'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' gets truly committed
With the season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles rapidly approaching it seems as though the show keeps posing more and more questions and expanding the scope of what needs to be resolved as opposed to heading towards a conclusion. At least, that was the case until tonight. This evening's episode certainly moved us closer to some sort of resolution. What exactly that will be, I don't know, but it does now feel as though a resolution is just over the horizon.
The episode began with Cameron destroying a turbine in a power plant and cutting power to a portion of Los Angeles. What with the power down, Cameron headed to a local police station to search out the missing T-888 hand. However, as we could have told her, it wasn't present at the station, it was with Agent Ellison. All that blackout for no purpose whatsoever.
Back at the ranch, John refused to try and track down Dmitri (the programmer of the Turk) as it would have required him to play hooky from school (an odd choice, which instantly let us know that something was up with the kid, though the specifics of his issue didn't come up). Instead, it was Cameron who was sent out to track down Dmitri while Sarah went for the hand.
Cameron used info provided by Derek to find Dmitri's sister. The sister, Derek somehow knew, was a ballet instructor and Cameron opted to enroll in the sister's class. Our metal friend made nice with the teacher and then hurt a Russian mob-looking type who was accosting her. That earned Cameron a hall pass to visit Dmitri. He revealed to Cameron that he had changed the Turk's programming so that the Turk would lose the chess tournament which would allow Dmitri to steal his own device and sell it for 20,000 dollars (he owed the mob-looking types some serious money and the 20 grand was a drop in the bucket).
Dmitri named the buyer with the hopes that Cameron would give him more money. Cameron, however, took the information and left just as the mob-types were heading into Dmitri's building. As Cameron walked down the stairs and out of the building, the mob-types headed in to Dmitri's apartment and shots were heard fired. Is Dmitri dead or are we just supposed to think so?
The other storyline tonight involved the continuing game of cat and mouse between Ellison and Sarah. It started with Sarah calling the FBI and pretending to be a cop in order to try and track down the missing T-888 hand. The FBI had no record of the hand, and when Ellison was asked, he denied ever having seen it.
Ellison, went home, watched some old tapes of Sarah at the mental hospital and then took a visit to the institution in order to get a better feel for his prey. As Ellison was there, Sarah was at Ellison's and learned of his obsession with her (she even took one of the tapes).
Stealing the tape from Ellison was dumb, not quite as dumb as John in turn taking the tape and watching it though. John was not happy with what he saw, Sarah having herself committed. Wow. Who knew she had done that (she told John later that she realized just how wrong she was as soon as she had signed the papers).
I don't quite know what Ellison was expecting to find in the videotapes of Sarah, but he definitely felt there was something to be gained from learning about her history. He believed this so much so that he went out and tracked down Dr. Silberman (the psychiatrist from T-2). Ellison and Silberman had a nice cup of tea together and a little chat about Sarah. The cup of tea ended with Ellison passing out from the drug Silberman placed in the drink.
Silberman actually believed Sarah's nonsensical story about metal men from the future coming back to the present in order to kill her. He further surmised that Ellison was in fact one of those metal men and was after Sarah. What didn't make sense though is that Silberman used rope to tie Ellison down, surely if Ellison was a Terminator he could have broken the bonds that held him.
After stabbing Ellison in the leg to prove that the FBI agent was in fact human, Silberman and Ellison had a real chat. Silberman recounted the story of Arnold's rescuing Sarah from the hospital and in exchange, Ellison revealed the fact that he had a Terminator's hand in his trunk. Silberman didn't bother to untie the knots that were holding Ellison because of this reveal however. He actually went a step further, injecting Ellison with a drug, knocking the agent out once more.
Ellison awoke this time to find Silberman pouring gasoline all over his own house. Silberman then put a flame to the gas and headed out the front door into the waiting arms of Sarah Connor. After a few brief words, she punched him, knocking the doctor out cold. Sarah saved Ellison and took the hand which was destroyed at the end of the episode. As for Silberman, he wasn't quite so lucky, Ellison had him committed for ranting and raving about metal men from the future.
So you see, I think that tonight did start to clear things up. The T-888 pieces (except for the one Cameron took) have been destroyed and there's a solid lead on the whereabouts of the Turk (which may actually be the precursor to Skynet). There was no Cromartie tonight, but I don't feel like that bit of the puzzle has to be solved this season. Skynet seems to have a limitless supply of Terminators to send back, so what difference does it make if it is Cromartie hunting down our heroes or if a different Terminator is doing the job.
How will the season end? We'll find out next week in a double-episode.
Okay, I know you all want to discuss it, so, go ahead -- what do you make of Cameron ballet dancing at the end of the episode? Is she more human than every other Terminator that we've seen or is it a ploy of some sort? Also, how do we feel about Sarah committing herself back in the day? Do we buy that? To me, it seems like a massive change in character.
One character who I can promise will remain consist -- the nice gentleman who runs The TV and Film Guy's Reviews.
"John was not happy with what he saw, Sarah having herself committed. Wow. Who knew she had done that (she told John later that she realized just how wrong she was as soon as she had signed the papers)."
What John saw wasn't Sarah committing herself. He saw Sarah signing papers permanently relinquishing custody of John. That's what upset him, also what she realized was wrong. She couldn't have committed herself if that was the day she escaped (after spending 3 years in the mental hospital). That's a big change to your question!
One thing that I don't remember for sure about Cameron's ballet dancing scene at the end. Was the music she was dancing to the same music that was playing in the basement in the "future" scene from last week's episode? I do know that they made a point of saying in that voice-over at the end that if the robots can learn to make / appreciate art then they become human (or something of the sort). That to me indicates that Cameron is way more human than the other Terminators that we have seen.
As much as Camerson is a protector of a single human, which is her most important mission, I also believe that she has been programmed to further explore human behavior. Whether this is for nefarious reasons or not is yet to be seen, but I feel that Cameron is without question the most complex and interesting character on the show, and has been from day one. Her ballet moves at the end were likely more mimicry than actual "feeling" the dance, although given Cameron's previous hints of faux-humanity and what p***es for emotion in a machine (albeit a complex-beyond-belief one), she/it may very well be bringing her own observances into a human activity that requires more than just moving the body in a predetermined series of steps. Yes, that is what dance entails, but any ballerina or other dancer worth their stripes turn the basics into something nearly mystical in executing those steps. Cameron may be just a machine at heart, but I have the feeling there is much more to her than has yet been revealed. If I remember correctly, Summer Glau has her own training as a ballerina, so at least she didn't have to use a stunt double for that scene either. Must be nice to be that limber, *ahem. As for the rest of the episode, I agree that much has yet to be settled before next week's season finale, and I do seriously hope the writers aren't pie-in-the-sky types who automatically ***ume that they've got a second season already locked up, thereby ending the finale in a cliffhanger. Some loose ends in a series like this are necessary, but I'm hoping at least one major plotline will be concluded (is Cameron really there to help, or is she a spy for an as-yet-unnamed/unseen higher-up?). In any case, it has been a fun season, and the show is tons better than I thought it was going to be. Sure, there have been plot holes wide enough to drive a space shuttle through (sideways), but it's been a blast.
Josh, I normally love your recaps. I can't believe you confused up the part of her signing papers to give up parental rights with thinking it was about commiting herself. you're usually so into the details. And there were hints to this during the show.
John mentioned that the foster parents in the second movie wanted to adopt him, and Derek said Sarah would never give him up. John didn't seem to agree with him on that.
When John and Sarah were talking at the end about the tape, she mentions the date and he says that was the date she stopped being his mom.
Melody, I was thinking the music was the same too. which could once again be why Derek mentioned knowing Cameron.
You guys are right, if Sarah was giving John up by signing those papers, I didn't get it. However, such a thing never crossed my mind because if Sarah was already committed, if she was already in an institution, she didn't have the legal authority to sign papers giving up her son. Wouldn't that have been ruled completely invalid in a court?
I was going to post about this last week but I didn't get around to it. I really think something was fishy about the whole future/torture/let the prisoners go by leaving and leaving an axe thing. I have a feeling that they (the prisoners) were all brainwashed somehow and are human sleeper agents of some sort for Skynet (of course it could just be my conspiracy theory ravings LOL). I think there was more in Cameron's "I know yotoo" than just mimicing. We shall see (maybe).
Josh, what Sarah was signing were the papers to allow John to be adopted by the foster parents he mentioned. Yes, while she was in the mental hospital he was a ward of the state, but she hadn't given him up forever.
I can understand your thinking that she couldn't have signed the adoption papers if she was in the hopsital. If she understand what she was signing, then she shouldn't be in the hospital. If she didn't understand then her signature wouldn't be legally binding. Maybe someone who knows more about the legalities of a situation like this will read and respond.
I can't believe that we are already at the season finale next week. This show has definitely gotten me hooked.
I wouldn't get my hopes up for the "finale" wrapping everything up. For one thing, wasn't there supposed to be more episodes to the season but the strike messed that up? Also last I heard this show was quickly following Bionic Woman (which as of this writing is STILL not cancelled, just for the record) onto the bubble. I fear we could end up with a series (not season) finale next week that ends with a cliffhanger.
Cameron was an odd combination this week, from coldly allowing the mafia guys to kill the dance instructor and her brother (and there's no doubt they were killed) to surprising Reese by on her own accord practising ballet (nice use of Summer Glau's real-life training, btw). I also liked the very clear references to T2 - are they setting up for a Robert Patrick cameo, do you think? - and Lena Headley's take on Sarah has finally grown on me. I also like how the FBI agent is actually being portrayed as a good guy rather than a nemesis.
The show has me hooked, but I find it hard to fully commit to a show that I'm convinced will be cancelled before it gets a chance to resolve its arc.
My impression of the ballet dance and the voiceover was that it was saying that as the terminators blended in with human qualities, they would eventually 'become' us, being the new 'humans' with the similar qualities occupying our world.
This episode is a perfect example of why this show tears me in half. I actually LOVE the angle of the FBI guy trying to put everything together. I think it's the best part of this show. It's got the whole "Fugitive" thing going for it. He's chasing her, but he actually is coming around to believing her. Good stuff.
What's not so good is all of the T2 back tracking. This show is not the best at going back to the movies. There are just so many irritating things. Not getting the same actor for Dr. Silberman makes no sense. I hate refilming scenes that were basicly from T2 but edited out. It's just all completely unnecessary. If you want us to believe in this story GET AWAY FROM T2. Talking about the events is one thing, which is why the Kyle Reese talk works. But this refilming of T2 events just drives me crazy. If I were Jim Cameron, I'd be turning over in my grave. Oh wait, he's still alive, never mind. Even worse.
This show has alot of potential, but sometimes it just drives me crazy!
I think the exploration of emotion, art, and human nature by Cameron is going to lead to the conclusion of this series. Look at the story so far. Our army of 3 humans and a terminator are constantly trying to fight off the inevitable. I don't think it matters if the Turk becomes Skynet, or if some component of a T-whatever is left behind at a present day battle, Skynet will be built! Could it be that Cameron's evolution will result in something that the characters in this series haven't even considered? How about PEACE between the machines and humans? Think about it, think think about it.