(S02E22) And now we wait.
The season two finale of The Sarah Connor Chronicles turned out to be the most gripping episode of the entire series. The last few minutes delivered some major surprises and a glimpse of what to expect from a possible third season.
But the chances of a third season are slim to none. The show's live ratings on Friday nights have been, well, terrible, and some sites are already reporting that the series will not return next season.
So now we wait for the official word from Fox. Will there be a season three of TSCC, or was this Sarah Connor's last hurrah?
OK, on to the episode ...
This was a damn fine season finale. It's almost impossible to think about this ep without considering the questions brought up in the final moments (Why doesn't anyone recognize the name John Connor? Where the hell is John Henry and Cameron's chip? Did John arrive in the future before Kyle Reese's trip to 1984?). Series creator Josh Friedman waited until the end to deliver all the action and the major twists, but the buildup was tense and compelling.
We started out with Sarah incarcerated and talking to Agent Auldridge (Joshua Malina from the West Wing), who later said he believed her stories about killer robots from the future. Sarah was still hellbent on protecting John even from inside her cell. She told the agent that John was dead and sent passports and word to John: Leave this place now.
John, of course, didn't follow orders. But instead of planning a jailbreak, he got hung up on the idea of Sarah dying of cancer. Alone. In prison.
When the Connors jumped to the year 2007 in the pilot, Sarah skipped over her death and, apparently, her battle with cancer. The question of whether or not Sarah would get sick has been hanging in the air since episode one, but it served as a good motivation here for John to stay and eventually attempt to bust Sarah out of jail. We also found out that Terminators are radioactive, and Cameron might be to blame if Sarah is sick.
All of this led to an awkward scene with Cameron disrobing in a hotel room and asking John to get on top of her. On the surface, this seemingly intimate moment was all about making sure Cameron wasn't leaking harmful radiation, but it reminded me about John's strong feelings for Cameron. The scene also reminded me of the season two opener, when John risked the lives of his friends and family to save Cameron. I'd almost forgotten about that stuff thanks to the Riley subplot, but the message was clear: John and Cameron share a very strong bond. That came in to play at the end at ZeriaCorp when John decided to follow John Henry through time in search of Cameron's chip, or her essence.
The jailbreak leading up to the ZeriaCorp stuff was intense and heartbreaking. Sarah was saved, but Cameron lost half of her face and a lot of her functionality. John's concern for Cameron was apparent when she jumped in the truck looking like Arnie at the tail end of T2.
After a funny elevator ride with Ellison, the Connors finally came face-to-face with Weaver just as a Skyet drone crashed into Weaver's office and exploded. Weaver revealed her true liquid metal self to protect everyone from the blast and ordered them to run. Can anyone imagine Ellison's thoughts at that moment: "Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Damn, I'm stupid!"
So John ended up traveling through time with Weaver, who probably is the liquid metal bot from the Jimmy Carter sub. Before Sarah's jailbreak, Ellison delivered a message to John and Cameron from Weaver: "Will you join us?" That's exactly what Cameron and John apparently asked the liquid metal bot in the future. We still don't know the details concerning Weaver's agenda, but we do know that she's building something to destroy Skynet. At least that's what she said she was doing. It's likely that John Henry is the key to her plan. It's also likely that her plan could work. Why else would John Connor want her to join his resistance in the future? And why else would Cameron lobotomize herself and hand over her chip to John Henry?
I wasn't surprised when John left Sarah behind in search of Cameron's chip, but seeing John and Weaver end up in the post-Judgement Day future was a little surprising. And then things really got nuts. John came face-to-face with Derek, Kyle Reese and a fully functional Cameron (or was that the very human Allison from Palmdale?). The war looked like it was still going on, but no one knew about John Connor. By jumping to the future, it seems like John erased his role as mankind's savior, but people were still breathing and fighting. Does this mean the resistance never really needed John Connor?
It's a big question to end the season, and possibly the series, on. But one thing's for sure: John Connor still needs his mother. Luckily, she landed in the future minutes after what was probably the most unnerving and emotional moment in his life. I knew she wouldn't be too far behind. This is The Sarah Connor Chronicles after all.
Other observations:
- So John Henry's personality is altered every time one of his circuits is replaced? I wonder if he'll be able to use his new D&D cheatin' skills in the future.
- Agent Auldridge told Sarah that Miles Dyson's son has been missing for months? What could this possibly mean? Was he kidnapped by Skynet?
- Weaver's faux-concern for Savannah was hilarious in this episode. I wonder what Ellison will say when he picks the kid up from "gymnastics."
- On second thought, do you think Ellison ended up in the future with Sarah? It's another question that might never get answered.
Gossip Girl' Show & Cast Photos
Actress Leighton Meester attends the Gotham Magazine Leighton Meester cover party at Marquee on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage.com
Actress Leighton Meester attends the Gotham Magazine Leighton Meester cover party at Marquee on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage.com
Leighton Meester attends the Gotham Magazine/Leighton Meester Event sponsored by Jose Cuervo Platino at Marquee Nightclub on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Brian Ach/WireImage.com
Leighton Meester attends the Gotham Magazine/Leighton Meester Event sponsored by Jose Cuervo Platino at Marquee Nightclub on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Brian Ach/WireImage.com
Leighton Meester attends the Gotham Magazine/Leighton Meester Event sponsored by Jose Cuervo Platino at Marquee Nightclub on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Brian Ach/WireImage.com
Leighton Meester attends a Gotham Magazine celebration at Marquee on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Michael N. Todaro/FilmMagic.com
Leighton Meester attends a Gotham Magazine celebration at Marquee on September 27, 2008 in New York City.
Michael N. Todaro/FilmMagic.com
Blake Lively on location for "Gossip Girl" on September 22, 2008 in New York City.
Bobby Bank/WireImage.com
Cynthia Sparer, Dr. Herbert Pardes, Leighton Meester, Alex Cohen and Pamela W. Barnes attend the Kids for Kids celebrity carnival benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation at the Park Avenue Armory on September 20, 2008 in New York City.
Jason Kempin/WireImage.com
Actress Leighton Meester attends the Kids for Kids celebrity carnival benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation at the Park Avenue Armory on September 20, 2008 in New York City.
Jason Kempin/WireImage.com
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
4-11-2009 @ 12:52PM
xout said...
I thought Sarah was still in the present, or the past, if you will. I thought she was just looking at the scene that they disappeared from in the basement?
Great episode though, assuming this is the last, here's hoping that Summer Glau gets a job soon, as I really enjoy er.
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:07PM
Igor said...
Its a shame the season (maybe series?) is over. It was ramping up to be totally awesome. Hopefully Fox realizes the potential, moves it away from the Friday death slot, and keeps it around.
4-11-2009 @ 2:22PM
bsgfan2003 said...
I thought Sarah stayed in the present too.
4-11-2009 @ 2:43PM
Franklin said...
Sarah stayed in the present. Her voice echoed into the future due to the residual after-effect lightning from the time machine.
4-11-2009 @ 1:02PM
Fullman said...
This was an excellent season finale, and unfortunately it looks like it's the last of SCC. One thing struck me as we saw the past 4-5 episodes... this seems more fit for Sci Fi (oh, oops, SyFy) than Fox, and I'm not bringing that up because Battlestar's composer Bear McCreary also composes for SCC.
The darkening tone, the overall plot... seemed to be the brand and audience SyFy is trying to invite. Maybe there's a chance of a network change? We can only hope...
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:04PM
Brad said...
Okay, first off I have to say, HA what did I say about time travel and seeing Rease again! Mwahahahahahaha.
Okay, second I should say, yeah, didnt happen the way I thought. But I still thought that was an interesting twist.
But I wonder at all if that is the robot Carmen or the real Carmen that we see at the end. She almost seems like she was kinda maybe smiling in the final scene. That could be an interesting turn of events if he really does have some sort of crush on her. Get with the real thing.
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:34PM
hessian said...
Brad -
Her name is Cameron, and since she was standing next to a German Shepherd that wasn't going nuts over the presence of a terminator, I'd say she was NOT a skin job.
Jen -
The liquid metal that joined up with Weaver was the eel that lived in the aquarium. Looks like she had a backup of herself in case she ever needed it.
Makes her remark from last week "Don't tap on the glass" just a little more interesting...
Shaun -
There was a bit of a static discharge just before we heard Sarah say "I love you too" - might be interpreted as her arriving in the next room, just out of sight.
wouldn't John & Sarah's presence in a future that didn't include John as mankind's savior be interesting? what if, by stopping SkyNet, they prevented John's leadership some way?
Sigh, we'll probably never know.
4-11-2009 @ 1:10PM
Shaun said...
Where did you see Sarah in the future? She stayed behind. All I saw was an empty room before the fade to black. Did I miss something?
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:59PM
Magical_Salamander11 said...
I don't think so. I strongly believe that when John and Weaver travelled to the future Sarah replied back and only her voice went, not her physical self. This might lead us to a Sarah/Ellison story line in the present and a John/Allison story line in the future.
Mighty gutsy move to take the Terminator mythology and turn it on its head like that.
4-11-2009 @ 1:13PM
Jen said...
I HOPE we get a third season - I was just getting interested! I don't think Sarah joined them though... don't we just hear her saying "I love you too" - at the end? I don't think that means she came through too, just that that was what she was thinking at the time? Or do we see her come through?
Also was there a second liquid Terminator that entered Weaver after everything stopped blowing up or was that part of her that got blown off?
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:23PM
Joseph said...
Her "eel" in the tank had been a part of her the entire time!
4-11-2009 @ 1:28PM
Jen said...
Oh! I missed the obvious answer then.
4-11-2009 @ 1:14PM
mdisloki said...
Another amazing episode!
The acting, the writing, and even the mythology are all far better than the movies at this point and it's a shame Fox hasn't already given it a 3rd season.
What Fox should do, and I hope they're listening, is give the show a 2 or 3 season deal, and like Lost, it can have a set end date. That will give the show's writers a chance to really setup an arc.
I've identified more with Fox than any other channel in my TV life, but if they pull the plug on TSCC and Dollhouse I think I'm done with them.
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:18PM
Tom said...
I'd just like to pass a message to the writers and producers of TSCC (if by chance they are reading this)...
F*@K YOU!
This episode was fine as a season finale but since there is virtually no chance the show is coming back and everyone knows it you'd think the producers wouldn't end the show on a cliffhanger. It isn't like they can claim they didn't know. The ratings have been bad since Season 2 started.
Honestly, can anyone name me one answer they provided that we couldn't have already figured out from the last episode? I didn't see any. What I did see is them creating a bunch of new questions in the last 5 minutes. New questions they'll never get the chance to answer.
I feel like my loyal viewership has been rewarded with a slap in the face.
Reply
4-14-2009 @ 1:08AM
bc said...
This episode was produced weeks or months ago. Should the production staff have read the tea leaves and and decided to wrap the series up--if it were even possible--what would they have done if their expectations of cancellation turned out to be wrong?
4-11-2009 @ 1:18PM
Cyantre said...
"I rolled a 20."
That was priceless every time he said it. XD
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:41PM
D said...
Sarah did travel into the future behind John.the response to John saying he loves her was heard as the lightening from a second traveling was flashing just as we faded out.
This episode really had one purpose.To wow the audience and Fox and add a whole slew of plot points that would be a basis for multiple episodes and to leave all kinds of unfinished business to justify continuing the series at least one season.
It's too bad there's a new movie series on the way as Fox could wrap the series up with a movie (TV) to answer the questions if they wanted to be decent about it but they won't with a theatrical movie on the way.
I also think the theatrical movie may be the death justification for the series as they are not really compatable tellings of the story.Which means Fox knew a long time ago there would be two stories about the same deal coming and TV may be sacrificed.
Fox has become cowardly about TV anyway.they still try to act like the bold daring give it a chance network with series like this,Dollhouse,Prison Break and more but they pull the plug as soon as one whisper of lower money returns comes along.
I'd love to see series like TSCC and Dollhouse picked up by Sci-Fi or some network that would allow it to grow and build like Battlestar Gallactica did.Fox will never commit to that kind of courage.
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 1:59PM
snforrester said...
I'm dying to see what happens next! :(
I wish DirecTV would pick this up. How awesome would it be if they shared this show with Fox the same way they shared Friday Night Lights with NBC? The two shows have similar ratings. Somebody make this happen. Ok? Thanks.
Also, I don't think Sarah Connor followed John to the future. I think it was just an echo through time.
Reply
4-11-2009 @ 6:43PM
Tom said...
The DirecTV deal works because it's compatible with DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket offering. That's why the deal works for them.
The same isn't true of TSCC so there's no way a deal would work for them.
4-11-2009 @ 2:02PM
cgar said...
unbelievable episode. hopefully a miracle happens and it's renewed. i think the show is better then any of the movies!
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