Another action-packed episode, and packed with more than one kind of action, if you know what I mean. It’s Arada the biologist (Tattiawna Jones) who realises quicker than the others what the two creatures are doing on top of the hopper, which has glass panels in its roof. Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) eventually lowers its gun, but not its guard, which does not of course make anything easier for anybody. It spends more of this episode behind its face helmet than it has in a very long time. It also says many scary and threatening things, terrifying the team more than it means to. But their fear will have to be swallowed; Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) is in a great deal of pain.
The introduction to Complementary Species, a flashback to the team playing getting-to-know-you games at a dinner the night before they met Murderbot, establishes four things: Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) had a crush on Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu); Gurathin is an addict in recovery; Gurathin was a spy for the corporation before Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) brought him over to the Federation Alliance; Gurathin has feelings for Mensah. Telling each other their secrets establishes their mutual trust and makes it clear how their culture normally operates. It’s the kind of consensus-respecting team environment most people would absolutely love to be in, even with all the emotional labour necessary to keep it going smoothly. (And isn’t it delightful how everyone, including Ratthi [Akshay Khanna], is in love with Pin-Lee.) The hair and costume designers also make Mensah look extra wonderful in this sequence, with blond braids and a very pretty knitted shawl. But in the present moment, the beauty of still being alive is nearly forgotten. The greater worry is the bloodshed, starting with the spatter all over Gurathin’s uniform. They might be alive for now, but trouble can jam Murderbot’s threat sensors and drop out of the blue sky and Gurathin has a fever. Murderbot doesn’t even stop to think that a choice might have to be made. Of course, for the humans, there is no choice at all.
Is it easier to survive a battle if you are not wholly human? Or is it better to hold on to your painful humanity even if that comes with a higher price? Certainly Mensah thinks they have no chance of surviving without Murderbot; certainly Murderbot is irritated at their terrible attempts to assist it in the big battle. But it is also touched that they are trying to help. In a weird and dangerous way this moment of collective risk finally brings them together as a team. But the surrounding dangers might take them all apart just as they are coming together. The rollercoaster is well and truly off on its bumpy ride with an emotional investment that’s an awful lot stronger than the initial premise implied was possible.
The expertise with which Murderbot has brought to all its elements is quite remarkable. Even with this small cast and the contained settings, there’s so many layers to the plots that it feels enormous. The rock-solid ensemble of actors interplay together in ways which feel extremely lived-in; they are all separately, distinct personalities as well as one cohesive, coherent unit. It’s tremendous. The ways in which the tech and the special effects are integrated is equally casually excellent – note how Gurathin manipulates his computers, and how the people react to the creatures without green-screen acting being required. And the futuristic setting remains pleasantly realistic, as in how no one sits normally in the hopper chairs, or slouches around the benches to the side. By know we know them so well that Murderbot hiding behind its helmet tells us all we need to know about how it’s currently feeling. And in spite of this obvious mood, Ratthi is still sarcastic about Murderbot’s mania for the perimeter. The smart remarks in the face of danger don’t have the alienating affect so often provided in an action movie. Here they are the only defense for someone who doesn’t otherwise know how to express their fear. The picture of humanity this show is painting through the gimmick of the sentient construct continues to fascinate.
One final thing. The brief shot of Ratthi, Pin-Lee, Arada and Bharadwaj screaming is one of the funnier reaction shots in a very long time, all the funnier because its humour is inappropriate for the danger they are reacting to. People! So consistently inconsistent, you gotta love us.
Murderbot is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Learn more about the show, including how to watch, at the Apple TV+ site for the title.
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