I'd like to thank Josh Lasser for entrusting me with this week's recap of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In order to become the best Terminator recapper he could, he decided to make like John Connor and go undercover at a military school for a few weeks. So you're stuck with me, just for one week. Tonight's episode asked a very important question: can one experience post-traumatic stress disorder from an event that technically hasn't happened yet? That's what Derek Reese worked through as he and John sought to protect a valuable asset from the future.

If you noticed the logo of the Presidio Alto, you noticed a rook. This is symbolic is two ways. On one hand, it harkens back to The Turk, the chess-loving computer that may or may not evolve into Skynet. But on another level, it's an apt description of Martin Bedell: not quite the most important piece in the future war, but a valuable one all the same, ranking just below the king and queen of the future rebellion.

Ironically, Derek protects the present-day Martin from the T-888 so that he might die saving John Connor in the future. Once again, the relentless hand of fate tugs John towards the future. In shows like Heroes, the future is like Play-Doh: infinitely malleable. In the Terminator universe, nearly everything bends towards one pre-determined point in time. There might be different roads down which John can travel, but the final destination is always the same. He is assuming the mantle of leadership (note how he helped a fellow cadet unlock his gun), but does so reluctantly, almost viewing himself as a scourge, not a savior.

Not that we haven't seen this weight upon him before, but for whatever reason, it seemed to resonate most clearly with John in this episode. Derek didn't exactly cheer him up by saying, "He died for you, John. We all die for you." Derek has mad military skillz, but let's just say he doesn't have much of a future in the way of motivational speaking. That being said, Brian Austin Green just KILLS as Derek, with his impassioned speech to a bloodthirsty cadet as one of the highlights of this week. The understated way in which he and John interact is a constant highlight.

While the boys went all camo, the ladies went all Adventures in Babysitting, with the World's Most Understanding Kidnapee in tow. At first, Sarah and Cameron unwittingly play Good Babysitter/More than Slightly Terrifying Babysitter, but eventually we realize that Sarah's lost that maternal touch. We also learn this week that The Wizard of Oz works excellently well as narration for a nighttime attack upon a T-888. Who knew? Tune in next time as Cameron fights Catherine Weaver while Derek intones Where the Wild Things Are.

Indeed, the show seems to have intentionally sidelined Sarah over the past two episodes to showcase/highlight her "softer" side. Personally, I see WHY they are doing this, although I'm not sure it's exactly necessary. Sarah can be both "warrior" AND "woman" simultaneously, but it's as if the show either doesn't understand how to do this or thinks the audience is too dumb to see it. In either case, I'm ready for Sarah to once again be on the forefront of the action. (They could have at least stuck her in one of those Dodge Ram ads, right?)

On the Ellison/Weaver front, we learned a potential date for Judgment Day: August 2009. That's the day that the nuclear facility seen in this season's second episode is due to be fully automated. One assumes Weaver sees this facility as the base of operations for the apocalypse. She's so determined to keep Doomsday on schedule that she engages in the deadliest French kissing ever in order to silence would-be whistle blower Nelson. Thanks to Ellison, she also learns of the existence of another Terminator in her midst, so Cameron best watch her back in the coming months.

A few scattered thoughts about tonight's ep:

1. Thank God Dodge Ram sponsored this hour of television. If it had been a Mazda, I'm sure John Connor would have had to say, "Zoom, zoom, zoom," at some point.
2. Did anyone NOT see the tar pit death coming from the moment they identified the substance? I'm about the worst plot guesser ever, and even I said, "And THAT is where the T-888 is gonna bite it."
3. Thank God Martin Bedell was a cross-country runner and not a pole vaulter. That would have turned the future into a post-apocalyptic version of Cirque du Soleil.
4. Loved the return of the Basement of Bloody Writing. It's not quite the blast door map from Lost, but it'll do just fine.

Thanks to the baseball playoffs, we're going to have to endure a short break in the action before seeing if John can be a better leader, Sarah a better mother, and Weaver a better kisser. Will you come back after the mini-respite? I know I will.

Is John turning into a leader or merely a disgruntled teenager? Are you OK with Sarah's current storylines, or itching for her to get back into a fray? And how many people want to see a Derek Reese Chronicles spinoff? Leave your thoughts on tonight's ep below!

Comments

i don't like how cameron and sarah were secondary to the story even though i know why in terms of the story. my preference is for at least cameron to have a central role ( a story about allison young doesn't count ).

i just want to see as much of summer glau as cameron before its inevitable cancellation.

joits | Oct 6, 2008 9:23:40 PM | #

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Who knew Brian Austin Green would turn out to be such a badass? I love it, give me more of the battle-scarred, quiet-spoken, uber-serious Derek!

Good episode, and like you said, who knew The Wizard Of Oz could ever narrate an ambush so well?

The "Baum" was a nice touch, too.

quisquilian | Oct 6, 2008 10:33:05 PM | #

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Baum--I get it! Thanks quisquilian.
They keep doing these stories and scenes that are supposed to make you think about the characters' feelings. Like "Oh, Sarah is dealing with her insecurities as a mother" or "Gee, John is conflicted about living the role of a normal teen while knowing he is the future leader." We know they're conflicted. We know they're dealing with some pretty heavy issues! I think sometimes they overdo it.
BAG is great as Derek. I agree about his interactions with John...that scene last season was awesome (at the park).
Good recap.

pepnjen | Oct 6, 2008 11:09:22 PM | #

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not only can you sync
The Wizard Of Oz to an ambush, you can also sync it to
pink floyd's "dark side of the moon"!!!

tv-viewer | Oct 6, 2008 11:30:55 PM | #

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Excellent recap !

I'm tired of the softening of Sarah. They already made her a little softer than the movie version. They need to make her more understanding of her sons issues - but not softer. That goes against her secondary mission - to groom him for his future role if the primary mission can't be done - which is to stop it from happening altogether.

Think John is coming to terms with it all. Still not liking it, but starting to accept it as his fate.

MJ | Oct 7, 2008 6:07:08 AM | #

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I loved when Sarah realized that Derek and John were not hiding out and she warned Derek that if anything happened to John she would kill him.

I'm still wondering who killed Sarkisian... was it Sarah or John? At one point in the first season it was said that Sarah hadn't actually killed anyone yet? Was it her first kill? Or did John step up and kill him to protect Sarah?

Jeanette | Oct 7, 2008 7:03:25 AM | #

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Can BAG get any hotter? From the previews, it looks like he might get a different kind of action next week.

And Cameron continues to delight. "Do you want a bedtime story?" all the time holding the kid up by his shirt-front.

LOL!

alia | Oct 7, 2008 7:25:04 AM | #

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I would like to see a calm episode without any action at all. These people couldn't function if they had to get into all-out battles with terminators every single day. I'd like to see what their lives are like on a normal day. Let's see how they get money and food. Can John actually make it through an entire day of school? Might he want to make a a move on Riley?

Then we can get back to the action.

Fred | Oct 7, 2008 7:52:25 AM | #

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I think it's odd that no one pointed out that Cam just stood in the woods and watched as John was chased and could have been killed by the T_Triple8. Is she still malfunctioning to the extent that her mission objectives are no longer exactly hard wired into her code, but she may possibly have the option to choose her own moves or is she maybe coming to the realization, much as Arnold did in T3, that certain aspects of the future cannot be changed. Maybe no matter what anyone else does, John is meant to survive. The pieces may move and change, but the destiny for the future is Skynet vs. John Conner. Anyone else wonder or question her behaviour at that point?

cgreen | Oct 7, 2008 8:48:18 AM | #

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cgreen, I was thinking the same thing regarding Cameron just standing there. She had a similar look on her face before John and Derek left the house at the beginning of the episode. I'm not sure what that means though.

Tim | Oct 7, 2008 8:57:20 AM | #

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The exchange between the bartender and Ellison. Bartender-"Did you find what you were looking for?" Ellison-"Just the opposite. I found something that I was not looking for." Notice that he didn't mention Sarah to the psycho french kisser.

Tim | Oct 7, 2008 9:01:00 AM | #

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"He dies for you, John. We all die for you."

That line resonates. John is so uncomfortable with growing into his role - a completely reasonable reaction - but to realize that the entire future race of man is willing to die for you because you are HOPE...the expectation of what he must become is nearly crushing. I'm not sure how one would grow beneath the weight of what is to come and what he must become for them all. Sometimes I forget that about the series...a nice reminder.

This episode has stuck with me all day...as has the image of Cameron in the woods watching John and Derek kill the T-800. I'm confused about why Cameron didn't engage the T-800. Is she consciously making the decision to allow John to fight his own battles? making the necessary leap of faith in John's ability to become John Connor for whom they all die. That's a fairly sophisticated decision for Cameron to make, and a curious decision for Cameron to make because she must be invested, herself, in John's survival in order to dispassionately gamble on his abilities at this early age. She allows John to take chances that his mother and his uncle are too frightened to allow him to take. Or...was she conflicted about her actions in this instance - that's fascinating in and of itself - that Cameron might be conflicted.

This show gets better and better...much more engaging that the 1st season. I fervently hope the show sticks around. I would hate to lose it as it picks up momentum.

romana118 | Oct 7, 2008 10:40:44 AM | #

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Correct me if I am wrong. Didn't the kidnapped boy take the book with him when he left on the bus and was not the same book on the table in a later scene at Sarah's house?
Love the series and hope it keeps going for a long time.

lyann | Oct 7, 2008 11:45:11 AM | #

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I was happy to see two connected, yet very separate, stories featuring the main actors. Even though Cameron was pretty much just a "sit-stay-go fetch" robot for most of the show, I liked the episode. The unlikely chance of Sarah Connor or any other person being able to drop off a kid who was mentioned on the news as being kidnapped would not have happened, not in this age of cell phones, cameras everywhere and nosy people...not even in Los Angeles, where people have a tendency to miss what's right under their noses (why the hell else did OJ get found not guilty the first time around?). Somebody at the bus stop or on the bus itself would have noticed the kid (especially since he had a very memorable face and haircut), and Sarah would probably have been pointed out by at least one person. So bad writing there, but the only poor point in a better-than-average episode.

The military school was one of the most accurate I've ever seen portrayed on TV. No barking drill sergeants, no crybaby sissy boys bawling about wanting to go home every six minutes, no psychotic soon-to-be-court-martialed-for-replaying-My-Lai gun freaks...just a typical school that just happens to be training grounds for the next generation of soldiers/Marines. Well done. Don't know that John or Derek would have been able to just walk into a military school and fit right in (even in the timeline of the show), but eh. Minor quibble.

The use of The Wizard of Oz as a connecting point between the two storylines was quite cool. In some ways, even Ellison's secondary story fit into the overall tale, which makes this one of the tightest plots of the whole series to date. How much longer the show will be on to see if they can top this one is up to whatever evil overlords the network execs bow down to. It sure as hell isn't up to us viewers.

Revenant | Oct 7, 2008 12:58:34 PM | #

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This was easily the best episode of the season, and possibly the best episode of the show, period.

- The characters are all clicking, even John Connor, who everyone (myself included) has had some issues with lately.

- It felt very much like a classic Terminator storyline. It's not complicated or fancy, but it worked.

- Brian Austin Green gave an amazing performance and practically steals the episode.

- John Connor got a real mission (other than staying alive).

- No sign of Riley, John's odd, quirky new girlfriend.

- Although she's not in the thick of things, Cameron still had some great moments.

- Even the Catherine Weaver stuff is improving now that she's teamed up with Ellison.

Very good stuff all around.

CJ | Oct 7, 2008 1:31:40 PM | #

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I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW! and i loved this eppy!

wow, it's ryan recapping the terminator show, cool. (nothing against josh btw.) i agree with you ryan, and i think the interaxn of all the main characters on this show is a constant highlight.

loved the interlacing of the ep's story with the WIZARD OF OZ. enjoyed the sideshow of the little boy being "kidnapped." yeah writers we get it, sarah can be both warrior and soft-hearted at the same time. anyway i just love her character, and the actress who plays her. her maternal instincts/skills seemed a-okay to me!

cameron standing watching at the tar pit haunted me too. i was thinking that she wanted to give john and derek a chance to fight their own battle, john needs to form his own chops, but it seemed she was there nevertheless lurking as a back-up. and NO i really didn't see the tar pit thing coming til it was right in front of me!

dl | Oct 7, 2008 1:47:41 PM | #

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Ryan- can you write this recap every week? Because you did an awesome job. Or just kill John Lasser so you can get to recapping!

Mel | Oct 7, 2008 1:50:12 PM | #

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I enjoyed the parts where John told Derek his exit strategy, cleared the other kid's jam, taunted the terminator and showed he isn't just another pretty face. In the first season it looked like he had forgotten who he was, sitting at the desk in his room with his back to the door. I wonder if moving his desk later in the season was planned character development or did someone remind the writers that he should already know better?

You guys didn't notice the Baum family from Kansas who had been in a tornado stuff in the first season?

There is also a lot of religious overtones, besides the obvious, what with Judgment Day and John Connor's initials, but instead of him dying for us everyone dies for him. That seems to be a repeated theme, who's dying for or because of him this week? I think Dekker does a good job of showing how heavy a burden that would be.
(I really do think it's probable that John is the one that killed Sarkissian. It looked like John was working on getting his hands loose while Sarkissian was busy torturing Sarah and ignoring what he probably thought of as a harmless kid.) Probably something they don't want to make explicit on tv though, a kid killing another human being. TPTB didn't want Eddie Furlong to be seen merely firing a weapon in T2 and it was rated R, wasn't it?

I think the look on Cameron's face both times was either saying this was something future John had told her about so she knew he would be ok or she knew it was something he needed to do to become who he becomes.

starkiller | Oct 7, 2008 2:56:02 PM | #

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Good analytical recap for the best episode of the season all round (although the season opener was great.)
BAG has been badly underused, and he showed what a waste that is. Derek is a really good character, and his interactions with the young trainees was great. Also great to see a non whiny John showing some of his future combat/leadership skills.

Yes we've had softer Sarah lately, but I liked the relationship with the kid. I thought he might be annoying, but you could see that Sarah kind of liked him. Even Cameron read him bedtime stories and cut the crusts off his sandwiches! Personally, I liked the S1 eps when we saw John and Derek and Sarah and Cameron working in pairs. Not that much Cameron, but a few funny little lines.
As for who killed Sarkissian that someone asked, many fans think it was John. His reaction afterwards indicated it. On the podcast, the producers talked about him witnessing Sarah doing the killing, but it's still unclear.
No Riley, no annoying pregnant neighbour YAY!!

Cath | Oct 7, 2008 3:51:39 PM | #

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starkiller, i have to say you always make great points/comments. i also think that it was probably john that killed sarkissian. this is one great show!

LAkitty | Oct 7, 2008 4:34:59 PM | #

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Loved the episode--& love this show!! My favorite parts were when Cameron was holding the boy, & she say's, so you want me to read you a story, & he shake's his head--LOL!! Also, when Derek says he died for you, we all die for you!! The story telling which coincides with the bad machine sinking in the guck--which I and am sure many other's figured he'd do too, & off course, when they blew him up!! My husband wondered whether Cameron was there to pull the Term's plug!! My other favorite moment was at the end when the metal lady--which I was sure was her even at the bar when she first came in, sucked the life right out of that man!! Can't wait till next show, this just keeps getting better & better!!

Michele | Oct 7, 2008 7:31:49 PM | #

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I agree this show does improve with every week and i'm glad Derek wasn't just a temporary character because he has really been a great addition. Never watched 90210, but BAG can bring it as an actor and on top of that he's with Megan Fox. You got to respect that!
I don't agree about Riley though. I think she is mega hot! one of the few women on TV that actually has some curves! The more of her the better, although i'm betting she's going to be killed to further motivate John into becoming the future leader.

steve | Oct 8, 2008 6:54:58 AM | #

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I wish this show had Heroes' audience, since this is now the better show. This show continues to improve, and I really like all of the principal cast at this point, even freaky Shirley Manson, whose acting would be impossibly stilted if she were anything other than a mercurial assassin android.

BAG and Ellison deserve special props, they've really broadened the scope of the show. I can't wait until Ellison is a full-fledged member of Sarah's Scooby gang.

Siansonea | Oct 8, 2008 8:11:48 AM | #

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I figure Ellison will continue like he is. I don't think he knows his boss is a machine but he may figure out she is working at cross purposes.

starkiller | Oct 8, 2008 8:19:58 AM | #

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The show is getting better as the ratings get worse. TERMINATOR needs better PR.

M.F. | Oct 8, 2008 10:24:31 AM | #

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