Ronit J

Murderbot (2025) Synopsis:

A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place.

Murderbot (2025) Review:

Of all the many book, game, movie, and TV protagonists I’ve come across, I find Murderbot to be the most relatable. As someone who’s had his share of struggles with anxiety, I get why Murderbot wants to spend all their time consuming TV shows and avoiding human interaction. In their own words, “As a heartless killing machine, I’m a terrible failure.”

When I watched the first trailer for Murderbot, I was skeptical. The show felt a smidge too goofy and slapstick. While Murderbot is full of humour, many of the themes and settings within their world are super dark. Could Apple TV+ really manage to find that sweet balance that Martha Wells has so beautifully achieved with her series?

One episode in, all my doubts were cleared. Yes, this show is fantastic!

Murderbot Show vs Books

The show is an almost faithful adaptation of the novellas, which is the best you could ask for in today’s day of cash-grab franchises. The changes from the source material feel calculated and rewarding. The parts that are exactly like the book? Brilliant.

The show begins with SecUnit (Alexander Skarsgård) standing sentinel at a mining base where the workers are celebrating the end of their project. They can’t harm any humans despite the humans throwing stuff at SecUnit or giving them self-harming orders. And all this is because of their governor module. And what does SecUnit do by the end of this opening scene? They hack their governor module.

The whole show pretty much unfolds in the same way as All Systems Red. Almost the same conflicts. Almost the same resolutions. The major changes that I noticed were how much more developed the human characters felt in the show. While the novellas are told from a limited perspective of SecUnit/Murderbot, the show takes its time to familiarise us with Murderbot’s humans. They feel like real people with hopes and dreams and fears and more. They act like real people, displaying individual talents as well as quirks. While Murderbot may not appreciate that, we the viewers almost feel a familial bond with this group of ‘space hippies’.

Not only that, we even get snippets of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot’s favourite show. With cameos by John Cho, Clark Gregg, Jack McBrayer & DeWanda Wise, the show builds a world that feels as real as the books, but a tad more expansive because of the liberties—and demands—of the visual medium.

Anxiety, Allies, And Acceptance

In the books, Murderbot/SecUnit is an asexual, agender construct. But, for TV purposes, they hired a male actor, and even refer to SecUnit as ‘he’ or ‘it’. ‘It’ is a perfectly acceptable pronoun, if you ask me, because Murderbot does not seem themselves as human. Or an organic thing. Or gendered.

Dr Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) and her commune feature a found family of queer/LGBTQIA members. From polyamory to non-binary identities, we get a smorgasbord of identities that just… are. No forced conflict, no need for educating. Even the bad guys just accept what all this is. After all, Murderbot is set in the future, and it’s only fair to accept that at some point humans gave up on arguing over these issues.

In addition to that, we even get a good amount of mental health representation, especially through Murderbot’s anxiety and awkwardness. But, the show doesn’t shame even this. The only thing that the show puts forth as clearly bad is corporate greed. Our main cast is just a bunch of people trying to do their jobs against the backdrop of an interplanetary corporate monopoly that values wealth over literally everything else.

While the Corporation Rim outright exploit its humans and its constructs, Dr Mensah humanises Murderbot even after seeing them kill to protect. A beautiful depiction of how capitalism thrives on exploitation and exclusion, while inclusivity can be so welcoming and overall conducive to personal growth and communal harmony.

In that sense, Murderbot is a perfectly progressive, modern show that’s very much a need of the hour.

Murderbot Season 1 Ending Explained

The final episode starts with a strange opening. The Company are preparing to wipe Murderbot’s memories as Dr Mensah and her team are registering their formal complaints with corporate. While Pin Lee threatens a lawsuit, Dr Gurathin suggests buying SecUnit in exchange. However, SecUnit’s memories are completely wiped, and his governor module is replaced, rendering them a regular android construct.

Later, the company deploys SecUnit to control a crowd of protestors who get violent. However, flashes of murderous memories from a previous job prevent Murderbot from taking action. Meanwhile, Dr Gurathin tracks down his former drug dealer, who happens to be a security specialist. Blackmailing him, Dr Gurathin manages to find all of Murderbot’s memories wihtin. Deemed unfit, the company is about to melt Murderbot in a vat of acid, when PinLee and Ratthi barge in to stop the process.

Murderbot reunites with Dr Mensah and her crew, but their memories are still hazy. That is until Dr Gurathin stumbles in and returns all of their memories, except for a bunch of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon Episodes that Murderbot states are missing. Gurathin has finally come to accept Murderbot as one of them—another victim to the company’s exploitation, and a living being at that.

While Dr Mensah and her team come to an agreement with the company, their lawsuit and investigation still continues. Murderbot is now a property of Dr Mensah, who intends to take them back to PreservationAux where they can live an independent life. However, SecUnit decides to abandon them all; they don’t want to be ordered around, instead exploring the unknown. Seemingly, the narration throughout is a letter/message that Murderbot has left for Dr Mensah, who watches a parting ship knowing that SecUnit is within.

Murderbot (2025) Worth Watching?

Yes. If you’ve read the books, go in with an open mind. The show is quite different from the books, yet feels familiar enough to appreciate and enjoy.

If you haven’t read the books… you’re in for a real treat.

Murderbot is creative. It’s funny. And, it’s a beautiful show that’s very much worth your time.

Will There Be Murderbot Season 2?

Just a day before I wrote this post, the news was announced of its renewal for Season 2. I was so happy reading this, because because that means we’re going to get ART! Who’s ART? Murderbot/SecUnit calls them ART, which stands for A**hole Research Transport. Yeah, can’t wait to see that adapted…

In Conclusion:

Murderbot (2025) is a fantastic adaptation. Despite my bias for the books—especially the first couple of entries—I will recommend this show purely for how fun and engaging it is. While it does take some creative liberties, if Martha Wells has approved them, then I’m no one to complain.

Also check out:

• Predator: Badlands (2025) | Film Review
• Predestination (2014) | Film Review
• Fresh (2022) | Film Review
• Heads of State (2025) | Film Review
• Vengeance (2022) | Film Review
• Companion (2025) | Film Review
• Deli Boys (2025) | Series Review
• Superboys of Malegaon (2025) | Film Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

What did you think of Murderbot (2025)? Let me know in the comments below! Sign up to my newsletter below and get a free ebook of Abandoned by the Gods! If you have any recommendations for series, movies, or books, drop them in the comments and I’ll be sure to check them out.

Until next time.