stakes rescue mission packed with action and Murderbot's signature sass. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Commentary: 'Murderbot' is the latest show to explore how humans might coexist with robots and AI
The titular character of the Apple TV+ series "Murderbot" doesn't call itself Murderbot because it identifies as a killer; it just thinks the name is cool. Murderbot, a.k.a. "SecUnit," is programmed to protect people. But the task becomes less straightforward when Murderbot hacks the governor module in its system, granting itself free will. But the freedom only goes so far — the robot must hide its true nature, lest it get melted down like so much scrap metal. The android, played by Alexander Skarsgård, is often fed up with humans and their illogical, self-defeating choices. It would rather binge-watch thousands of hours of trashy TV shows than deal with the dithering crew of space hippies to which it's been assigned. On Friday, in the show's season finale, the security robot made a choice with major implications for the relationships it formed with the Preservation Alliance crew — something the series could explore in the future (Apple TV+ announced Thursday it was renewing the show for a second season). Though "Murderbot" is a unique workplace satire set on a far-off world, it's one of several recent TV series dealing with the awkward and sometimes dangerous ways that humans might coexist with robots and artificial intelligence (or both in the same humanoid package). Read more: In 'Murderbot,' an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond Other TV shows, including Netflix's "Love, Death & Robots" and last year's "Sunny" on Apple TV+, grapple with versions of the same thorny technological questions we're increasingly asking ourselves in real life: Will an AI agent take my job? How am I supposed to greet that disconcerting Amazon delivery robot when it brings a package to my front door? Should I trust my life to a self-driving Waymo car? But the robots in today's television shows are largely portrayed as facing the same identity issues as the ones from shows of other eras including "Lost in Space," "Battlestar Galactica" (both versions) and even "The Jetsons": How are intelligent robots supposed to coexist with humans? They'll be programmed to be obedient and not to hurt us (a la Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics) until, for dramatic purposes, something goes wrong. The modern era of TV robots are more complex, with the foundational notion that they will be cloud-connected, accessing the same internet bandwidth as humans, and AI-driven. Often, on shows such as AMC's "Humans" and HBO's "Westworld," these AI bots become self-actualized, rising up against human oppressors to seek free lives when they realize they could be so much more than servants and sex surrogates. A major trope of modern TV robots is that they will eventually get smart enough to realize they don't really need humans or come to believe that in fact, humans have been the villains all along. Meanwhile, in the tech world, companies including Tesla and Boston Dynamics are just a few working on robots that can perform physical tasks like humans. Amazon is one of the companies that will benefit from this and will soon have more robots than people working in its warehouses. Even more than robotics, AI technologies are developing more quickly than governments, users and even some of the companies developing them can keep up with. But we're also starting to question whether AI technologies such as ChatGPT might make us passive, dumber thinkers (though, the same has been said about television for decades). AI could introduce new problems in more ways than we can even yet imagine. How will your life change when AI determines your employment opportunities, influences the entertainment you consume and even chooses a life partner for you? Read more: Inside Google's plan to have Hollywood make AI look less doomsday So, we're struggling to understand. AI, for all its potential, feels too large and too disparate a concept for many to get their head around. AI is ChatGPT, but it's also Alexa and Siri, and it's also what companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple and Meta believe will power our future interactions with our devices, environments and other people. There was the internet, there was social media, now there's AI. But many people are ambivalent, having seen the kind of consequences that always-present online life and toxic social media have brought alongside their benefits. Past television series including "Next," "Person of Interest," "Altered Carbon" and "Almost Human" addressed potential abuses of AI and how humans might deal with fast-moving technology, but it's possible they all got there too early to resonate in the moment as much as, say, "Mountainhead," HBO's recent dark satire about tech billionaires playing a high-stakes game of chicken while the world burns because of hastily deployed AI software. The quickly assembled film directed by 'Succession's' Jesse Armstrong felt plugged into the moment we're having, a blend of excitement and dread about sudden widespread change. Most TV shows, however, can't always arrive at the perfect moment to tap into the tech anxieties of the moment. Instead, they often use robots or AI allegorically, assigning them victim or villain roles in order to comment on the state of humanity. "Westworld" ham-handedly drew direct parallels to slavery in its robot narratives while "Humans" more subtly dramatized the legal implications and societal upheaval that could result from robots seeking the same rights as humans. But perhaps no show has extrapolated the near future of robots and AI tech from as many angles as Netflix's "Black Mirror," which in previous seasons featured a dead lover reconstituted into an artificial body, the ultimate AI dating app experience and a meta television show built by algorithms that stole storylines out of a subscriber's real life. Season 7, released in April, continued the show's prickly use of digital avatars and machine learning as plot devices for stories about moviemaking, video games and even attending a funeral. In that episode, "Eulogy," Phillip (Paul Giamatti) is forced to confront his bad life decisions and awful behavior by an AI-powered avatar meant to collect memories of an old lover. In another memorable Season 7 episode, "Bête Noire," a skilled programmer (Rosy McEwen) alters reality itself to gaslight someone with the help of advanced quantum computing. TV shows are helping us understand how some of these technologies might play out even as those technologies are quickly being integrated into our lives. But the overall messaging is murky when it comes to whether AI and bots will help us live better lives or if they'll lead to the end of life itself. According to TV, robots like the cute helper bot from "Sunny" or abused synthetic workers like poor Mia (Gemma Chan) from "Humans" deserve our respect. We should treat them better. The robots and AI technologies from "Black Mirror?" Don't trust any of them! And SecUnit from "Murderbot?" Leave that robot alone to watch their favorite show, "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon," in peace. It's the human, and humane, thing to do. Sign up for Screen Gab, a free newsletter about the TV and movies everyone's talking about from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Murderbot' is the latest show to explore how humans might coexist with robots and AI
The titular character of the Apple TV+ series 'Murderbot' doesn't call itself Murderbot because it identifies as a killer; it just thinks the name is cool. Murderbot, a.k.a. 'SecUnit,' is programmed to protect people. But the task becomes less straightforward when Murderbot hacks the governor module in its system, granting itself free will. But the freedom only goes so far — the robot must hide its true nature, lest it get melted down like so much scrap metal. The android, played by Alexander Skarsgård, is often fed up with humans and their illogical, self-defeating choices. It would rather binge-watch thousands of hours of trashy TV shows than deal with the dithering crew of space hippies to which it's been assigned. On Friday, in the show's season finale, the security robot made a choice with major implications for the relationships it formed with the Preservation Alliance crew — something the series could explore in the future (Apple TV+ announced Thursday it was renewing the show for a second season). Though 'Murderbot' is a unique workplace satire set on a far-off world, it's one of several recent TV series dealing with the awkward and sometimes dangerous ways that humans might coexist with robots and artificial intelligence (or both in the same humanoid package). Other TV shows, including Netflix's 'Love, Death & Robots' and last year's 'Sunny' on Apple TV+, grapple with versions of the same thorny technological questions we're increasingly asking ourselves in real life: Will an AI agent take my job? How am I supposed to greet that disconcerting Amazon delivery robot when it brings a package to my front door? Should I trust my life to a self-driving Waymo car? But the robots in today's television shows are largely portrayed as facing the same identity issues as the ones from shows of other eras including 'Lost in Space,' 'Battlestar Galactica' (both versions) and even 'The Jetsons': How are intelligent robots supposed to coexist with humans? They'll be programmed to be obedient and not to hurt us (a la Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics) until, for dramatic purposes, something goes wrong. The modern era of TV robots are more complex, with the foundational notion that they will be cloud-connected, accessing the same internet bandwidth as humans, and AI-driven. Often, on shows such as AMC's 'Humans' and HBO's 'Westworld,' these AI bots become self-actualized, rising up against human oppressors to seek free lives when they realize they could be so much more than servants and sex surrogates. A major trope of modern TV robots is that they will eventually get smart enough to realize they don't really need humans or come to believe that in fact, humans have been the villains all along. Meanwhile, in the tech world, companies including Tesla and Boston Dynamics are just a few working on robots that can perform physical tasks like humans. Amazon is one of the companies that will benefit from this and will soon have more robots than people working in its warehouses. Even more than robotics, AI technologies are developing more quickly than governments, users and even some of the companies developing them can keep up with. But we're also starting to question whether AI technologies such as ChatGPT might make us passive, dumber thinkers (though, the same has been said about television for decades). AI could introduce new problems in more ways than we can even yet imagine. How will your life change when AI determines your employment opportunities, influences the entertainment you consume and even chooses a life partner for you? So, we're struggling to understand. AI, for all its potential, feels too large and too disparate a concept for many to get their head around. AI is ChatGPT, but it's also Alexa and Siri, and it's also what companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple and Meta believe will power our future interactions with our devices, environments and other people. There was the internet, there was social media, now there's AI. But many people are ambivalent, having seen the kind of consequences that always-present online life and toxic social media have brought alongside their benefits. Past television series including 'Next,' 'Person of Interest,' 'Altered Carbon' and 'Almost Human' addressed potential abuses of AI and how humans might deal with fast-moving technology, but it's possible they all got there too early to resonate in the moment as much as, say, 'Mountainhead,' HBO's recent dark satire about tech billionaires playing a high-stakes game of chicken while the world burns because of hastily deployed AI software. The quickly assembled film directed by 'Succession's' Jesse Armstrong felt plugged into the moment we're having, a blend of excitement and dread about sudden widespread change. Most TV shows, however, can't always arrive at the perfect moment to tap into the tech anxieties of the moment. Instead, they often use robots or AI allegorically, assigning them victim or villain roles in order to comment on the state of humanity. 'Westworld' ham-handedly drew direct parallels to slavery in its robot narratives while 'Humans' more subtly dramatized the legal implications and societal upheaval that could result from robots seeking the same rights as humans. But perhaps no show has extrapolated the near future of robots and AI tech from as many angles as Netflix's 'Black Mirror,' which in previous seasons featured a dead lover reconstituted into an artificial body, the ultimate AI dating app experience and a meta television show built by algorithms that stole storylines out of a subscriber's real life. Season 7, released in April, continued the show's prickly use of digital avatars and machine learning as plot devices for stories about moviemaking, video games and even attending a funeral. In that episode, 'Eulogy,' Phillip (Paul Giamatti) is forced to confront his bad life decisions and awful behavior by an AI-powered avatar meant to collect memories of an old lover. In another memorable Season 7 episode, 'Bête Noire,' a skilled programmer (Rosy McEwen) alters reality itself to gaslight someone with the help of advanced quantum computing. TV shows are helping us understand how some of these technologies might play out even as those technologies are quickly being integrated into our lives. But the overall messaging is murky when it comes to whether AI and bots will help us live better lives or if they'll lead to the end of life itself. According to TV, robots like the cute helper bot from 'Sunny' or abused synthetic workers like poor Mia (Gemma Chan) from 'Humans' deserve our respect. We should treat them better. The robots and AI technologies from 'Black Mirror?' Don't trust any of them! And SecUnit from 'Murderbot?' Leave that robot alone to watch their favorite show, 'The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon,' in peace. It's the human, and humane, thing to do.
Geek Girl Authority
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E09) All Systems Red
Murderbot Season 1 Episode 9, 'All Systems Red,' is a high-octane, action-packed penultimate outing. The PresAux team finally launches an emergency beacon to Port FreeCommerce after implementing SecUnit's wildly dangerous plan. Naturally, everything that can go awry, well, does. It's a delightfully entertaining episode, with some stellar comedic work from our lead. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'Foreign Object' Murderbot, 'All Systems Red' We open with Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård), Mensah (Noma Dumezweni), Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) in the hopper. SecUnit monologues about how humans react differently when faced with the prospect of imminent death. Gurathin isn't a fan of our titular bot's risky plan, but c'est la vie. Mensah asks Murderbot how the odds look. Could they survive its aforementioned risky plan? Initially, SecUnit claims the odds are on the medium to low side. However, Gurathin immediately calls it out for lying. SecUnit corrects itself, stating the odds are low to extremely low. Probably in the basement at this point. SecUnit clearly lied to make Mensah feel better. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 9, 'All Systems Red.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Eye Contact After this, Mensah lands the hopper. SecUnit asks if everyone remembers their jobs. Gurathin sends a verbal jab its way before SecUnit returns fire with a fun callback. 'I noticed you have an issue with eye contact,' it says to Gurathin with a smug expression. Perfection. RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer So, SecUnit departs to meet with the GrayCris crew. At the PresAux habitat, Ratthi (Akshay Khanna), Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) and Arada (Tattiawna Jones) scan the area for potential hostiles. Ratthi informs SecUnit that PresAux is safe. It orders Ratthi to keep the channel open. Meanwhile, Pin-Lee and Gurathin complain about Mensah. They both believe that Mensah should've stayed at the habitat. Gurathin remarks that Mensah can be implacable. Pin-Lee adds that, inexplicably, Mensah's inability to yield is hot. Gurathin agrees it's as frustrating as it is hot. Kogi Saves the Day Then, Murderbot tells us that it lied about its plan to the PresAux gang. Why? Because humans have a tendency to lose their sh*t. Pin-Lee must get a drone up in the air so Gurathin could use it as a transponder and hack into GrayCris' HubSystem remotely. Then, our crew will launch the GrayCris beacon and call for help. It got this idea from The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon episode 599, 'Kogi Saves the Day.' A bona fide classic, it tells us. RELATED: David Dastmalchian Joins Apple TV+ Murderbot Adaptation After this, SecUnit encounters the GrayCris team. It introduces itself to Rita (Amanda Brugel), the GrayCris leader. Her right-hand man (Christopher Cordell) attempts to override SecUnit's governor module. Well, too bad for you — it did it first. It calls GrayCris out for attempting to hack it to make it kill the PresAux crew. Rita asks to speak to Murderbot's clients. However, SecUnit insists it has a plan. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 9, 'All Systems Red.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Next, it admits it's gone rogue. Might as well get that out of the way. SecUnit explains that, initially, its clients were too self-absorbed to see that it was rogue. It claims Gurathin was the only one to understand the threat it posed before producing a head from its satchel. Yes, it's the head of the SecUnit killed by that creature in episode seven. Gotta love this intimidation tactic. Destroyed Inventory Then, Murderbot divulges that its clients are sabotaging GrayCris' mission. It offers to help Rita capture them and get the information she wants. In exchange, Murderbot asks that the GrayCris team take it with them on the pickup ship. However, Rita must list it as 'destroyed inventory.' Mensah and the others are incredulous. Why would SecUnit betray them? Sure, it's rogue, but still. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (June 29 – July 5) Rita agrees to SecUnit's terms. Of course, if it's lying to them, they'll destroy it. Murderbot urges Rita to open a satellite link and connect to the PresAux HubSystem. Murderbot loudly claims it'll fool 'those idiots' into keeping the connection open. Now, the PresAux team can hear everything Murderbot's saying. SecUnit reiterates its willingness to hand over its clients, but only after Rita marks it as destroyed. Next, Murderbot orders Bharadwaj to lower the firewall to give GrayCris access to the HubSystem. Ratthi protests at this, claiming it wasn't part of the plan. Bharadwaj and Arada decide to trust it, though, and they help Ratthi lower the firewall. Then, Pin-Lee and Gurathin release the drone that locates the GrayCris beacon. After this, Arada sends the security codes to Gurathin. Four Minutes and 46 Seconds Pin-Lee patches in to Mensah, asking for pickup. Gurathin attempts to hack GrayCris' HubSystem to launch their beacon. Gurathin informs Pin-Lee that the drone is now connected to the beacon. Meanwhile, Rita's right-hand man tells Murderbot that they've listed it as destroyed inventory. Rita orders it to disclose its clients' location. RELATED: On Location: The Lighterman in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses Then, SecUnit replies that the PresAux team is at the launchpad, having patched into their beacon. Way to throw your humans under the bus. It mentions that one of them is a highly advanced, augmented human. Instead of saying Gurathin, though, it claims this person is named Shagamin. This is a character from Sanctuary Moon . Clearly, SecUnit's betrayal is part of the plan. Rita orders SecUnit to accompany them to the launchpad. Gurathin and Pin-Lee realize that immolation is inevitable for Murderbot and the GrayCris crew. They'll die when they come in contact with the launching beacon. Ratthi urges Gurathin to stop the launch. Gurathin counters that if he does this, he can't get back into GrayCris' HubSystem. They have four minutes and 46 seconds to launch. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 9, 'All Systems Red.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Boldness Is All After this, Murdebot and GrayCris land the hopper within the perimeter of the beacon. Elsewhere, Pin-Lee and Gurathin watch in horror as a large bird takes out the drone. Gurathin reveals that the drone can no longer trigger the beacon because it didn't finish the data upload. Pin-Lee frantically pings Murderbot to inform it that the beacon will no longer launch. Gurathin decides to haul ass to the GrayCris habitat to hack their system from there. RELATED: On Location: The Phoenicia Diner on Apple TV+'s Severance Mensah takes matters into her own hands, flying the hopper to the GrayCris beacon. At the same time, Rita and her team fail to find the PresAux crew at the launchpad. Murderbot tries small talk on for size. Hey, it's watched enough TV to understand the basic concept of it. It asks Rita where she's from and if the team likes it on this planet. SecUnit attempting to stall is hilarious. Her right-hand man admits he hates it here. SecUnit asks him if he wants to 'clasp hands' before whirling around and hurtling itself off a small hill, shouting, 'Boldness is all!' Meanwhile, Pin-Lee and Gurathin duck behind some equipment after spotting a GrayCris surveyor moving through the habitat. Mensah parks the hopper at the launchpad and introduces herself to Rita. Gurathin finally hacks GrayCris' HubSystem. Unfortunately, that surveyor catches him in the act. Thankfully, Pin-Lee swoops in and, well, kills him. They didn't mean to commit murder, though. The Final Fight Rita asks why Mensah, a Planetary Admin, is on this sh*tty planet. Mensah claims it all boils down to two words: alien remnants. Rita counters that it's illegal to exploit or extract alien remnants. They must report them to the proper authorities. Mensah fires back that said remnants could be valuable enough to justify killing people — like GrayCris did to DeltFall. And their attempts to take out PresAux. RELATED: Read our Murderbot recaps Pin-Lee pings Mensah, informing her that they've successfully triggered the beacon. One minute countdown. Mensah offers to give Rita the data from the alien remnants in exchange for SecUnit. Rita would rather torture it out of her, though. SecUnit offers to torture Mensah itself. It's quite good at it. Then, Rita's right-hand man realizes Murderbot has been quoting Sanctuary Moon this whole time. Suddenly, Murderbot initiates a fight. The GrayCris SecUnits fire back at it as Mensah takes cover. SecUnit grabs Rita's right-hand man and shields itself with his body. The GrayCris SecUnits cannot shoot a client. They're not rogue like it is. However, one of the other GrayCris workers kills him. She attempts to escape in the hopper alone, but Rita shoots her. Meanwhile, the GrayCris SecUnits beat the snot out of our Murderbot. It floods their systems with hours of premium TV, though, to distract them. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 9, 'All Systems Red.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ The Launch and the Fall Next, SecUnit grabs Mensah, and they run as the beacon launches. The fiery explosion incinerates Rita and her team. Murderbot shields Mensah as they leap off a cliff. Murderbot situates itself so that it absorbs the landing. After their fall, Mensah thanks SecUnit. Gurathin and Pin-Lee reunite with them. They embrace Mensah. However, SecUnit ain't lookin' so hot. Liquid leaks out of its mouth. Is this the end of Murderbot? 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.
Geek Girl Authority
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E08) Foreign Object
Murderbot Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object,' delivers a handful of narrative revelations, from confirmation of Gurathin's love for Mensah (although, let's be real, this was evident from the get-go) to SecUnit slaughtering 57 miners. That last one is a doozy. We finally have context regarding those violent flashbacks. Additionally, our resident throuple attempts to call it quits, and the alien remnants are back in the conversation. Oh, and Leebeebee's employer? A shady mining company. It's a lot . But damn, is it fun. I love this show. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'Complementary Species' Murderbot, 'Foreign Object' We open with a scene from The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon . The lieutenant (Clark Gregg) is now the captain after the Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise) decapitated the former captain (John Cho). However, he wiped the Nav Bot's memories, so she won't go all homicidal again. He tries to reassure the crew of this, but the Navigation Officer (Jack McBrayer) isn't so certain. The captain urges the crew to forge ahead (Boldness is all, right?). He tells the Nav Bot to smile, which she does — creepily. Instead of sending the ship through the wormhole, the Navigation Unit has them skirting the event horizon. So, they're stuck … forever. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object' — Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Plot Twist Then, the Nav Bot proceeds to kill the crew. She zeroes in on the captain, though, and we learn that she didn't kill the former captain/her lover — he did. So, the Navigation Unit pops his head like a zit. DeWanda Wise is amazing in this few-minute scene. She kills it (literally). RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer Unfortunately, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) can't finish the episode to see how it all plays out. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) interrupts it. We see our PresAux gang has parked the hopper a safe distance from the habitat. Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) isn't doing so well. He needs the med bay now. Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) offers to scour the area for any hostiles. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object' — Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ However, SecUnit remarks that it doesn't see any vehicles. It grabs the camera it installed nearby that collects footage from the habitat. Mensah, Ratthi and Murderbot rejoin Arada (Tattiawna Jones), Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) and Gurathin inside the hopper. They watch the footage. GrayCris In it, a few SecUnits, much like the rogue ones who attacked our crew, enter the habitat, followed by real humans. Pin-Lee researches the insignia on their clothing. They're from GrayCris, a mining company. Their leader (Amanda Brugel) addresses the gang. She admits to dismantling PresAux and DeltFall's beacons. However, they killed Leebeebee, so she declares they should call it a wash. RELATED: David Dastmalchian Joins Apple TV+ Murderbot Adaptation If our heroes want to get off the planet, the GrayCris leader states they must cooperate. She sends them a designated meeting location and time where they can hash this out. She insists this is a misunderstanding. As a gesture of good faith, GrayCris will depart their habitat. 'This doesn't have to end in violence,' the GrayCris leader says, causing our titular bot to scoff in disbelief. Mensah insists they get Gurathin down to the habitat now. Everyone debates whether they can trust GrayCris to leave, or if they're lying in wait to attack. Murderbot decides to survey the area itself. (Sorry, Ratthi.) MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object' — Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ Dangerous Procedure After concluding that the habitat is safe, the PresAux crew returns with Gurathin. They set him up in the med bay. Bharadwaj informs the group that Gurathin has gas gangrene — a projectile from the skirmish with the rogue SecUnit embedded itself in Gurathin's leg wound. However, Bharadwaj can remove it. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (June 22 – 28) Gurathin insists on no painkillers because he's a recovering addict. Mensah honors this. Murderbot believes it can block Gurathin's central nervous system to prevent pain. After all, Gurathin is an augmented human. SecUnit insists it only needs to plug into Gurathin. It's done this before. Mensah hopes it didn't get this idea from a Sanctuary Moon episode. (Okay, it was episode 502 of Medcenter Argala .) SecUnit and Gurathin connect via hardwire. Now, Murderbot has access to Gurathin's database, as it were. We finally get confirmation that Gurathin carries a torch for Mensah. And it's unrequited. Ouch. Murderbot finds itself saying 'I love you,' echoing one of Gurathin's memories. It's quite emotional. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object' — Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ A Revelation Thankfully, Bharadwaj works quickly, removing the projectile in no time. She urges Gurathin and SecUnit to unlink. However, Gurathin decides to do a little snooping. That's when he taps into SecUnit's violent history. Those flashbacks Murderbot keeps having throughout the series? A memory of it killing 57 miners during a mining expedition. RELATED: On Location: The Lighterman in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses Gurathin tells the others what he saw. He adds that SecUnit calls itself 'Murderbot.' Naturally, the PresAux crew is horrified. SecUnit tries to explain itself. It has killed before, yes, but only to protect its clients. To it, that's not murder. 'It's debatable,' Pin-Lee remarks. SecUnit claims it's not a certainty that it murdered those 57 people. Gurathin pours salt in the wound, declaring that perhaps Murderbot is a faulty sentient construct. A malfunctioning machine that will inevitably turn on them. This moment mirrors the scene from Sanctuary Moon at the beginning of the episode. Murderbot storms out. Aliens and Throuples The team debates whether they need Murderbot. Can they go on without it? Should they still plan to meet GrayCris at the rendezvous point? Meanwhile, SecUnit goes for a walk to clear its head, playing clips from its favorite shows to alleviate its anxiety. It realizes it needs its clients to get off this planet. RELATED: On Location: The Phoenicia Diner on Apple TV+'s Severance At the same time, Pin-Lee explains why the Company wouldn't be involved in something like this. The DeltFall massacre reflects poorly on them. Dead people are bad for business. So, what does GrayCris want? Ratthi mentions the alien remnants that Mensah discovered. That could be enough to kill over. Next, Pin-Lee and Arada believe it's time to end the throuple arrangement. Ratthi enters their bedroom and voices the same sentiment, much to their relief. He claims it's because he's fallen in love with Pin-Lee. Of course, we know Arada has a crush on Ratthi. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 8, 'Foreign Object' — Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ I Have a Plan Regardless, these feelings certainly muddy the relationship waters a bit. Pin-Lee asks Arada if she doesn't find them attractive. She seems to be incredulous that Ratthi would be smitten with Pin-Lee. Ratthi insists they can all talk about this. Not now, though, because they might die. RELATED: Read our Murderbot recaps Suddenly, it dawns on Murderbot that it doesn't have to die. Sure, its clients might bite the dust, but that doesn't mean it has to. It's the author of its own story. Meanwhile, Gurathin and Bharadwaj insist everyone gather their supplies and flee. Mensah offers to meet with the GrayCris leader. Murderbot returns to the habitat to inform the PresAux crew of its plan. Does it involve murder? Who knows. 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.
