Comedy
Murder Mindfully
Netflix perhaps should have been more mindful about the content it chose to put in its German-language series ‘Murder Mindfully.’
Want to see the galaxy, discover new energy sources and make some friends? Then join MIRA!
This space-based mining company is all about creating a fun environment for their employees. From unpaid interns to underqualified ship captains, there’s a place for everyone at MIRA. All you have to do is transport MIRA’s highly valuable Ore+ from the asteroid where it’s mined to their refining facility on Industria. Along the way you’ll meet unique crewmates, avert ship-wide disasters and, if all goes well, celebrate with a pizza party. It’ll be a fun-tastic time!
But get that fun in while it lasts, since, at any moment, you and your crewmates may find yourselves brutally murdered.
Oh yes, when worm farmer Green and nepo baby White hopped aboard the MIRA transport Skeld, they had no idea that by the end of the day, one of them would be dead.
The most obvious murder suspect is Lime, the ship’s very religious, “most unambiguous” crewmate who just so happens to be the only one who can squeeze through the Skeld’s ventilation shafts undetected.
Yellow and Brown, the ship’s chefs, also fall under suspicion. They certainly have a lot to say about MIRA’s capitalistic practices. Perhaps they wanted to send a message to corporate shill (and HR rep) Orange. Or maybe Orange is the culprit, acting to protect MIRA’s investments in Ore+.
Geologist Black and gemologist Cyan seem to think something is up with that ore. It’s their job to study the stuff daily. Maybe they discovered something that drove them to murder. After all, when disaster strikes, ship captain Red seems way more concerned with the safety of the Ore+ than with the safety of the crewmates.
And speaking of safety, security officer Purple definitely has some concerns. For starters, the ship’s cameras are all (ironically, given the names of the crew) in black and white. And they don’t record; they only offer livestreams. And Blue, the ship’s doctor, believes the murderer may have taken advantage of this security hole: Blue believes the murderer isn’t a crewmate at all, but a shape-shifting alien—something Orange and Red categorically deny. Of course, Blue’s attempts to suss out the imposter only pins suspicion on Blue’s self.
The crewmates aren’t sure who to trust. But they are sure of one thing: “There’s a murderer among us.”
Based on the popular video game by Innersloth, Paramount+’s Among Us isn’t the most family-friendly fare.
The first victim aboard the Skeld is (as a character points out) “split in twain,” accompanied by a shower of blood. The next victim—the next of many, I might add—dies by “acute ripping off of the face.” Crewmates continue to find their fellow space travelers in puddles of blood (“bloodles,” the crew calls them), chopped in half lengthwise and otherwise torn asunder.
Desperate to save themselves from disaster, the crew also conducts a few impromptu trials, voting to send accused crewmates out the garbage chute into space—certain death for whoever gets voted off the Skeld.
Some mild language crops up every now and then. Every member of the crew uses they/them pronouns because they are all (according to the show) “mediocre, formless, non-sexual beings who are very, very ugly.” That said, everyone seems to be deeply enamored with Blue, whom they all find attractive.
Several members of the crew spend a good portion of one episode in a hallucinogenic state while suffering from the effects of hypoxia. During that trip, they each remove their backpacks, which is treated as a salacious act. (Their exposed backs are even censored.) But weirdly, because the crewmates don’t wear pants, we see the outline of their buttocks in several shots across several other episodes, which is never treated as anything more than a joke.
Among all of that, we also see some references to New Age beliefs (such as astrology) and some completely unnecessary mockery of Christianity.
There’s certainly a story in Among Us. And there even seems to be some lessons about trust and friendship. But mostly, this show is focusing on fan service. It’s a murder mystery, first and foremost—and not even one that reminds us that murder is wrong.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
The space mining vessel Skeld sets off to deliver some valuable ore to a refining facility. But disaster strikes the ship. And then somebody gets murdered.
A crewmate seemingly spontaneously splits in half, its head popping off and showering other crew members in blood. We see a single bone popping out of the crewmate’s neck. An asteroid strikes the ship, threatening to suck out the Ore+ stored in the cargo bay. One character insists on shutting the door to the bay to protect the crew, but the captain forces the crew members to risk their lives to plug up the hole and save the ore. By working together, they succeed, but it’s an unnecessary risk.
When Blue bends over, his buttocks are emphasized as crewmates stare at him and swoon. Orange (who was also staring) tells them to stop “objectifying the hot doctor.”
A character claims to be an ordained minister and totes around a bottle labeled “holy water.” Another character says “namaste” in greeting and talks about astrological signs.
Someone is served wine.
We hear three uses of “d–n.” Someone starts to say “bulls–t” but gets cut off.
Corporate training videos show some obvious propaganda for MIRA. The ship captain is clearly underqualified and dismisses security concerns. When the Skeld is in danger, the captain prioritizes protecting the ore over protecting crew members.
One character decries capitalism. Another character says he came from a rich family who offered him a board member position at their pharmaceutical company simply because of his birth, not his merit. He talks a bit more about his privileged upbringing, also noting that he won the trip on the Skeld. Yet another character explains that he came from a poor town that pooled its resources to send him to school.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
Netflix perhaps should have been more mindful about the content it chose to put in its German-language series ‘Murder Mindfully.’
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