Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – Desert Cantos

By Melissa Voelker

Last week I got excited because I finally saw a terminator acting like a terminator.  Catherine Weaver marched into that warehouse and slaughtered people left and right without a moment’s hesitation.  It didn’t matter that they were mother’s or father’s or someone’s kid.  She cut them down with her awesome liquid cyborg sword arms and then burnt down the building around the bodies.  As sad as it was, I couldn’t help feeling like it was about dang time. For the majority of this show terminators have seemed less than scary because they weren’t really killing anyone.  They were disabling people, hurting people, chasing people through crowded streets, but they weren’t really killing people.  It is hard to believe in how scary and powerful the terminators are when you never see them do their job.  But Catherine Weaver has renewed my faith in the downright awfulness of the terminators.  Just as these last two episodes of the series have helped to somewhat renew my interest in the “Terminator” franchise.

In the aftermath of the possibly Skynet-related warehouse going BOOM!, the Connor Crew is off to a town-wide funeral to pay their respects and to root out some info.  They worm their way into the candlelight vigil and the funeral services, pretending to have a connection to those that worked at the warehouse – other than the fact that Sarah tried to break in and killed a security guard there before he shot her in turn.  At first it seems like none of the surviving family members have a clue what really went on at that warehouse, though it obviously wasn’t just related to selling air conditioners as those that worked there would have had everyone believe.  But as the day wears on and the Connor Crew works their detective magic, clues begin to surface.  Sarah follows a lead to a weeping widow with a set of mystery keys, John hits up an attractive teen with a chip on her shoulder, and Derek gives a ride to a guy who says he is part of an OSHA investigation into the explosion.  Eventually one of these leads actually sends the Connor Crew in the direction of possible answers, though those answers may not be what any of the grieving family members may want to learn.

This was another episode that did not send me into hysterical fits, though it wasn’t quite as strong as the season premier.  Once again there was no time-travel, no terminators chasing John, and no random human soldiers from the future popping up to help – or hinder – the cause.  I did feel that this episode dragged a bit, however, because all that replaced those plot elements was a lot of talking and driving in Dodge brand vehicles.  There was some mystery thrown in surrounding the warehouse and whether it is really connected to SkyNet (as we all know it is) and the little surprise at the end of the episode was nice, but I think this week was still a little boring.  This is supposed to be an action show, and a science fiction show, and I think it can be both and be intelligent without relying on the “time-traveler of the week” element.  Even the snippets of story with Agent Ellison and Catherine Weaver were a little dull.  Its good to see Ellison beginning to suspect her, but I don’t know that she really needed to make a point of exploring grief with her “daughter.”  She made it very clear last week that she doesn’t have any regard for human life, so why make an effort to emulate them well?

Last season, when Agent Ellison began working for Catherine Weaver on her A.I. project, I began to wonder just how involved he might turn out to be in the coming Robot War.  This season, I’m beginning to wonder just how involved Sarah Connor might turn out to be.  She is spending all this time and energy trying to keep Judgement Day from ever happening, but I wonder . . . will her interference eventually lead to her helping to bring about Judgement Day?  Isn’t it already her fault, at least a little bit?  If the first terminator had never been sent back in time to kill her in the first place, she never would have destroyed it in that factory, and then Cyberdyne Systems wouldn’t have picked up the pieces and used them as blueprints to create their technology.  Just as John Connor only exists because a terminator was sent back in time to kill Sarah, it may turn out to be that Judgement Day never would have happened if Sarah Connor hadn’t done something to cause it.  Well, that’s just a theory I’m playing around with right now, at any rate.

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About Melissa: By day a mild-mannered tv station receptionist, by night a fighter of crime and corruption in the dirty streets of Spokane, WA . . . or maybe not so much. More like a hyperactive, anal-retentive daytime receptionist and a melodramatic, hyperactive nighttime fangirl who only wishes she could be a fighter of crime and champion of justice (except that would lead to getting my super costume all dirty and I hate doing laundry.) Though my intent has always been to write bestselling novels and live a life of wealth and luxury, putting my talents for snarkiness and word doodling together while letting my geek flag fly suits me just fine – for now.

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