Apple’s Best New Sci-Fi Show Just Dropped A Huge Twist — Which Is Why It Needs Season 2

The central premise of Murderbot, that a lonely, somewhat socially awkward security droid refers to itself as “Murderbot,” is both a joke and deeply serious. It’s a joke because the main character has a kind of sardonic, gallows-humor view of life. But it’s serious, because the idea that our SecUnit mysteriously murdered 57 miners in the past, and it doesn’t actually know why. In Martha Wells’ series of Murderbot books, the mystery of why this incident happened and why SecUnit’s memory was erased is a plot thread that carries over from the first book, All Systems Red, to the second, Artificial Condition. And now, in the just-released Episode 8 of the Apple TV+ version of Murderbot, “Foreign Object,” the PreservationAux team learns of this mystery, too.

And, because of this revelation, there’s no way Murderbot can be just a single-season sci-fi show. Here’s why this twist demands that the show get at least one more season.

Spoilers ahead.

When SecUnit (Alexander Skarsgård) offers to jack in to the brain of augmented human Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) in order to ease his pain during a surgery, the memories of SecUnit are suddenly accessed by Gurathin. Now, Gurathin knows about the mass murder from SecUnit’s past, and that SecUnit calls itself “Murderbot.”

Happening about halfway through Episode 8, this moment is smartly layered because it’s foreshadowed by SecUnit watching an episode of Sanctuary Moon, in which a NavBot (DeWanda Wise) goes rogue and murders the crew. SecUnit finds this twist amusing, but of course, art imitates life, or, in this case, sci-fi art imitates artificial life.

“That was private,” SecUnit mumbles when Gurathin reveals to the rest of the crew that it calls itself “Murderbot.” This notion creates smart tension, straight from the first novella. Sure, we know it’s kind of funny and cute that SecUnit calls itself “Murderbot,” but when confronted with the fact that it did some actual murdering, real people would clearly not be okay with this. Essentially, what makes sense in the mind of SecUnti requires a ton of mental gymnastics from the humans of PreservationAux.

“It’s not true that that’s why I call myself Murderbot,” SecUnit says, trying to put a distinction between being a bot that murdered, and having the private name, Murderbot. Confusion and horror, naturally, ensue.

And yet, fans of the books are aware that, eventually, PreservationAux and Murderbot will be chummy again, and the mystery of why SecUnit’s memory was partially erased becomes part of its question in the second book. So, by making this such a big deal in the show, Murderbot is doing some serious table setting for a possible Season 2. Will it happen?

“I think it has performed well enough that there will be another season,” Murderbot co-producer David S. Goyer said in a recent interview. “It’s not guaranteed, but I believe that to be the case.”

At this point, fans should hope that Goyer is correct. Murderbot’s Episode 8 twist perfectly sets up a Season 2 adaptation of Artificial Condition, and, possibly, even more seasons beyond that. The world of Murderbot is quirky and relatable, but it’s also vast. If this small pivot is any indication, these series could go for a very long time.

Murderbot streams on Apple TV+. There are two episodes left in Season 1.