Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Murderbot Episode 8.
For the most part, Murderbot has been a fun show to watch, with dark, dry humor that typically involves its lead character (Alexander Skarsgård) patronizing the members of Preservation Alliance via narration — or ignoring them whenever possible. While we have seen it feel conflicted about its relationship with its human clients before, such as after killing Leebeebee (Anna Konkle) in Episode 6, “Command Feed,” Murderbot has only shown vulnerability occasionally. However, this latest episode, “Foreign Object,” contained one scene that revealed the SecUnit’s deep insecurities about its own fragility.
While trying to assist the crew and slowly becoming a more involved, if reluctant, part of the team, Murderbot’s secret past is revealed, involving what happened during a previous mission, which it has contemplated multiple times this season. When it looks back at the horrific imagery of its unclear past, a degree of fear of the truth has permeated each scene, and now that it is out in the open, Murderbot seems to feel a crushing sense of embarrassment. However, this twist could hint at a tragic fall, rather than redemption, for this sitcom-loving robot.
Gurathin Learns the Truth About Murderbot’s Past in Episode 8
In the previous episode, “Complementary Species,” Gurathin’s (David Dastmalchian) leg wound gets progressively worse until the augmented human collapses. In this episode, the crew brings him back to the habitat after the show’s newly revealed villain has left and begins to operate. In a comedic moment of potential bonding, Gura and Murderbot have the same idea: for Murderbot to plug into Gurathin and shut off his pain sensors. The plan works, with Murderbot even turning off Gura’s sight so he won’t see the procedure taking place. While the idea that these two share similar minds suggests growth, Murderbot’s motivations, as it points out, are more based on not wanting to hear him scream, since it will be annoying
However, while hardwired into Gurathin, Murderbot gets lost in the augmented human’s memories, some of which depict him questioning why Dr. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) won’t return his love. It is a piece of emotional content Murderbot was not ready to see in Gurathin’s mind, as shown by its inability to stop itself from repeating the line, “Why can’t you just love me back?” This moment of connection to humanity is what allows Gura to access Murderbot’s memories, leading him to reveal to the rest of the team not only what the SecUnit did in murdering 57 colonists, but also what it has chosen to call itself. The fact that Murderbot’s defenses are subverted in such a shocking way not only catches it and us completely off-guard, but also adds emotional tension to the scene.
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While Murderbot is certainly upset that PresAux now knows that it killed 57 people just as it was beginning to get them to listen to, and trust, it, it is Gura exposing its self-given name of Murderbot that truly mortifies it. This was Murderbot’s first choice when it was given autonomy after hacking its governor module, and to see how people react to this situation with fear, treating it as the opposite of one of its heroes on Sanctuary Moon, is a deeply invalidating moment. When the crew reacts with valid shock, Murderbot has no response, yet this is different from other times when Murderbot has merely dismissed human interrogation from Gurathin or ignored Ratthi (Akshary Khanna). When it puts its helmet on to leave, it is not shutting them out but hiding from them.
Murderbot Is Still Uncertain About Its Past
Murderbot has been very funny this season with its jabs at humanity, but it is this scene that truly solidified it as a sympathetic and tragic character. When it is asked why it killed all of those people, it admits it truly doesn’t know. The SecUnit isn’t even sure if it is unaware because its memory has been erased or if someone overtook its programming, similar to what happened in Episode 5, “Rogue War Tracker Infinite.” Murderbot has constantly felt in control this season, at least in terms of how to respond to situations that require de-escalation with its unemotional tone. However, since there is nothing it can do but walk away, it is a dramatic fall for the character in terms of status, and his eyes darting around during the scene felt like he may have been searching for a way out or for a friend to support him.
Moving forward, this changes everything for Murderbot and the PresAux team. With the villains being revealed as a mining colony called GrayCris that uses hijacked SecUnits to kill humans who get in their way, the link to Murderbot feels too strong to ignore. It surely isn’t a coincidence that Murderbot, the SecUnit who may have gone rogue and killed mining colonists, is the SecUnit of the crew being hunted by a mining colony that turns these robots rogue. Perhaps they are linked to the previous mining colony, or are the ones who first hijacked Murderbot — or perhaps any hope of a redemptive notion for this SecUnit will be trashed if it is revealed it knew exactly what it was doing at the time.
Overall, Murderbot has taken a turn with this reveal, making the viewers’ relationship with Murderbot far more complicated by introducing new sympathy for the character. Perhaps we related to its annoyance at human beings, but rarely would it have felt like it was the victim in the dynamic. Yet, with this episode putting viewers on a collision course that will finally reveal the antagonists’ larger goal, Murderbot’s dark past still feels at the center of everything, and it is currently isolating the character more than ever before.
