"Gnothi Seauton"
"Know thy self because what else is there to know?"
- Sarah Connor
Apparently, the Connors and Cameron were not the only ones teleported seven years into the future. Cromartie's head (and body we later find out) made the trip as well. He spends the entire episode getting his head straight (gruesomely literally). In the meantime, the Connors are attempting to acclimate to the year 2007. First on the agenda is getting new identities. Cameron informs them that there is a group of resistance fighters from the future that can help them with what they need. As Sarah and Cameron pay these soldiers a visit, they discover two surprises: the soldiers have been massacred and their killer, another Terminator, is playing dead. After a fight and chase resulting in the enemy cyborg escaping, Sarah questions why they even had to jump into the future. Cameron reveals that Sarah died from cancer in 2005 (in the original timeline). Sarah agrees with John that they should enlist the aid of Enrique (character from Terminator 2: Judgment Day) to help them. Turns out that he is now "retired" but refers them to his nephew, Carlos, who offers to do the job for $20 grand. He also shares with Sarah some sobering world events that occurred while she was away. John has been keeping himself busy by leaving the house and researching the whereabouts of Charley Dixon, Sarah's fiancé and father figure to John before they had gone on the run in 1999. John ends up at Charlie's house and surprises him when he comes home. Knowing that he shouldn't be there in the first place, John attacks Charlie, apologies, then leaves the house. Later, with a desperate need for cash, the Connors plus one head back to the resistance group's apartment, find hidden cash and escape out a window (Cameron ends up being tossed out the window) before the Terminator, that they had tangled with in the beginning, returns. Carlos gladly makes them their new id cards and lets slip out that his uncle was a 'rat.' Upon hearing this news, Sarah confronts Enrique about whether he has sold them out or not. He tries to convince Sarah that he would never do such a thing to her but Cameron kills him (knowing that Sarah could not do it). As it turns out, Enrique did make an offer to the Feds, but never mentioned what the info was. The episode ends with John and Cameron starting at their new school as Sarah gets a doctor's exam.
Commentary:
- OK, first off, if we are basing this on the first two
Terminator movies (especially the first one), time travel is kind of complicated isn't it? Wasn't the machine that Kyle Reese used destroyed after he went through? Now I can understand more time machines being built (Cameron is able to build one in the pilot episode but that took 33 years); however, considering all these younger John Connor protectors that have been sent back into time by the future John Connor, were not all the "good" cyborgs teleported at approximately the same time in the future? Forgetting the first two films, so far we are aware of at least three cyborgs and four resistance fighters who have all made the trip with (based on what Cameron states) there being more Terminators running around. My mind's eye just pictures something out of a Bug Bunny cartoon with Future World Savior John Connor"! manning a conveyor belt of "good" Terminators and human soldiers and Skynet doing the same, 'cept with "bad" cyborgs. With all this time traveling going on, isn't there a very good chance that something will get mucked up? I dunno 'bout the rest of ya'll, but I'm not happy with this plot point.
- Nice way to tie-in the series with
T2 by having the character of Enrique return (sad to see him go out like that). Also, cool references to
T1 with the bar code tattoos and to
T3 with Sarah dying. The metallic 'clunk' of Cromartie's skull as it's placed down on the window sill is just perfect! Sarah refers to events in
T2 when she questions Cameron taking orders from John. The safe's combination was Judgment Day's date (which doesn't make sense since that would had been August 29, 1997 and it's 2007, thus Judgment Day didn't happen? Confused? I am). Oh and...dogs barking!
- Nice Dell & Windows product placement! /sarcasm
-How cool was that action sequence in the future? Loved River... sorry, Cameron's almost blank, machine-like expression on her face as she fought the other Terminator (check her out as she walks through the hole in the wall). I particularly enjoyed both of them flying out the window into the wall on the other side of the alley, then falling to the ground. I totally was not expecting Cameron getting hit by a car at the end of that scene! Hopefully, the action/stunts will remain at this level for the rest of the series.
- So Cameron is an "unknown cyborg" at least to the other Terminator models. Maybe she wasn't a Skynet created model? But that can't be as she knows a lot about Skynet and other cyborgs. I thought that the scenes with Cameron imitating Carlos' girl and later the makeup session a tad bit odd (but cool). Summer Glau really has the machine side of this character down. I really believed she would had killed that police officer if not for Sarah intervention.
- Whoa! Thought I was watching LOST for a second or three there! Sonya Walger makes an appearance as Charlie's wife and the first time we see her (in this episode), she is seen in a photograph with Charlie that totally reminds me of Desmond's photo of Penny and himself. In-joke anyone? Add another Brit to the list (see previous blog).
- Ugh! Please don't call Cameron 'Tin Man' anymore. I'm a fan of the 'Wizard of Oz' (movie not the original book) and hearing Sarah say 'Tin Man' just reminded me of that horrible Sci-Fi Channel mini-series of the same name.
- Not sure how I feel about the references to 9/11 in the episode; however, I think it could be a tie-in to the dialog exchange between John and the Terminator from T2:
John: "We're not going to make it, are we?"
Terminator: "It is in your nature to destroy yourselves.
- I called it (in the last blog)! Well, sort of. I questioned whether Cromartie's parts were the cause of Skynet's creation and although that was not the case (as far as we know), his head and torso did make the jump into the future. Of course, one has to wonder how his head and torso were able to make the jump considering he was in two pieces with no flesh surrounding where his head was severed. Nitpicking much? Well, yes I am. However, I wasn't the one who made up these "rules" for time travel. Then again, I'm still unclear how the T1000 was able to make the jump. OK OK, nitpicking off (for now).
- Agent James Ellison... Harlan Ellison? Just saying since we already have a "Cameron."
- John, John, John (or should I say, Claire, Claire, Claire). Is it too much to as for you to listen to your mom and stay off the radar!
- This episode featured Cameron was hit by a car and fell out a window (the same one?) twice. Hmmm. Should I even be keeping a track of this? Heh.
Till next time... fight for the future!
Quotes:
Cameron: "Please remain calm.
Enrique: "You're a very quiet girl"
Cameron laughs
Sarah: "If I would had witnessed it. If I would had been here... I'm sure I would had thought the end was near."
Cameron: "El Finito is a true believer but he is finished with the life."
Sarah: "Do what you do, girly."
Cameron: "Why are diamonds a girl's best friend?"
Sarah: "I don't know anything anymore. I don't even remember what my name is."
John: "My dad's always a hero. He's always dead."
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