Ok, so what just happened in Murderbot episode 9, "All Systems Red?" I did not expect to get so emotional! The previous episode, episode 8, ended with Sec Unit coming up with a plan for it and its team to face GrayCris, and it may have come at a huge cost - its life. Let's get into the recap of the Apple TV+ series' penultimate episode. Spoilers below.
Sec Unit has a different plan
So Sec Unit, Mensah, Gurathin, and Pin-Lee are on the hopper to travel out to put the plan in motion. The other three members stay at their base to monitor things. Sec Unit will go speak with the GrayCris team, Mensah is supposed to stay behind in the hopper, while Gurathin and Pin-Lee are tasked with getting the drone in the air so they can hack into GrayCris' system remotely. Though, Murderbot actually has another plan to protect its clients but kept it from them because it knew they's freak out.
Sec Unit is able to distract the team as they come face to face, tells them its governor module doesn't work because it hacked it a while back, which means they can't override this bot. It tricks them, telling GrayCris that it turned on its clients and killed one of them named Gurathin. Of course the head it pulls out isn't actually Gurathin, but the head of one of the rogue bots they sent that got killed by that beastly mama creature in episode 7.
It's like I expected! Sec Unit is pretending it betrayed its team to make GrayCris trust it. Murderbot asks them that in exchange for giving them the information it knows, Sec Unit wants them to take it with them and off the planet. This isn't what Mensah and co. were aware of, but take the chance to trust Sec Unit and they end up being right for doing so.
The channels are open between both teams which means Preservation Alliance can lead GrayCris into a trap and basically kill them all. They're not happy about it, but Sec Unit points out if they don't do this their rogue bots will come after them and kill them. The plan is working, though of course the leader of GrayCris wants Murderbot to come with them. Which means its life is now in danger.
Mensah can't leave Murderbot behind
Like many moments we've seen, Mensah's big heart puts her in danger but she just can't let Sec Unit get destroyed if she can help it. A bird creature broke down the drone that was helping the team communicate, as well as allow Gurathin to launch the beacon that will kill the GrayCris team. That's why Mensah ends up following Sec Unit.
Not knowing it's not going to launch anymore, Sec Unit hilariously tries to distract the team until the launch with small talk. It's gotten some good practice being around Preservation Alliance. It doesn't happen at the time it's supposed to, and Sec Unit looks like a fool for a bit in a funny moment.
Mensah arrives and she and the GrayCris leader talk, and mention the illegal activity the other team has been doing regarding alien remanents. A fight breaks out, and somehow Murderbot is able to get the upper hand this time, just as Gurathin is able to get the communications back up and launch the beacon. I'm not going to lie, this showdown was pretty anticlimactic as Sec Unit and GrayCris were talking most of the time. But, ok.
Pin-Lee lets Mensah and Sec Unit know, and it launches with the two of them too close. Murderbot is able to protect its client though, throwing them over the cliff where it will take the impact in the hopes of Mensah surviving. She does, and it's all thanks to our favorite bot. Murderbot episode 9 ends with Sec Unit looking worse for wear, Mensah crying over it, and it's seemingly last words being "my clients are the best clients" before it reads catastrophic failure.
I mean, after all of this there's no way Sec Unit is gone, right? Oh my goodness! This made me so emotional more than I thought it would. There's still one more episode left to go, so we'll see how everything ends. Don't miss it next week on Wednesday, July 9.
Murderbot releases new episodes Fridays on Apple TV+.
More streaming news from Show Snob: