selenak | The Sarah Connor Chronicles 2.03 The Mousetrap

Since

wee_warrior pointed out to me that Charlie's wife Michelle is played by the same actress as Penny on Lost, I wondered how I could miss it. Being certain that the end of the previous episode meant the two were written out of the show, I was glad to see this one start with them, which proved me wrong, but of course I should have known this meant bad things to come. This isn't a criticism, btw. If Sarah last year was haunted by the widow of the man who payed the price of believing her, and in her cause, in the second movie, this season it's Charlie's wife. And may I say the show did everything right there? Michelle was ticked off at Charlie for lying to her, not because she was jealous of Sarah; Charlie never wanted to restart his relationship with Sarah, though obviously she and John still mean a lot to him, and he, as Derek said sarcastically, really does (now did, sob) have a wife; Sarah is neither jealous of Michelle nor pining after Charlie. This is how you do it. (*looks pointedly at Alias season 3.*)

Sarah coming to Charlie's aid despite assuming, as she tells Michelle later, that Michelle is already dead, and the great scene where she eventually stops the car despite being worried for her son who has a Terminator after him, because Michelle is bleeding to death right now; this is what makes Sarah human in ways other than biology. It also makes an interesting counterpoint to narratives wherer the hero/heroine puts the welfare of his/her child above everything else, and sacrifices other people to it if necessary. Sarah is one of the icons of agressive motherhood; she transformed herself from panicked waitress to warrior woman to protest her child, and she's certainly not above exploiting other people in that cause. But as we see here, she has her limits; she is still able to see, to feel for other people.

I also loved the short silent scene between Charlie and John in the hospital floor. In a way, Michelle died because of John; she wouldn't have been hurt in the explosion, or kidnapped, or been in any danger if not for Cromartie wanting to kill John. And it was John specifically, not Sarah, who brought the Connors back into Charlie's life by coming to see him. But they have come to love each other in the time Sarah and Charlie were engaged, and so John comforting Charlie feels right. I'm also struck by the repeated image of blood on the hands; on Charlie's and on John's, both, Michelle's blood.

(Sidenote: this show continues to reverse traditional gender clichés neatly. Charlie with his medical profession did the patching up in the season opener usually given to female characters, while Sarah is the battle-hardened veteran. In this episode, Sarah is the one he calls for (fighting) help, Michelle, despite being terrified and kidnapped, in the end holds it together better than Charlie when walking despite her injuries and accepting what Sarah tells her; John, who by definition of the premise of the show is the damsel in distress anyway, is the one to do the physical comfort thing, embracing and hugging.)

I feel a bit smug for correctly predicting Ellison would run into Catherine Weaver and this would be how the show continues to involve him in the storylines, since he wouldn't on his own go after the Connors anymore, not wishing to lead Cromartie to them. I am curious whether he buys her cover story or is distrustful; either way, clearly working for her will put him in a position to learn about her (and some Skynet plans) which presumably will pay off later, but I'm curious as to why she hired him to begin with. Because Cromartie told her Ellison wouldn't chase after Sarah on his own, and she's playing the odds by wanting to give him an incentive? For some other reason? We'll see.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles 2.03 The Mousetrap

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