Read this review to see if the Murderbot episode “All Systems Red” is worth watching.
About Murderbot
- Season 1, Episode 9: “All Systems Red”
- Directed by Roseanne Liang
- Written by Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz
- Synopsis: Murderbot deals with fallout and detects a threat; in hopes of evading danger, the team heads to a new locale full of surprises.
- Airdate: July 04, 2025
- Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Tattiawna Jones, John Cho, Clark Gregg, Jack McBrayer, and DeWanda Dewise
If you want to avoid spoilers for this episode, skip to the overall section at the end.
Warning: Spoilers for Murderbot Season 1 Episode 9 “All Systems Red”
Recap Murderbot (2025): S1E09 – “All Systems Red”
Murderbot’s ninth episode opens with the title character realizing that people differ in how they express their emotions, with some people keeping their emotions to themselves while others are much more forthcoming.
Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) quickly exposes Murderbot’s (Alexander Skarsgård) deception when he tells the group that their odds of surviving are significantly lower than “medium to low.”
The group lands close to a woodland, where Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Gurathin are supposed to launch a drone. Gurathin can then remotely access GrayCris’ HubSystem by using it as a transponder. They can then launch their beacon and ask for assistance. The plan comes courtesy of Sanctuary Moon, episode 599, “Kogi Saves the Day,” of course.
The GrayCris leader Rita (Amanda Brugel), and the team meet SecBot. But it turns out the android has a secret plan. According to Murderbot, it will turn on the Preservation Society and collaborate with GrayCris to turn them over. That’s what these guys believe, anyway, thanks to the head of the SecBot that attacked them last episode. Murderbot conceals its actual intent while doing a respectable job of persuading the group that this is the case.
By tricking them toward the beacon launchpad region, where they will be burned to death when it launches, it plans to kill the entire GrayCris gang. Murderbot is compelled to accompany them, nevertheless.
Mensah and the PresAux team are aghast at the thought of killing, though. But it might be all for nothing when the drone is taken by a Flintstones-type bird. So, Mensah thinks of a superior method, which may be equally as good.
To buy time, Murderbot tries to strike up a conversation using its newly learned conversational skills. Then, as the timer runs out, it dives into a ditch screaming the Sanctuary Moon catch-phrase “Boldness is all!” However, nothing occurs. But hysterically, one of the GrayCris team recognizes that Murderbot is quoting from Sanctuary Moon (“2,797 episodes of premium, quality entertainment”).
The Preservation Society is to blame for this, as they are running behind schedule on hacking the beacon. Speaking to the GrayCris leader, Mensah flies over herself in the hopper and lands to talk.
She’s successfully figured out the evil mining corporation’s plan. PresAux found an alien remnant and were required to report it to the Corporation. But GrayCris found out and were willing to kill everyone to sell it on the black market. She offers to give them the location in exchange for their Security Bot. Unfortunately, they all end up in a firefight after her deal falls through.
When the beacon is launched, Murderbot grabs Mensah and throws itself from the cliff. The SecUnit thinks of the irony of spending its last moments hugging a human. They land hard on the ground, and it gives its life to save her.
In its last moments, it thinks, “My clients…are the best clients.”
Overall: Watch/Skip Murderbot (2025): S1E09 – “All Systems Red”
Murderbot’s struggle to keep its characters smart and implausible is evident in its bad guys, as the GrayCris mercenaries are easy to fool.
The penultimate episode of Murderbot’s first season, “All Systems Red,” may not be considered one of the show’s more thoughtful or heartfelt installments. The episode relies heavily on the idea that the GrayCris might be trying to sell out the PresAux team to save its synthetic skin. The episode is also melodramatic and goofy, with Murderbot improvising its way through a plan while the GrayCris people are unsure.
This is the most action-packed and best episode of the season so far. So I’m giving it 4.5 stars.
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