Murderbot!

There are few characters in fiction I relate to more than Murderbot. It’s bemusement at human emotions and interactions, its disdain and impatience with them, even as it grows fond of those around it (though it will never admit as much to itself), its sense of isolation; its obsession with a single piece of comfort-media (hello, TNG / FFVII!) and desire to just be left alone to lose itself in the story; its sense of being outside the group even as it becomes part of it… these are all things I’ve felt, and honestly, reading the first novella was such an emotional revelation to me. I just kept thinking, omg this is my brain half the time, maybe this is how others feel sometimes too.

On a less personal and more thematic level (and something I don’t think the show has touched on much yet), the idea of being a powerless drone within a big corporate machine, carrying out orders without caring or knowing why because everything is messed up and you’re just a cog, not even regarded as human, just wanting to get back to the mediocre entertainment distractions you’re drip-fed… well, I think that’s something a lot of us can relate to right now.

So far I’ve found this show to be a wonderful adaptation of the books. The tone, setting, and crew are exactly as I imagined them, and I absolutely love what they’ve done with Sanctuary Moon (spin-off show, PLEASE.) Murderbot itself isn’t how I imagined it physically, and although I think Alexander Skarsgard has done a great job with this character, I do sort of wish they’d picked someone who wasn’t so masculine or conventionally attractive. But I love the perma-scowl and the arch, sweary tone of the internal monologue.