Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Murderbot Episode 6. To say things are heating up on Murderbot would be an understatement. Last week, just hours after Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård) and the Preservation Alliance survey crew had a necessary yet stressful conversation about what the former’s free will might mean for everyone on this mission, Murderbot and Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) almost lost their lives in a fiery cliffhanger. Episode 6, “Command Feed,” written by showrunners Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz and directed by Aurora Guerrero, swiftly resolves the duo’s close call but ratchets up the series’ overall tension through other means — specifically, a definitive, violent breaking point that could ruin Murderbot’s burgeoning relationship with its would-be found family.
Murderbot and Mensah Are Stranded and Stressed Out in Episode 6

Image via Apple TV+

Although Murderbot and Mensah narrowly escaped their encounter with an exploding beacon, they’re grounded until they fix the damaged hopper. The scenario — two people stranded together — reminds Murderbot of its beloved The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, specifically Episode 356, when the unrealistic romance between Captain Hossein (John Cho) and Nav Bot 337 Alt 66 (DeWanda Wise) shifts from budding tension into melodramatic fantasy. The last thing Murderbot wants, however, is a parallel to its current predicament; like all of us, it watches absurd media for distraction, “when things in the real world are stressful as sh*t.” Unfortunately, with the lives of Mensah’s defenseless friends on the line, it can’t bury its head in the sand this time. Even worse, Murderbot and Mensah are flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to repairs. Since the hopper came with a repair manual, Murderbot dumped the redundant copy stored in its own data banks to free up enough space to download the nineteenth season of Sanctuary Moon. Now, with the hopper’s entire system offline, that decision is biting Murderbot in its armored butt. Needless to say, Mensah doesn’t take this information well. Her anger at the eccentric SecUnit she has gone out of her way to understand and accommodate marks the biggest shift in their dynamic so far.
Leebeebee Reveals Her True Colors in ‘Murderbot’ Episode 6

Image via Apple TV+

As the other scientists finish packing up at the habitat, newcomer Leebeebee (Anna Konkle) seems determined to seduce everyone within the vicinity. This week, she directs her painfully awkward flirtations towards Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski), since Gurathin (David Dastmalchian) gave her the cold shoulder last episode, and a horrified Murderbot didn’t reciprocate her boundary-crossing and de-humanizing (for lack of a better term) advances. Bharadwaj is taken aback by a stranger kissing her injured hand, but Gurathin’s unanswered calls to Mensah and Murderbot interrupt Leebeebee’s questions about the local creature that gave Bharadwaj that scar. With nothing else to do except wait and worry, a later conversation between all three characters emphasizes the stark structural contrasts between the Corporation Rim and the Preservation Alliance. Bharadwaj and Gurathin can’t wrap their heads around the Corporation Rim requiring prospective parents to obtain a license before having children. Sure, babies can be resource-devouring black holes (their paraphrased words, not mine), but in the Alliance, the community chips in to cover the expenses, mainly through science-gathering missions like this one. After some more back and forth, during which Leebeebee’s fishing for the team’s survey results meets the stone wall that is Gurathin’s refusal to share, an impatient Leebeebee reveals her true intentions by pulling a gun on them and demanding access to their HubSystem.
Murderbot and Mensah Grow Closer in Episode 6

Image via Apple TV+

Meanwhile, Mensah and Murderbot haven’t made progress with the hopper. Compared to Leebeebee’s heavy-handed duplicity, however, this duo shares a moment of genuine, non-transactional kindness when one of Mensah’s panic attacks chooses to strike. Wanting to help, yet unsure how to protect a client from emotional distress, Murderbot turns to the only balm it knows — Sanctuary Moon. It projects its chosen episode onto one of the hopper’s screens and assures a dubious Mensah that this “soothing” installment features “synchronized breathing.” Following along with the guided routine does, in fact, soothe Mensah’s frayed nerves. When Murderbot recites by heart the episode’s calming mantra, she looks both shocked and heartwarmed by this odd, wondrous SecUnit. The tender exchange concludes with Murderbot, still “leaking” from the nasty stab wound it took during the hopper’s crash, collapsing face-down on the floor.

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An indeterminate time later, Murderbot wakes up on its back, its head supported by several folded blankets. Mensah hovers nearby, having fixed the leaking by feeding the hopper’s lubrication supply into Murderbot’s arm port. Inspired, Murderbot suggests they replace the hopper’s burned-out control coil with a section of its own neural wiring. Said wires might be made of cloned organic tissue, but it’s cloned tissue designed for high-speed data processing. Reluctantly (she’s squeamish and a vegetarian), Mensah cuts through two separate layers of Murderbot’s flesh, exposes a spine made of conjoined metallic bolts, and extracts a strand of nerve tissue from Murderbot’s spinal column. Murderbot cracks a dry joke, Mensah laughs half-giddily, and the hopper’s systems surge back to life.
Murderbot Protects Its Human Clients but Loses Their Trust in Episode 6

Ratthi (Akshay Khanna), Arada (Tattiawna Jones), and Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu), unaware of the deadly situation unfolding downstairs, indulge in a not-entirely-awkward shoulder massage session before Bharadwaj calls them down. With the entire group at gunpoint, Leebeebee holds all the power, but Gurathin, undaunted by her threats, refuses to hand over the survey information they’ve gathered. Leebeebee responds by shooting Gurathin in the thigh and promising to kill his colleagues one by one. Both Bharadwaj’s offers to help and her appeals to Leebeebee’s decency fall on disinterested ears; the woman needs a small fortune, and helping her employers — the third party PreservationAux has been fighting from the shadows — guarantees her plenty of credits. Caring far more about his friends than proprietary data, Gurathin surrenders their findings. Leebeebee savors her victory by scoffing, villain monologue style, over how easy it was to manipulate their trusting hearts. She also takes credit for Mensah and Murderbot’s deaths, assuming the beacon explosion solved that problem for her. With flawless timing, the Mensah and Murderbot Detective Duo heroically stride through the door. Leebeebee shoves the gun against a sobbing Gurathin’s temple, but Murderbot doesn’t let her finish her threat before firing a headshot that leaves her corpse without a head. Blood and brain matter spray onto Gurathin and Bharadwaj, Ratthi vomits, and Pin-Lee crumbles into frantic laughter. Even Mensah — before she tries to rally her traumatized colleagues — stares at Murderbot with stunned, assessing eyes. Calling Murderbot disappointed by their reactions isn’t quite accurate; based on its binge-watching experience, it didn’t expect a negative reception to saving their lives and eliminating an enemy. That said, as it stalks off to repair its spinal column, confused resentment colors its inner monologue — and a current of satisfaction. Its graphic violence shattered the team’s growing fondness for it, as well as their belief that Murderbot is just as human as they are. “And that,” Murderbot reflects, “felt good.” New episodes of Murderbot premiere on Fridays on Apple TV+.

Murderbot

Murderbot Episode 6 reaches a definitive, violent breaking point that could ruin the android’s burgeoning relationship with its would-be found family.

Release Date

May 15, 2025

Network

Apple TV+

Directors

Aurora Guerrero, Roseanne Liang

Pros & Cons

Alexander Skarsgård and Noma Dumezweni deliver some of their best and most vulnerable work in the series to date.
Even though Murderbot’s autonomy initially complicates its dynamic with Mensah, its empathy brings them closer.
Leebeebee’s violent death throws a traumatic wrench into Murderbot’s relationship with the team.

Leebeebee serves her purpose, but her rushed screentime is clunkily handled.