Well, a huge part of the season has been wrapped up. I really liked some parts of this episode, and was less satisfied with others. Overall, however I thought this (along with last week’s episode, as this was a continuation) was one of the strongest outings for this show. I’m hoping that it continues the high level of quality that we have seen the past few weeks.
If we’re really lucky, we’ll get to see that high level of quality next season too, but that may be a pipe dream with the ratings in the tank.
Anyway, onto this week’s episode. Let’s start with the flashback/forward in 2027.
The T-1000 from 2027 has to be Weaver, right? I have to say that I didn’t see that coming after last week’s episode, but it was definitely a cool twist. I’m theorizing that we will see John ask her that question: “Will you join us?” sometime this season. I think it will occur in 2009 and not in 2027. What do you think?
Back in present day, we discovered that John knew what was going on with Riley, and who Jesse was. I was a little disappointed with this. I would have liked to have seen that revelation develop a bit more. To me, it seemed rushed and underdeveloped, almost as if this plot twist were an afterthought. However, the good far outweighed the bad in this episode.
The showdown between John and Jesse was dramatic and tense, and really enjoyable. It was, however, perhaps topped by the Derek and Jesse showdown following it. I also love that they left Jesse’s fate up in the air a bit. I like to think that we haven’t seen the last of Jesse, and that she may be back in the future to cause some more trouble. I know that she wasn’t a very popular character, but I was always fond of her. She added something to the show, in my opinion, and I’ll miss that. Plus, I really missed Sarah getting a crack or two in on her.
It looks like the series is going to have to turn more toward Weaver and John Henry at this point, and I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait to see how the Connors are going to react to the goings on at Zeira Corp.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 20, 2009 @ 22:01 EST5EDT
i got the feeling that Derek definitely killed this Jesse (who was probably from an alternate timeline – the reference to him not being the Derek she knew, in a previous ep asking what her J day was, not remembering Fishers torture/alluding to an alternate Derek, etc)…so even with him killing her it opens up the possibility of another Jesse coming back (every time they stop a part of SkyNet, it alters the future)…
Either way, Jesse isn’t coming back. She had lost, and even if her plan had succeeded, it wouldn’t have changed John’s mind. John Connor read her perfectly, and he knew he was safe letting her go. I definitely think that Derek didn’t miss, though.
I was expecting John’s revelations, although I thought he’d have his own photos of Jesse with Riley and Derek. I’m surprised you thought he didn’t know, as it’s written all over his face in his last few scenes with Riley (and some fans, including me, have suspected all season that he knew). I’m certain it wasn’t a last minute change. “Or maybe I wanted to win.” This is definitely the cold, strategic John Connor I’ve been hoping for. And that entire conversation was chilling.
I’m not sure if the T-1001 was Weaver herself, or just the representative of a faction of liquid metal that includes Weaver. I did love the detail of the refrigerated box — you can see the liquid de-icing after it’s opened. This told me that Future John was smart enough to insist on a frozen negotiator that would be thawed only in a carefully secured room (without vents!), rather than letting it walk off the sub in any form it wanted.
This also explains why all details were classified metal-only, as John couldn’t let the rank-and-file Resistance know he was negotiating an alliance with unscrubbed, sentient terminators.
I believe one of the terminator’s conditions for the talks were that weapons not be aimed at it, as it killed instantly when a plasma rifle was pointed at it. The sub affair would definitely look like a human double-cross in any event.
Poor Queeg. That actor was extremely good. Since the T-1001 didn’t kill any more humans, I guess he was right in assuming that the negotiations could be salvaged. I can’t blame Jesse for her actions either, since no one would explain anything to the human crew. Though now I wonder if her actions are directly responsible for Weaver coming back in time to shape Skynet’s development.
I continue to be awed by the quality of the writing on this show. If it goes, I will simply appreciate what we got.
*POST AUTHOR*
Thanks for the comment . You make a lot of really good points.
In reference to Jon knowing about RIley: I figured that the only thing he was onto was that she was from the future and that there was more that she was hiding. I would have liked to have seen some of his PI work instead of him just talking about it. It seemed like it was a big turn of events that just came out very abruptly. It didn’t bother that much though, honestly. Mainly a small thing, but I thought it could have been tighter.
Yes, the only thing John could have figured out on his own was that Riley was from the future and the “guidance counselor” was probably involved in some way. It was when he said he started following Riley that we can infer that he saw her interactions with Jesse, and then Jesse’s with Derek, leading to his conversation with Derek at the start of the show. I agree that it could seem abrupt if you didn’t suspect it earlier, but it’s not made up out of whole cloth.
Most shows tend to fall apart when examined too closely. I don’t think I can watch Dollhouse any further, now that it’s had its “good episode.” But T:SCC just gets more interesting the more you dissect it, like a good DS9 episode. When you think about it, very little actually happens in most episodes — it’s all in the details, especially the subtle acting from every character (great guest stars included; I hope we get more The Wire vets).
Off-topic, I was hesitant to watch this episode right after the epic and draining BSG finale, but was not disappointed in the slightest. I’m going to miss not having two excellent, challenging shows every Friday.
Wow – this episode just gave me chills. For some reason, even as I’ve watched BSG and TSCC their similarities weren’t striking in spite of the common themes. Until tonight, when the question was “will you join us?”
For many of the last episodes, John has been plaid as sort of ambiguous. He has been watching, contemplating, letting little out. The shows were centering on other characters, and now it makes sense to me. In order for someone to gain the understanding he would have gained, he would have been in the background, doing exactly what he was doing – soaking it all in.
I am enamored with John Henry. Garret Dillahunt’s portrayal is so compelling, the way he can switch between the different components of the birth of his “personality” is so believable. Gently painting figurines as he tries to understand humans, and at the same time combing through databases for information. I’m really looking forward to the Connor gang coming into contact with Zeira Corp.
It’s too bad this wasn’t a Scifi show, as it would have been a great programming match with BSG, and could have taken over the lost if it had gained the same audience. Perhaps Scyfy can take over Termynator so it can live on. :-D I will be quite disappointed if I never know the more intricate moments between the machines and humans that we know exist, and will never see in the Terminator movie franchise.
3-20 Pigeon on TSCC and BSG!
I finally liked John last night. I guess he’s growing up.