"Queen's Gambit"
"To win you must be patient, bold, calculating. And most of all: willing to sacrifice."
- Sarah Connor
Andy Goode contacts Sarah to invite her to a computer chess tournament that he has entered. Andy's new version of The Turk, the chess computer that Sarah destroyed when she burned down his house, is entered into the competition - the grand prize being is lucrative military contract. Chromartie, under the guise of Special Agent Kester, contacts Charlie Dixon to see if he has any information about the Connors. John and Cameron deal with the aftermath of the suicide at school. John again encounters Cheryl Weston whom he is told is "damaged goods." Back at the chess tournament, Andy's computer loses the match much to the relief of Sarah, who was mulling over killing him. Shockingly, Andy is later found dead by Sarah in his hotel room. She is able to chase down the possible killer but the police arrive and apprehend him before she can interrogate him. After deducing that he is the remaining (and missing) resistance fighter, Sarah tracks down and visits him in prison. She gets two surprises: he claims that he did not kill Andy (or steal The Turk) and that he is... Derek Reese, Kyle's brother. The group hatches a plan to rescue Derek while he is being transported but the Terminator that was originally hunting the resistance fighters has other ideas. Cameron is able to deal with the enemy cyborg, but it still ends up shooting Derek. They transport the wounded man back to their house and deal with his injuries; however, the wound is too difficult to treat. John fetches Charley Dixon to help save Derek.
Commentary:
Finally, we get some action or rather the action clips we all have seen in the previous previews. I guess the show is still trying to find it's legs because to me, that truck sequence was just a but underwhelming, except that I did enjoy the "Triple 8" (heh) getting it's hand ripped off and head all battered. Later, I felt a certain glee as Cameron battered it with that pipe. Did the production designers keep with continuity with the look of the chip that she removes?
So did Sarah have/developed feelings for Andy? Who killed Andy? Cameron? John?
I didn't get a close look but were those vitamins or a possible anti-cancer/health food pills that Sarah took?
Loved the scene between Cameron and the guidance counselor, although based on his reaction, it appeared that he was more interested in getting info out of Cameron about Jordan rather than helping her "grief." Can we now assume that the guidance counselor was why Jordan killed herself? (side note: why is this even a subplot?)
I didn't recognize Brain Austin Green at first and ended up being fairly impressed by his performance. I guess I was wrong about Cheryl being the missing resistance fighter, but I sure didn't expect it to be Kyle's brother either. Oh, what's Cheryl's deal anyway?
I liked the way the Terminator got itself into prison, but it turned out to be rather pointless as it was unnecessary to the plot.
Penny!!! Sorry, I meant Michelle!!! Of course, you all know what other television show I was thinking of when she says "Charlie." Did you notice her accent slightly slipping when she raised her voice?
Tin Miss! Tornado! Ha!
Nitpicking:
How could John be great at computers and hacking but need help with math?
I believe I saw that remote control robotic dog at Toys R Us for $39.99 a few years back. Guess they couldn't afford getting (the discontinued) Sony Aibo.
Realistically, why would Sarah even bother to ask Cameron about her feelings towards Andy's death? She's a machine, after all (obviously, the real reason is to help drill into the audience that Cameron isn't human and to set her up as a suspect in Andy's murder... but still... too in your face for me).
Is it just me or was it a little implausible that that Sarah automatically believed that Derek was who he claimed he was? I guess we are meant to assume that Cameron was able to confirm who he said he was off-screen (based on what Cameron said earlier).
Did I miss it or did they explain how they got rid of the Terminator's body (I don't include it's hand in this question as that could easily been assumed to have been destroyed)?
Those city streets during the chase/action sequence at the end where barren except for one or two cars... and the Connor's Jeep.
Chess? In the jungle? Taught by the crew that Sarah hung around with? Come on now!
Quotes:
Cameron: "It could become Skynet."
Sarah: "It could also become 'Pong."
Cameron: "I am done with grief counseling and I feel much better."
Derek: "I won't be the bastard who brings metal down on the Connors."
Sarah: "Field trip."
John: " I call shotgun."
Cameron: " I call 9mm."
Till next time... I'll be back!
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