Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Murderbot season 1, episode 7 & Artificial Condition.Apple TV+‘sMurderbothas gained critical acclaim and topped the streamer’s charts for weeks now, but I’m still disappointed in the sci-fi show as a fan of the books it’s based on. Alexander Skarsgård plays the titular SecUnit in thecast ofMurderbot, which is based onThe Murderbot Diariesby Martha Wells. It has also already proven to be a critical and popular darling:Murderbothas 97% onRotten Tomatoesand has consistently ranked as the third most popular show on Apple TV+ for weeks.Murderbotis, by almost every metric, a resounding success.
As with any adaptation of a book into television,Murderbothas made some necessary changes to its source material. Some characters have been cut entirely, others have been tweaked, and parts ofAll Systems Red’s story have been expanded to fill out a 10-episode season. There are a lot of changesMurderbotmade that work tremendously well, such as the inclusion ofThe Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon. There are others, however, that don’t work as well, and whileMurderbotis a great show in its own right, I’m still a bit disappointed as a big fan ofThe Murderbot Diaries.
Apple TV+’s Murderbot Is Great On Its Own, But The Books Are Even Better
To be clear: I like theMurderbotshow. I think Alexander Skarsgård does a great job as SecUnit, a lot of the changes have helped the show succeed and added good lore, and it’s one of the funniest shows on TV right now.Murderbotthe show is great, it’s just not as good asThe Murderbot Diariesbooks. It’s hard for me to say that the show is a masterpiece when I can clearly see it’s not living up to its full potential. If certain parts ofMurderbotwere more faithful to the books, I’d be confident saying it’s one of the best sci-fi shows in years.
Take, for example, the pacing. One of my favorite parts ofAll Systems Redwas its breakneck pace. In just a matter of pages, Wells introduces characters, locations, and basically immerses the reader in a completely foreign and incredibly well-developed sci-fi world.InMurderbot, each episode spends 20 minutes showing everyone sitting around and ends just as it’s getting good. Maybe it’s just a symptom of the weekly release schedule.Murderbotmay be better when you can binge-watch it, but I just know the show would have been better paced if it adaptedArtificial Conditionas well and kept the books’ breakneck speed and urgency.
If certain parts of Murderbot were more faithful to the books, I’d be confident saying it’s one of the best sci-fi shows in years.
I also have a problem withMurderbot’s action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great moments, like Murderbot’s predictive technology in the fight against DeltFall’s rogue SecUnit. Those cool moments aren’t enough to make up for the underwhelming feel in all the show’s fights, though. In the books, Murderbot is a one-person killing machine that flings itself into danger and emerges victorious through a hail of energy projectiles.InMurderbot, it’s basically a ragdoll that gets tossed around for a while until someone else, like Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) or one of the planet’s monsters, comes to its rescue.
The general tone ofMurderbotalso seems off in comparison to the books. Polyamory, for example, is an entirely valid way of living a romantic life inThe Murderbot Diaries.InMurderbot, polyamory is presented as a joke or a way to introduce artificial tension into Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and Arada’s (Tatiawna Jones) relationship. PreservationAux is also generally portrayed as naive hippies, while in the books, they’re the only moral characters in a world filled with corporate greed and insane human rights abuses. Even their relationship with Murderbot is off, and it doesn’t feel likeMurderbotis setting up the beautiful friendships the later books rely on.
I Really Hope Murderbot Season 2 Can Be More Faithful To The Books
Murderbot Season 2’s Chances Look Great Due To Its Popularity, But I Hope It Can Be More Book Accurate
With the success ofMurderbotseason 1, both critically and among viewers,Murderbotseason 2 looks very promising. The show clearly has enough viewers to justify its costs, and it’s clearly found its footing as its own thing, separate from the books. That being said,I still hopeMurderbotseason 2 proves more faithful toThe Murderbot Diariesthan season 1 has so far. I’d like to see the frenetic pacing and stellar action ofArtificial Conditionput to the screen, mostly because I think those things would elevateMurderbotfrom a great show into an iconic one.
The Perimeter
July 11
Artificial Conditionis also the perfect book to shiftMurderbotback into being a more faithful adaptation.Murderbot goes to a far-off planet without any of the members of PreservationAux to investigate its past inArtificial Condition, which meansMurderbotseason 2 will basically have a fresh start.Murderbotseason 2 - while it will likely feature a B-plot focused on PresAux - will have a new cast of characters and a more stable foundation after the first season’s success, which may make it less risky to do a more faithful adaptation. It should be a chance forMurderbotto finally realize its full potential.
