I got around to watching murderbot last week and I cannot stop thinking about episode six I think it's my favorite change/addition for the show compared to the book. we have been blessed with a glimpse into the relationship development between murderbot and mensah that is not tainted (affectionate) by a strict first-person pov from our favorite Extremely Reliable Narrator. I 100% do think that the preservation natives (I'm excluding gurathin here for obvious reasons) have always believed that constructs are people. but they've never interacted with one or even laid eyes on one before this survey. so their belief is largely dogmatic at first. they believe murderbot is a person because they're from preservation and that's what preservation culture believes. and they do try to see it as a person and treat it as a person, but it's hard, because it won't let them. but then murderbot and mensah are stranded with a broken piece of shit hopper, and it's feeling responsible and panicking, and it allows mensah a glimpse of that. it shows its most soothing episode of its favorite tv show to her to try to calm her down from a panic attack, and in doing so indirectly admits to her that it needs things like soothing episodes, that it gets anxious and scared often enough to have that at the ready. and right before our eyes it feels like we see the moment where mensah switches from caring about it as a person because that's the right thing to do to caring about it as a person because she Cares About It As A Person. and I really need to lie on the floor and wail about it














