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‘Murderbot’ Episode 9 Review: SecUnit’s Fate Hangs in the Balance in the Show’s Most Action-Packed Installment Yet
Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Murderbot Episode 9.
Somehow, it’s already time for Murderbot‘s penultimate episode (say it isn’t so!). Suitably, “All Systems Red,” written by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz with Roseanne Liang in the director’s chair, and named after the opening novella of Murderbot creator Martha Wells‘ series, is this delightful sci-fi show’s most action-packed and heartfelt installment to date. And there’s still one episode to go! Without further ado, grab your popcorn plus some Kleenex for your tears.
As the Preservation Alliance’s hopper flies toward the rendezvous spot their newly revealed enemies, the GrayCris mining group, transmitted last week, three of the six humans — Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski), Arada (Tattiawna Jones), and Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) are on watch duty at the habitat — grapple with the likelihood of their imminent deaths. Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) takes the “ignore it” approach, Gurathin’s (David Dastmalchian) grateful he made it this far, and the wise but ever-hopeful Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) asks Murderbot’s (Alexander Skarsgård) analytical opinion about their survival chances. Everyone knows this scenario is the most obvious trap to ever trap, but Murderbot still tries to soften the blow before Mensah and Gurathin metaphorically twist its arm; its assessment puts their statistics at “extremely low.” Gurathin tries to poke Murderbot over whether it’s functioning properly, to which Murderbot lands an ice-cold delivery of “I noticed you have an issue with eye contact” — one of Gurathin’s statements from their interrogation scene in Episode 2.
The Team Meets Their Enemies Face-to-Face in ‘Murderbot’ Episode 9
Not only did Murderbot try to lie about their survival chances to avoid giving these “hot messes” low morale, its voiceover reveals it also fibbed about its plan. Viewers don’t learn every specific, either, but the basic steps require Pin-Lee to launch a drone that Gurathin can turn into a remote transponder capable of hacking GrayCris’ HubSystem. From there, Gurathin will activate GrayCris’ distress beacon. Within a week or two, the Company’s rescue ship should arrive. But before Gurathin can work his augmented human magic, Murderbot has to retrieve the access codes to GrayCris’ HubSystem — and that will require some fancy mental footwork of its own.
After the hopper parks a safe distance from the meeting point, Murderbot walks the rest of the way to where three blue-and-black SecUnits and four GrayCris humans, all scowls and intimidating body language, wait. Needing to spark their interest, Murderbot drops the truth about its hacked governor module — step one of its secret “real” plan. It claims to have killed Gurathin and makes that assertion compelling by holding up the severed head of the SecUnit who died in Episode 7 after it messed with the wrong giant insect’s sack of babies. Murderbot offers to help GrayCris eliminate the rest of PreservationAux as long as GrayCris provides Murderbot safe passage off this godforsaken planet.
To that end, GrayCris needs to drop their HubSystem’s firewall long enough to connect with PreservationAux’s system and retrieve the planetary map data GrayCris so desperately wants. All of Murderbot’s clients, listening via their private comm channel, suspect their SecUnit has betrayed them despite Murderbot reassuring the opposite. However, with no better options on the table, they lower their own HubSystem’s firewall.
Murderbot Resigns Itself to Its Fate in Episode 9
Hidden in the forest near GrayCris’ distress beacon, Pin-Lee and Gurathin launch the drone, steal GrayCris’ access codes, and trigger the beacon’s countdown sequence. Mission accomplished, Murderbot, instead of running for the hills, tells GrayCris that PreservationAux is triggering their beacon as they speak, so they better book it over to the launch pad. Rather than assuming the worst, Gurathin deduces Murderbot’s ultimate goal: if the GrayCris team – unaware Gurathin has already started the launch countdown — are feet away from the beacon when it activates, it’s immolation city for them. No one is comfortable with murder, but when Murderbot says it doesn’t see any resolution to this predicament where GrayCris and their SecUnits don’t hunt them down in retaliation, everyone reluctantly agrees.
Although still wary of this rogue SecUnit offering to turn traitor on its clients, GrayCris’ leader (Amanda Brugel) — for simplicity’s sake, we’ll call her Scary GrayCris Lady — orders her associates to the launch pad, including Murderbot. PreservationAux proceeds to panic; even Gurathin looks startled and concerned. He can’t pause the launch sequence without losing his access to GrayCris’ HubSystem, and they have less than five minutes before the beacon takes to the sky in a burst of flame. Murderbot boards GrayCris’ hopper and starts to say something to its team that sounds suspiciously like a sincere, affectionate confession. Lacking adequate words, though, it resigns itself to its fate.
Everyone Works Together To Outsmart GrayCris in ‘Murderbot’ Episode 9
As if circumstances couldn’t get any worse, once GrayCris and their unwilling passenger arrive at the launch pad, a passing local bird decides to destroy Pin-Lee and Gurathin’s drone. Although the launch was in progress, the command didn’t finish uploading, leaving the beacon’s take-off paused. Even worse, no more drone means no more comms contact with anyone; neither Mensah, Murderbot, nor the three back at the habitat know how extremely south things have gone. Hoping he can hack and activate the beacon on site, Gurathin and Pin-Lee sneak their way toward GrayCris’ habitat. Mensah, alone and unable to raise any of her beloved friends, flies the hopper toward the launch pad. On the slim chance anyone can hear her, she asks them to take care of her children if the worst happens.
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The part was previously played by Raul Julia and Neal McDonough.
On that note, Gurathin — with Pin-Lee on guard duty — manually restarts the launch cycle with one minute to go. Mensah’s hopper joins GrayCris on the launch pad, to Murderbot’s deep internal distress. As resolved and regal as the Planetary Admin title she flexes as part of her formal introduction, Mensah offers Scary GrayCris Lady the location of the alien remnants in exchange for Murderbot. Scary GrayCris Lady refuses, preferring to torture the information out of her. Desperately improvising, Murderbot “volunteers” to inflict said torture — but another GrayCris officer recognizes the venomous words it rattles off as dialogue from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Room. Busted!
Murderbot and Its Humans Share a Loving Moment in Episode 9
With that, the inevitable fight begins. Before firing a single shot, Murderbot offers to either teach the other three SecUnits how to hack their governor modules or share its entire media collection. Sadly, their Company programming is too strong for them to override. Weapons discharge, punches are exchanged, and the beacon blasts off into the sky, plumes of fire engulfing the unfortunate GrayCris. Murderbot heroically dashes toward Mensah, snatches her up tight, and leaps off the cliff edge. It’s a long fall. Hoping to spare Mensah, Murderbot shifts its body to take the brunt of the damage. Here it is, “hugging a human” and willingly accepting its likely death, even though all it’s wanted this entire time is enough peace and privacy to marathon its shows.
In the aftermath, Mensah rests on the rocky terrain next to a severely wounded and barely conscious Murderbot. Bloodied, bruised, and crying, she tells her friend, “You did it.” Gurathin and Pin-Lee’s arrival prevents Murderbot from responding with a clichéd, yet earnest, “We did it.” The three humans embrace, sobbing and laughing. When Gurathin notices Murderbot’s condition, he stares with an expression like the veil’s finally been lifted from his eyes. Unable to speak or even think clearly due to a catastrophic system failure, Murderbot manages one last thought: “My clients are the best clients.”
New episodes of Murderbot premiere on Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Murderbot
Murderbot Episode 9 is the show’s most action-packed and heartfelt installment to date.
Release Date
May 15, 2025
Network
Apple TV+
Directors
Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang
- The penultimate episode’s relationships and dramatic stakes have satisfactory payoff.
- The series has never been more heartfelt.
- Murderbot’s reluctant hero journey comes full circle.
