Foreign Object

A series that started off well, with originality and a lot of humor. But quite quickly, it became very repetitive, marking time. The format of such short episodes, 22 to 23 minutes from which you have to subtract the opening and closing credits, makes Murderbot even more frustrating. It would have been better to offer a miniseries with five 45-minute episodes. At least - perhaps - we would have had the impression that the story was moving forward... Or maybe not at all... This episode 8 is absolutely useless, and it's not the first. I hope that the final episode, the 10th, will not only be the last of a season, but of the entire series.

It's hard to understand the reasoning behind this tiny episode format. I mean, after the recap and the intro sequence-which together already eat up a good few minutes-there's barely 15 minutes of actual content remaining. And even then, the episode is padded with minor, uninteresting side stories that don't seem to contribute much to the overall narrative. Just when the main story arc finally starts to gain some momentum, the episode abruptly ends, leaving everything unresolved once again. It's frustrating because it feels like the episode could almost have not existed at all, and the larger story would still make about the same amount of sense. It's filler disguised as progress. The intro ends up being the most engaging part by far, which is pretty telling. The rest of the episode fails to justify its own existence, and as a viewer, it's hard not to feel shortchanged when the potential for a compelling plot is constantly deferred.

Ep 8 is solid television that feels ordinary by this series' standards.

"Foreign Object" delivers competent storytelling without the spark that made earlier episodes exceptional. The episode tackles important character moments and advances key plot threads, but something feels off about the execution.

Pacing is the main culprit here. The episode struggles to balance its multiple storylines effectively: some scenes drag while others feel rushed. What should be tense moments lack the urgency we've come to expect, and emotional beats don't quite land with their usual impact.

Skarsgård remains reliably excellent, bringing nuance to Murderbot's internal conflicts even when the writing doesn't fully support him. The supporting cast does solid work, though they're given less interesting material than usual. The production values stay consistently high, and there are flashes of the series' trademark wit.

The episode isn't bad... it's just the first time Murderbot feels like "just another sci-fi show" instead of something special. After seven episodes of near-perfection, this feels like a necessary breather before bigger things to come.

Decent but disappointing by Murderbot standards. 7/10.