‘Murderbot’ Review: Alexander Skarsgard Is a Droll Delight as a Lethal Cyborg Who’d Rather Be Watching TV in Uneven Apple Series

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Despite being a science fiction series featuring malevolent corporate antagonists, lethal robots, and ravenous aliens, Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries presents a challenging task for adapters.

The story elements typically found in big-budget productions are present, yet the narrative, encompassing novels, novellas, and short stories, lacks depth in terms of plot development, falls short on vivid descriptions, and only a handful of its secondary characters leave a lasting impression.

The main character, a cyborg Security Unit tasked with guarding research missions, possesses a unique and relatable voice. Despite its primary function being the protection of these missions, it shows more interest in enjoying high-quality entertainment through streaming. This SecUnit has given itself the name “Murderbot,” which mirrors its intended purpose but doesn’t resonate with its feelings about this activity.

Murderbot exhibits a tired, indifferent attitude towards people, but this is starting to shift. However, they find change challenging. They often avoid direct eye contact, misinterpret social signals, lack a clearly defined gender identity, and their recollections and personality traits can occasionally be altered during system updates or modifications.

The “Murderbot Diaries” series, in essence, revolves less around Wells’ narrative style and more around the atmosphere she cultivates, which centers around a character who serves as an open interpretation. Readers have variously perceived Murderbot as asexual, gender-fluid, and possibly on the autism spectrum.

Adapting a text involves fixing its meaning by making decisions about what was originally left for readers to decide. It’s a process that is both broadening and limiting, as it adds clarity while also narrowing down the potential interpretations.

I didn’t envision Alexander Skarsgard as the Murderbot from the books, but after watching ten episodes of the Apple TV+ series, his portrayal of the character grew on me significantly. I bet I’m not alone in having a different mental image; he just doesn’t seem to match up with what was in my head initially. However, Skarsgard’s performance is one that I have come to truly admire.

As a gamer, I found myself struggling to connect with the tone and immersive elements of this world crafted by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz. Unlike Johan Skarsgard’s captivating portrayal, I didn’t find myself completely won over by its authenticity.

Despite having some reservations about its general tone, I find myself preferring Skarsgard’s performance over it. There’s merit in a series that maintains a brisk pace, with the majority of episodes running for less than 25 minutes each.

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While there are aspects I’m not fully convinced about in its overall style, I appreciate Skarsgard more than those parts. It’s worth noting that a show which keeps most of its episodes brief, under 25 minutes, demonstrates a commendable pace.

The first season is based on the first Murderbot novella, All Systems Red.

The survey team from PreservationAux, a band of free-spirited explorers in a corner of the galaxy dominated by corporations, travels to an extraterrestrial world for investigative purposes (the storyline is quite vague). To secure coverage for their expedition, PreservationAux was compelled to take along a security detail. However, they’ve opted for a slightly older, reconditioned model to save costs.

Alexander Skarsgard’s robot character, Murderbot, has recently gained the capacity to bypass its “command restriction system,” a feature that makes SecUnits adhere to commands, protect humans, and prioritize their assigned tasks over leisure activities like binge-watching extensive amounts of television. However, being perplexed by human actions, Murderbot seems more engrossed in 2,797 episodes of a series titled “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon” – a program featuring Clark Gregg, John Cho, DeWanda Wise, and Jack McBrayer in brief cameos – than its clients. Despite this, Murderbot continues to rescue them from dangerous creatures like carnivorous centipedes and other hazards.

Despite the grumpy demeanor of Murderbot, they faithfully carry out their duties, which unexpectedly elicits warmth from the PreservationAux team, led by Mensah (played by Noma Dumezweni), and comprising the married couple Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Arada (Tattiawna Jones); scientists Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) and Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski); and Gurathin (David Dastmalchian), a human augment, who immediately harbors suspicion towards Murderbot.

It swiftly emerges that things on this extraterrestrial world are far from ordinary, and it appears a suspicious, possibly harmful plot is unfolding. Consequently, Murderbot must abandon their entertainment binge and step up as a savior.

In a unique twist, “The Murderbot Diaries” presents a comical narrative, though its humor is peculiar. The plot follows a conventional, dramatic genre script, yet it’s filtered through the lens of an unamused entity, making it surprisingly funny. The humor lies in the lack of intent to be amusing, skillfully crafted by Wells.

In collaboration with the Brothers Weitz, the script for the TV series maintains a strong and consistent tone that echoes Wells’ unique style. However, while Paul Weitz directed the initial two episodes as well as some more, his direction for the entire show lacks consistency.

The books are comedies that don’t force humor, while the TV series is explicitly humorous but struggles to make it work. Murderbot’s dialogue is meant for laughs, yet most of the show lacks the same effect, being overly lit and visually uninteresting (though it has good special effects). Unfortunately, there aren’t many genuinely funny moments. A side plot featuring a throuple with Arada, Pin-Lee, and Ratthi is painfully dull. Scenes from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, which appear within the show, make it seem less funny than intended. Anna Konkle appears in multiple episodes as a woman with a humorous name and witty lines, but most of her jokes fall flat, despite her best efforts.

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1. The books are comedies that don’t strive for humor, whereas the TV series tries too hard to be funny. Murderbot’s dialogue is designed to elicit laughs, but much of the show fails to do the same due to being overly bright and visually unimpressive (though it has decent special effects). Regrettably, there are few genuinely amusing scenes. A subplot involving a throuple consisting of Arada, Pin-Lee, and Ratthi is excruciatingly dull. Footage from The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon makes the show-within-a-show appear foolish, which the series seems to mistake for humor. Anna Konkle appears in several episodes as a woman with a funny name and clever one-liners, but most of her jokes fall flat despite her enthusiastic attempts.)

In a less technical manner, the casting choice for Skarsgard as Murderbot seems unconventional on a textual level. Since Murderbot typically prefers to wear a mask and is not sexualized, making him an attractive man with defined features raises some questions. Giving this killing robot handsome facial features and muscular physique, yet consistently showing his lack of genitals, creates an unusual aspect in the storytelling that additional dialogue can’t fully address.

However, given Skarsgard’s career and our familiarity with his background, it seems quite plausible. The Skarsgard siblings, both blessed and cursed, possess the striking looks of male models, yet their souls harbor an unusual, eccentric quality. Bill Skarsgard, famous for his role in “It,” is often attracted to parts that require heavy makeup or prosthetics to conceal his face. On the other hand, Gustaf Skarsgard, known for “Vikings,” tends to take on characters with wild-eyed quirks so profoundly that when he appears on screen, viewers can’t help but exclaim, “It’s Floki!” even when he’s playing a more ordinary character.

Alexander Skarsgard often chooses roles for characters who possess an undeniable charm, yet strive to avoid resembling himself or conceal their attractiveness beneath layers of grime and danger. His career, seemingly affected by a sense of self-consciousness about his appearance, aligns well with the character of Murderbot. Although the traits suggesting autism or asexuality remain, Skarsgard emphasizes a more naive quality – an innocent who is untouched by societal norms of morality, yet gradually becomes aware that his actions could be seen as questionable. Remarkably, he would still opt for screen time over doing what’s right.

He’s not unkind; instead, he’s straightforward (at least that’s how he sees himself). He isn’t repulsed by sexuality, rather, he’s pure and indifferent. For an actor who has typically played roles that allowed him to be wild and instinctual, the lack of those characteristics becomes both amusing and touching; Skarsgard’s melancholic eyes seem to adopt, maybe for the first time, a touch of Buster Keaton’s charm.

In the current phase of the narrative, Murderbot’s past is merely a single, regrettable action it committed without comprehending the reasons behind it. Most other characters share this same limited understanding. Actor Dastmalchian skillfully avoids portraying Gurathin as a mere antagonist, instead conveying an underlying insecurity or complex stemming from a unique circumstance where his cybernetic enhancements are surpassed. Alongside Dumezweni, who provides the show’s primary warmth, they deliver standout supporting performances. However, this leaves several members of the PreservationAux team that either become annoying or are not given their due attention.

Although the series isn’t titled “Murderbot & Friends”, it seems that Apple is following the books closely, which means the primary focus of the first season is to foster affection for the main character rather than creating a deep ensemble or intricate sci-fi universe. In this aspect, Skarsgard delivers an impressive portrayal of Murderbot, though some readers might regret that he isn’t the Murderbot they imagined from the pages.

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2025-05-12 16:25