Murderbot episode 2 really cranks up the psychological tension compared to that wild pilot and it felt like a pretty brilliant shift in gears even though it slows things down a bit. The whole episode basically becomes this super uncomfortable interrogation between Murderbot and Gurathin, who is this augmented human that clearly don't trust robots worth a damn and watching these two go at it is like watching a chess match where one player is secretly having a panic attack. Murderbot is tryin so hard to act normal but you can see every micro expression screaming that this thing has no clue what normal even means anymore, it's like watchin someone try to pass a lie detector test while their brain is melting down in real time. Skarsgard is absolutely killing it here, playing this character who is desperately trying to compute human expectations while fighting against whatever the hell is happening to its programming and so far it's some of the best method acting I've seen in a sci fi show lately. The way he handles the forced eye contact scenes, you can practically feel Murderbot's skin crawling, which is pretty damn impressive considering it's supposed to be part machine and what makes this even more fkn awesome is how the show makes you complicit in Murderbot's deception, like you are rooting for successful manipulation which says something kinda disturbing about how we relate to authenticity these days. The paranoid environment that builds up perfectly its a perfect painted picture of what is going on inside Murderbot's head and you can almost see it calculating conversation responses in real time like some kind of socially anxious computer trying to pass as human, reminds me of when ppl use Ai to pass job interviews in the back.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Meanwhile the rest of the Preservation Aux team is having their own drama with Mensah and Bharadwaj deciding to go check out these blank spots on their maps without bringing their security unit along, which is obviously a terrible idea but humans gonna human, or dumb I guess. The whole sequence where Mensah is hiking up this steep hill in bad weather while having a panic attack is so intense and you can feel Murderbot's frustration through the screen as it watches these people it's supposed to protect making dumb decisions without it, it made me mad about it. When that massive centipede creature shows up behind Mensah, I was sure she was gonna become bug food but instead the thing just crawls over her and heads toward this weird alien force field that is apparently killing everything that gets too close. The discovery of all those dead centipede creatures around some kind of crater with a mysterious energy field felt terrifying and when their drone gets blown to pieces by whatever is down there, you know they have stumbled onto something way bigger than just mapping anomalies. This whole alien tech subplot adds a really nice sci fi horror side that balances out the psychological thriller stuff happening back at base and the way Mensah comes back all shaken up from the experience really shows how dangerous this planet is even without the corporate conspiracy as they constantly talk about.
The team is almost a group of weirdos tbh and its very interesting who is going to die first, especially with Arada, Pin Lee and Rathy forming their trio / orgy situation which gives Murderbot something awkward to accidentally show Gurathin when he tries to hack into its memory banks, it was hilarious, like when women put up dildos no their bag so when TSA check. That whole scene is hilarious and uncomfortable at the same time, it perfectly shows how Murderbot is learning to use human behavior against the humans themselves and its all from thos TV shows he has been downloading, the entire fact that an Ai is getting trained itself with pirated content is hilarious, the writers of this series are so creative generating this contradictory scenarios. Gurathin's backstory about coming from a place where constructs get treated as people adds some good context for why he is so suspicious but also why he might eventually come around to trusting Murderbot, assuming it doesn't malfunction and kill everyone first. The way the episode handles these character moments while building tension is pretty skillful, never letting things get too heavy without some kind of relief valve, whether it's awkward robot behavior or humans being adorably stupid about obvious dangers, you can see the writers really understand how to balance the comedy with the thriller elements without making either feel forced or out of place.
By the time the episode wraps up with the team trying to contact that other survey group and getting radio silence, you know something real bad has happened over there and the quick glimpse of the massacre at DeltFall habitat confirms that this corporate conspiracy goes way deeper than just mapping cover ups, now Im not so clear on the hole conspiracy theme because until now they are just assuming although the first rogue SecUnit shows up and intensifies the question of who is behind all this. The fact that even their SecUnit got destroyed suggests whatever is happening might get more than just human bad guys and when Mensah decides they need to take Murderbot along for the investigation, you can feel both relief that they are finally making a smart decision but they still acting irrational and dumb about what they might find, they dont have a drop of malice of that wise kind of thinking that you only get through age, it seems like they are just all some old teenagers. Murderbot's sarcastic "what could possibly go wrong" internal monologue perfectly captures the mood of everything going on but even though he gets it he still doesnt know much on how to improvise and gets caught on big pause before continues, like everyone knows this is a terrible idea but they gotta do it anyway because the alternative is staying ignorant while people die. The episode does a great job of building up these multiple sub plots and character development, from the alien tech to the corporate conspiracy to whatever killed the other team, without making it feel overwhelming or confusing about what the main story, Murderbot eventually going rogue because he eventually get fed up with humans or at least I think thats the assumption the series wants you to think about.
In my opinion this episode is prove that the series can handle and balance between robot jokes and sci fi action, not just full blown comedy and also starting to dig into the suspense part of the series, who is behind everything wrong that is going with both teams. On the side we got the entire situation of what happens when artificial intelligence develops anxiety disorders and has to deal with human social structure as it was never design to deal with this kind of situations, situations that some times can not be quantified since they are more of the irrational feelings. The psychological tension between Murderbot and the team creates this paranoid environment that keeps you invested on the episode even when nothing explosive is happening and that is the mark of really solid writing and acting working, well acting is not crazy good, I guess its more about the script tha let this actors been great at been awkward with each other. It's slower than the pilot and some of the interrogation scenes drag a little but the character development and world building more than make up for the pacing issues and Skarsgard performance alone makes it worth watching just to see him nail this impossible role. I'm giving this one an 8/10 because it successfully shifts the show from quirky comedy into great thriller territory while keeping all the elements that made the first episode work so well and that's not an easy balance to pull off without falling flat on your face.
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