(S01E04) John decides to try and control his own destiny and convinces his mother and Cameron to seek out and destroy Cromartie, the Terminator sent back in time to kill John in the first episode. Hilarity ensues.Or, maybe not. John is showing his teenage angst by going totally emo. Apparently that suicide from the last episode has really gotten to him. I guess that's the only meaning which could be found from an otherwise meaningless death (story-wise, I mean).
I did enjoy the episode and felt it was a lot better than the last one. The storylines are progressing nicely and it's good to see John undergo some character development, even if it was emo. As usual, the performances of Lena Headey and Summer Glau make the show enjoyable.
Spoilers after the jump...
What follows are random observations about the episode:
How was the camera able to catch Cromartie's head in mid-flight? I love television coincidences. I'm also glad that Agent Ellison's role is expanding. He's been more of an extended cameo in previous episodes.
While I'm not a fan of the voice overs in the beginning and end of the show, I did like the analogy between the Terminators and the Golem of Jewish myth.
Cameron seems to show off her midriff a lot. While I can appreciate Summer Glau's midriff, it does seem inconsistent with the character. In a televised world where violence and sex are interchangeable, she's the sexy and innocent yet edgy character.
It seems that the line between humans and Terminators is blurring. First off, they need plastic surgery. Secondly, they can't work the television properly. I would laugh out loud if the female Terminator got a boob job just to hide a set of machine-gun jumblies.
Internet snark still exists even on television, as evidenced by the first line on the tribute website for the girl who committed suicide: "too bad. you were hot."
There was a scene during the show in which a shaky cam was used while Sarah and Cameron waited outside as the other Terminator was having the military loaded. I've never been a fan of shaky cam (it's too documentary-style for scripted television) but it's generally used to convey uneasiness in a scene, so I understand the justification for it.
Can the television versions of the Terminators heal their damaged skin? Arnold couldn't in the movies. He would cover his injuries with various bandages. Cameron was injured in the first episode (and thereafter) but still looks perfect. I can only conclude it's either a time-line difference, or she's a more advanced model. Or maybe it's just sexier for a male Terminator to be injured and a female Terminator to be pristine.
With regards to the ending of the episode, you just KNOW that in a future episode, the Terminator is getting out of the bunker. And he's probably going to be pissed off.
What with all the Superbowl promotion of the series, is anybody unaware of it anymore?
On a final note, last week I participated in a conference call with Summer Glau that Fox hosted to promote Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I got to ask one question: Who would win in a fight, Cameron or River Tam from Firefly? Summer laughed, but didn't have a direct answer, although she thought River was more graceful than Cameron. I responded "Well, I think the true winner of such a fight would be Summer Glau." After all, she'd be playing both roles.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-04-2008 @ 11:28PM
Michael said...
The best line tonight was actually in the teaser for next week's show. Our three lead characters were loading up in the Humvee for an excursion out and the following exchange took place:
Sarah: Let's roll!
John: I call shotgun!
Cameron : I call nine millimeter.
Classic!!! I love this show!
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2-05-2008 @ 11:41AM
Aberdeen said...
I'm kind of losing interest...I'm not sure what's wrong with the show, though. Love Summer Glau, as does Mr Aberdeen, but we're both a bit bored with John and Sarah. Sarah's too whiny, John's too emo, and together they're just kind of blah. Perhaps the mistake was in having them together all the time? We both like Agent Ellison, and find most other aspects of the show intriguing...just not the other two main characters.
Which is a bit of a problem, no?
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2-04-2008 @ 11:41PM
Argus said...
Tonights episode bothered me a bit... I don't quite know why... I found that I really started to not care about any of the characters. Summer Glau is just a robot, who cares. John Connor's actor isn't all that great. Lena Headley is good, but her dialogue is not all that hot. And the Golem thing was really forced, who "accidentally" lets it slip out "and then the golem went crazy and kills everyone!"
Any longer and Summer Glau's ethereal hotness will no longer sustain my interest in this show.
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2-04-2008 @ 11:50PM
bruce said...
I thought the whole angle of terminators (well, they're really not "terminators" since that presumes an assassination mission) being sent back into the past to prepare material for the construction of terminators by Skynet in the future was somewhat interesting, and creates a whole new time-paradox over the mythology of the series. What if Cameron was made from some of the coltan that was destroyed (well, taken and hidden) by Cameron, et al.? Also, it seems extremely paradoxical for something created in the future to send things back in time to ensure its creation/fruition. Which came first, Skynet or the Terminators sent back to prepare Skynet? See... extreme paradox.
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2-05-2008 @ 12:05AM
FAP said...
Dear Sarah Connor Chronicles. Thank you for being there in this time of striking writers. It's lonely in the valley of scripted shows right now.
But all too soon the strike will be over and I fear our time together will come to an end. Please enjoy the novelty trinkets by the exit and do say hello to the bionic woman next time you see her.
Sign
bored with your show already.
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2-05-2008 @ 12:08AM
bsgfan2003 said...
John's behavior at the very end while he was doing his homework (arm shake, eye movement) was very curious.
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2-05-2008 @ 1:40AM
Argus said...
I think that was just the character's awful acting. He was supposed to look traumatized but instead it looked like he had some sort of seizure.
2-05-2008 @ 1:09AM
Miniboss said...
Actually, you're completely wrong about Terminators being able to heal themselves. In fact, it's a line in T2 where Sarah Connor asks Arnold if his gunshot wounds will heal, and he answers affirmatively. She then says, "Good. If you can't pass for a human, you're not much good to us."
I think a lot of the disappointments with the "consistency" of this show simply have to do with people not knowing their canon well enough. Although, the exposed Terminator head coming through the time warp still bothers me. I was hoping they would explain it this episode, but they didn't.
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2-05-2008 @ 1:26AM
bruce said...
Yeah, I thought only things covered with flesh/living tissue could pass through the time portals. Even clothes disappear if you go in wearing them... come out nude on the other end. That's why they can't bring back guns and machines and stuff. Ergo, a metal head should not be able to pass through the portal, either. They will never explain it because they can't.
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2-05-2008 @ 1:37AM
Doug Nelson said...
I turned it off halfway in, deleted the episode, and erased the series from my DVR queue.
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2-07-2008 @ 8:47AM
Skater3900 said...
You couldn't finish the episode, but you had enough interest to come here and write about it?
2-05-2008 @ 3:23AM
Joe said...
"it seems extremely paradoxical for something created in the future to send things back in time to ensure its creation/fruition."
It's a common sci-fi device. But in fairness, there only had to be one Terminator and the ability to time travel and he could be sent back to steal the truck to make more of them, that could in turn be sent back to steal more trucks and... etc.
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2-05-2008 @ 7:04AM
dc said...
Sign painted on one of the trucks in the warehouse: "Testsuo Corporation", reference to the awesome Testsuo series of metal-man movies.
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2-05-2008 @ 7:07AM
dc said...
Actually "Tetsuo".
2-05-2008 @ 8:53AM
Christopher said...
Something has kinda been bothering me about the time travel aspect, with everyone traveling back and forward through time, shouldn't there actions they take change things in the future, or are they just doing things to get them to the future cause what will be just will be?
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2-05-2008 @ 9:08AM
vacelts said...
Did anyone else feel like they left last week's storyline hanging? Why did the girl kill herself? What did all the graffitti on the school walls mean?
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2-05-2008 @ 11:22AM
LeDiva said...
I wouldn't be surprised if they came back to it in a future episode. They spent too much time on that plot thread to just have it be a one-off.
2-05-2008 @ 10:40AM
Gordy said...
Hmm, no mention of Cameron swiping a bar of the metal from the truck. It seems she has an ulterior motive...not sure what, but the motive is not to stop the creation of Terminators apparently.
I'm no time warp/sci-fi fanatic, but as history changes, shouldn't Cameron disappear if the mission is accomplished? Shouldn't her mere existence remind Sarah and John that their mission is not complete? Or, will she remain simply because she is no longer in her present time? Someone help me here.
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2-06-2008 @ 7:43PM
nattyff said...
actually, in an interview summer said that in one point her aims will be somehow diferent of the objectives of the present sara and jhonn, and it sound a little evil... LOL. Either way, we can't forget that was the future jhonn connor the one who send her... right???. I'm loving these show.
2-05-2008 @ 10:43AM
Gordy said...
Regarding the whole "Terminator traveling through time" drama: Well, I think they created this whole time travel thing specifically for Terminators, so, I'd assume a Terminator's body, skeleton and all, could transfer.
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