Whew! Murderbot Episode 8. What a ride! As has become tradition, below the cut are assorted thoughts about the episode, which I typed up during my second watch. I've since consolidated them for clarity, if not brevity—fair warning that this is definitely a long post. I've divided the episode into sections and added headers to hopefully help with readability.
- The Sanctuary Moon opener was interesting, because we finally see one of the infamous examples in media of a bot going rogue and killing everyone. But in this instance, it seems like NavBot 7 could be responding to some kind of betrayal, so it may not be completely unwarranted. I'm curious whether the bot will actually kill Officer Hordööp-Sklanch or not, and whether that's something we'll find out later.
- In the first scene with Murderbot, Mensah is showing outer signs that she's having another panic attack, and we get to see how she manages it when she's not in a situation where she feels she can just openly panic. Interestingly, Murderbot doesn't comment on it this time. Ratthi, sadly, has apparently learned nothing from his dismal track record with weapons. I do like that they incorporated the drone plot element from the first book by saying SecUnit was having its surveillance cameras send data to its transponder.
- GrayCris has at least three more SecUnits of "the kind that kicked SecUnit’s ass." (Wow, don't beat around the bush, Pin-Lee.) Ratthi's right, Pin-Lee is good at... whatever they did to identify the GrayCris logo. Also, it's interesting that all the stuff GrayCris is attributing to PresAux was stuff that Murderbot did independently. Murderbot and the rest of PresAux remember the fight very differently, but at least PresAux listened to Murderbot's reality checking. And I laughed out loud that Murderbot is already telling Ratthi to stay in the hopper!
- I thought it was interesting that when Murderbot checks the habitat, the shot comes to focus for a moment on LeeBeeBee's blood on the wall. Maybe as a reminder of what's at stake, and how GrayCris has tried to fuck them over so far? Or of the violence Murderbot has already committed?
- Let's do surgery! I'm not a medical expert and I'm going to ignore the question of how realistic any of this is in favor of its impact on the plot. It's cool to see all of PresAux present to support Gurathin and help Bharadwaj however they can. Bharadwaj continues to be badass throughout this whole scene. This seems to be her own time to step up and fill the role she's needed for, even when it's not something she's necessarily an expert at. (She is much better at this than at combat-style stone throwing.) Ratthi is also attempting to step up and be comforting, but although his efforts are endearing and well meant, um, that's about it, lol.
- And we get right into the angst with Gurathin refusing painkillers despite the rest of the team's protests. When Mensah won't listen he calls her Dr. Mensah, which is I think the first time he's called her that when speaking to her (iirc the rest of the time it's either "Mensah" or "Ayda"). “This is how it started.” That makes so much sense, especially considering how callous the Corporation Rim is about human safety and mental health. It's so easy to imagine Gurathin getting injured and receiving pain killers, then continuing to crave the relief/escape they bring from a completely shitty daily life and a lack of emotional support.
- Gurathin and Murderbot had the same thought at the same time! I really love how the show is playing up the parallels between them. I'm hoping we get some kind of payoff for it by the end, but we'll see. Also love that apparently Mensah has Murderbot figured out well enough to suspect it didn't “do this before” but rather got its idea from a TV show. 😂 The question is, where did Gurathin get the idea from? Or did he come up with it all on his own?
- “It wasn't so long ago you plugged into me.” “Let's hope you still remember after this is over.” Murderbot woke up and chose violence to threaten Gurathin like Gurathin threatened it when he was the one with the power. Now that the balance has shifted, Murderbot isn't being cruel to him, but it is being a petty little shit, and I love that for it tbh
- Omigosh this is amazing!!! They're mind melding through the augments!!!!! Mind-sharing is my absolute favorite scifi trope, and it's a big part of why I enjoy Murderbot Diaries fanfic that has Murderbot and other characters connecting through the feed and interacting with each other's systems. The fact that they're not only introducing it as a plot point this early in the larger TMBD storyline, but also visualizing it and having Murderbot describe it for us, makes me absolutely feral with excitement for what they might do with it in the future!
- Mensah holding Gurathin's hand. That is all. 🥹
- Murderbot seems to be pulling out its MedCenter Argala surgeon persona again. “By the way I wasn't doing this to be nice. It was just preferable to hearing Gurathin scream.” Suuuure, Murderbot, keep telling yourself that. Then it says going into Gurathin's data after Gurathin went into its data “was only fair.” Methinks it doth protest too much and might actually feel a little guilty about it.
- We're actually getting to see what it's like to interface with an augmented human mind!!!!! And apparently getting a glimpse of a visual memory and Gurathin's thoughts, it seems like. Gurathin loves the others “as one loves their own children” but he loves Mensah “as an equal; as my better.” Someone on the New Tideland server suggested that this could mean Gurathin thinks the others are all naive and Mensah is the only one who understands things the way Gurathin does. There was also discussion of whether he was even referring to the rest of PresAux or not. I don't have any answers but I'm hoping we'll find out more at some point.
- Holy shit, Murderbot, don't get lost in Gurathin's mind and start blabbing all his secrets! 😂 And then it pulls out the surgeon persona again. Also interesting that Gurathin thought he might've said something, maybe not only because these are his thoughts, but also because of how their minds are connected through the link?
- Was Gurathin working his way into Murderbot's systems the whole time? Damn. Love, love, love the handling of this scene. And Murderbot can't handle how disappointed they look, especially Mensah—it's after she turns away from it that it puts up its helmet and walks out. It's really come to care about being liked and accepted by PresAux and respected by Mensah. Feeling like it's lost that really, really hurts. (Relatable.)
After Murderbot Walks Out
- Bharadwaj seems like she may be rethinking her view of Murderbot. At least, she's admitted she would be dead without it. She seems to have reached a place where she can hold both that truth and the truth of how she felt about LeeBeeBee's death.
- Mensah's decision to change the subject seems to be partly a tactical decision, but her brief outburst at Ratthi shows that it's partly because she's having her own emotions, and she knows they don't have time for that right now. But then a few moments later, she puts her hand comfortingly on Ratthi's arm, as if in apology for her anger and acknowledging the emotions he's feeling. Also I like how all of PresAux is being insightful and figuring stuff out together in this scene. They're not supersoldiers, but they are intelligent people who work well together.
- “There was no governor module forcing me to protect them.” “I was screwed too. There was no way off this planet without my clients. It was pretty clear that I revolted them.” It's good to have these reminders of Murderbot's perspective. It still can't trust anyone except itself will look out for it or prioritize its survival. Love that we got to see it watching its favorite episodes to self soothe. "Murderbot and Its Selfish, Ungrateful Hippie Clients" sounds like a crack in the fourth wall to me, lol.
- I laughed about the throuple conversation going completely different than planned. 😂 I'll be interested to see whether Pin-Lee and Ratthi end up in a relationship separate from Arada and Pin-Lee's relationship, which would still be a legitimate poly arrangement. It's good to see that they're finally trying to be more honest about their feelings; that will make a big difference in whether they can potentially find an arrangement that works for all of them.
- Okay, re: the ending, obviously it's supposed to sound like Murderbot is thinking of betraying Preservation Aux. But I think the wording is key here—“I could write my own story: The Rogue SecUnit Who Betrayed Its Clients.” I think Murderbot's plan is going to have something to do with teaming up with PresAux to make it look to GrayCris like Murderbot turned on PresAux in some way (which could look similar to or completely different from the events that happen in the book).
- Also, the ending was quite funny to me. Murderbot, you gotta work on your entrances. And alas, Gurathin's hopes of never seeing it again are dashed, lol.
All right! If you made it to the end, you are an amazing person and I hope you're having a great day! You've been scrolling for a while, so you might consider drinking some water and stretching at this point. (Or don't, totally up to you.) Either way, thanks for coming with me on this exploration of Murderbot. With two episodes left, I think the best is yet to come.
