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selenakIt's a constant refrain, but DON'T GET CANCELLED SHOW! Also, can any of you folklore wise people tell me the name of the song spoiler and spoiler were singing at the end?
First of all: one mark of excellency for this show, and the unexpected turns and twists it took while entirely being true to its premise, is this: the big worry of this episode, for me, wasn't that Derek died early on. (Although: didn't expect that so soon, considering Charley died last episode. I did think it would happen sooner or later, definitely before Judgment Day since there can't be two Dereks around John Connor after.) And while I was mightily worried for Savannah for a while, her rescue via the Connors happened so early that I was safe in assuming the episode wouldn't kill her on top of Derek. No, the big worry of this episode was "OMG DON'T KILL JOHN HENRY JOHN AND SARAH!" John Henry. Who might not be baby Skynet but definitely is a big AI in progress, the very thing our heroes of course have sworn to destroy, the antagonist. But this show has pulled it off, it has made us care about a big computer in the basement, via clever storylines and Gareth Dillahunt, so it's impossible to wish him him destroyed. Kudos, show. Kudos.
Okay, biblical similes and sibling pairings and god candidates. Let's see. We have:
- John Henry, Savannah and Catherine Weaver, with John Henry and Savannah as siblings and Catherine Weaver as god
- John Henry and ???? (very likely baby Skynet, but I'm not going to be sure about anything again) as siblings; no god candidate in this scenario that I can see
- John Henry as god, Catherine Weaver and James Ellison as competing siblings Cain and Abel (he keeps both their secrets, but whom does he favour more?)
- John Henry and John Connor as Cain and Abel (the two have been paralleled all season), with the twist that it's actually John Connor who will become Cain, not John Henry, and his mother Sarah as Adam and Eve in one person).
Some more fodder for the later: John Henry who started out not comprehending death and thus causing Dr. Sherman's is by now able to relate - whether or not you call this "caring" is up to you - to his BFF Savannah (and may I say, their children's friendship is just adorable and creepy and adorable beyond words), be concerned for her, and to some degree to James Ellison as well. When T-Catherine says that if he outs her to Ellison, this would be unfortunate - for Ellison - he takes her meaning exactly, and he does not want Ellison to die. John Connor who originally started his relationship with Riley as a last attempt to have a "normal" relationship that isn't about the war, to relate to another human being as John, not John Connor Resistance Leader (with the additional irony that it was doomed from the start because of who Riley was and why she was there), and who stopped Cameron from killing Ellison, has now seen three human beings he loved die in rapid succession, is emotionally shutting down (except towards Cameron, note he was concerned she could think he was lying to and mistrusting her and clarifies the safehouse business in the middle of all the drama) and threatens to kill Ellison in a pretty convincing manner. (BTW, I doubt he'll actually do it because I suspect one reason for the killing of Derek right now was that if the show DOESN'T get cancelled, Ellison will end up on the run with the Connors. Note he just got as good as framed for kidnapping, and if T-Catherine drops him and/or if she's not a factor anymore, he'll have no civilian life left.)
I'm just a tiny bit frustrated we didn't get to see a Sarah and Catherine Weaver meeting in this episode after it jazzed us up for it, but I expect they're saving that for the finale. We did see parallels/contrasts of their mothering styles, which aren't that dissimilar. But T-Catherine is still in the shadows while Sarah is out as out can be, and I very much wonder how she'll get out of the arrest. The most obvious course would be for John and Cameran to spring her via force, but I wonder. I also wonder this: will we see Catherine impersonating Sarah? Because if your prime antagonist is a shapechanger and you have a two mothers fighting for the survival of their offspring season storyline, well. Note, though, Catherine Weaver still hasn't shown any interest in John Connor, which really allows for no other reading but that her brand of Terminators are the independent ones Future!John tried to win as allies.
The visual of the graveyard, starting with 1984 (Kyle Reese), opening and ending the episode (with Derek Reese's ashes) - painful and painfully true. "From this point, everyone dies." I hope not, John. Riley, Charley and Derek are quite enough for this season, thanks. But I understand why you might think so.
Lastly: I feel for the Derek fans. (I liked him, but he never was a favourite, so I'm not in tears on his behalf.) And for Derek, as basically the last thing he got from Sarah was an expression of her distrust (though he also heard John defend him in the last episode). But perversely, I like that he died shot by a random terminator and not protecting John or Sarah; it fits the cruelty of that war. When Sarah says, later "we don't kill just to kill" and Cameron replies "I never did", the irony occured to me: it's true, but terminators don't care who gets in their way, either (hence Derek's fate).
First of all: one mark of excellency for this show, and the unexpected turns and twists it took while entirely being true to its premise, is this: the big worry of this episode, for me, wasn't that Derek died early on. (Although: didn't expect that so soon, considering Charley died last episode. I did think it would happen sooner or later, definitely before Judgment Day since there can't be two Dereks around John Connor after.) And while I was mightily worried for Savannah for a while, her rescue via the Connors happened so early that I was safe in assuming the episode wouldn't kill her on top of Derek. No, the big worry of this episode was "OMG DON'T KILL JOHN HENRY JOHN AND SARAH!" John Henry. Who might not be baby Skynet but definitely is a big AI in progress, the very thing our heroes of course have sworn to destroy, the antagonist. But this show has pulled it off, it has made us care about a big computer in the basement, via clever storylines and Gareth Dillahunt, so it's impossible to wish him him destroyed. Kudos, show. Kudos.
Okay, biblical similes and sibling pairings and god candidates. Let's see. We have:
- John Henry, Savannah and Catherine Weaver, with John Henry and Savannah as siblings and Catherine Weaver as god
- John Henry and ???? (very likely baby Skynet, but I'm not going to be sure about anything again) as siblings; no god candidate in this scenario that I can see
- John Henry as god, Catherine Weaver and James Ellison as competing siblings Cain and Abel (he keeps both their secrets, but whom does he favour more?)
- John Henry and John Connor as Cain and Abel (the two have been paralleled all season), with the twist that it's actually John Connor who will become Cain, not John Henry, and his mother Sarah as Adam and Eve in one person).
Some more fodder for the later: John Henry who started out not comprehending death and thus causing Dr. Sherman's is by now able to relate - whether or not you call this "caring" is up to you - to his BFF Savannah (and may I say, their children's friendship is just adorable and creepy and adorable beyond words), be concerned for her, and to some degree to James Ellison as well. When T-Catherine says that if he outs her to Ellison, this would be unfortunate - for Ellison - he takes her meaning exactly, and he does not want Ellison to die. John Connor who originally started his relationship with Riley as a last attempt to have a "normal" relationship that isn't about the war, to relate to another human being as John, not John Connor Resistance Leader (with the additional irony that it was doomed from the start because of who Riley was and why she was there), and who stopped Cameron from killing Ellison, has now seen three human beings he loved die in rapid succession, is emotionally shutting down (except towards Cameron, note he was concerned she could think he was lying to and mistrusting her and clarifies the safehouse business in the middle of all the drama) and threatens to kill Ellison in a pretty convincing manner. (BTW, I doubt he'll actually do it because I suspect one reason for the killing of Derek right now was that if the show DOESN'T get cancelled, Ellison will end up on the run with the Connors. Note he just got as good as framed for kidnapping, and if T-Catherine drops him and/or if she's not a factor anymore, he'll have no civilian life left.)
I'm just a tiny bit frustrated we didn't get to see a Sarah and Catherine Weaver meeting in this episode after it jazzed us up for it, but I expect they're saving that for the finale. We did see parallels/contrasts of their mothering styles, which aren't that dissimilar. But T-Catherine is still in the shadows while Sarah is out as out can be, and I very much wonder how she'll get out of the arrest. The most obvious course would be for John and Cameran to spring her via force, but I wonder. I also wonder this: will we see Catherine impersonating Sarah? Because if your prime antagonist is a shapechanger and you have a two mothers fighting for the survival of their offspring season storyline, well. Note, though, Catherine Weaver still hasn't shown any interest in John Connor, which really allows for no other reading but that her brand of Terminators are the independent ones Future!John tried to win as allies.
The visual of the graveyard, starting with 1984 (Kyle Reese), opening and ending the episode (with Derek Reese's ashes) - painful and painfully true. "From this point, everyone dies." I hope not, John. Riley, Charley and Derek are quite enough for this season, thanks. But I understand why you might think so.
Lastly: I feel for the Derek fans. (I liked him, but he never was a favourite, so I'm not in tears on his behalf.) And for Derek, as basically the last thing he got from Sarah was an expression of her distrust (though he also heard John defend him in the last episode). But perversely, I like that he died shot by a random terminator and not protecting John or Sarah; it fits the cruelty of that war. When Sarah says, later "we don't kill just to kill" and Cameron replies "I never did", the irony occured to me: it's true, but terminators don't care who gets in their way, either (hence Derek's fate).
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 07:43 am (UTC)Yes, that makes total sense - and, wow, I would *love* to see how that played out.
**crosses fingers for season 3 renewal**
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Date: 2009-04-04 07:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 08:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 07:53 am (UTC)And yeah, Derek's death was brutal and random and pointless. And I hated it but at the same time, it FITS. Because last episode, Charley's death at the end was foreshadowed like whoa right from the moment Dean Winters' name appeared in the credits. And he died at the end, protecting John, which is all very noble and makes for good storytelling. But having Derek be killed by a random T-888 is actually scarier, because:
a) I didn't see it coming. To the point where I was practically shouting at the TV: "Holy SHIT, did they just shoot a main character in the head? I bet it's a dream sequence. Oh crap, it's not a dream sequence."
b) it emphasises the fact that Terminators are really fucking dangerous. We've seen Cameron take down a few of them this season, so they were becoming less scary. But it kind of rams home the point that it's not enough to be tough, and vigilant, and experienced. The Connors have survived this long partly because they're smart, but also because of good luck. And Derek dying reminded us that if someone has a stroke of bad luck, then (as you pointed out) they're liable to get mown down if they're in between a terminator and something it wants. Kind of like Michelle Dixon early this season, where she was tough, and determined, and reminiscent of T1 Sarah, but she got unlucky and it killed her. I'm going to miss Derek like hell, but damn, it was a good move from the point of view of giving us an abrupt reminder that your best strategy with a terminator is usually to run like hell and cross your fingers for a lucky break.
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Date: 2009-04-04 08:16 am (UTC)So true. The show has always been good at making sure we never forget Cameron herself is dangerous, but the danger anyone is in from any random Terminator will always be lessened by familiarity if they don't throw such curveballs at us. Plus Derek was a regular, and you always automatically assume they're safe.
It's interesting to me how much T-Catherine's parenting style has evolved since we first met Savannah. Yeah, she's still distinctly "off", but she seems to be genuinely making an effort to connect iwth Savannah.
Yes. I think she would still sacrifice Savannah if its Savannah versus John Henry, but other than that, she wants to keep her alive and is interested in her.
Oh, SHOW. How did you make it so the Turk, a.k.a. John Henry, is a sympathetic character? Or even a character at all. He was SCARED for Savannah and Ellison. And Dillahunt did a wonderful job of underplaying his reactions, while still showing that John Henry does HAVE emotional reactions, even if he's not very good at recognising them as such.
I KNOW. It is awesome.
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Date: 2009-04-04 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 08:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 08:26 am (UTC)yes I do.no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 09:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 09:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 08:48 pm (UTC)I think I like this parallel universe a lot.
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Date: 2009-04-04 10:18 am (UTC)If this were Grey's Anatomy, they'd send another one back from an alternate future to quiet the fannish outcry. But it's Sarah Connor, so, 'Bye, Derek.
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Date: 2009-04-04 10:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 11:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 11:41 am (UTC)And I agree, Derek's death was fitting in a way to remind us of the dangers they are facing and also of the indescriminate killings the Terminators do.
Very well done, show!
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Date: 2009-04-04 11:54 am (UTC)According to this (http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6566), though you'll have to scroll all the way down to the end:
Donald, Where's Your Trousers?
Words: Andy Stewart.
Music: Neil Grant.
Melbourne: D. Davis & Co., (c) 1960.
So...yeah. It sounds like a folk song, but it really isn't. Oh, and it's on Stewart's "A Scottish Soldier" album. I know, because I own the album.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-04 09:49 pm (UTC)I think that Catherine had Sarah arrested because she wanted to a meeting on her terms not Sarah's, I think that John Henry is the anti-Skynet and the real Skynet is the one that tried to shut him down. I think that Catherine wants to make some kind of a truce with Sarah and she will be the one who breaks her out of prison.
I think that is enough thinking on my part XD
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Date: 2009-04-06 06:44 pm (UTC)That said, it remains to be seen whether Catherine actually wants Sarah and John to survive or not, now that hse knows they're alive and in LA. We know she'll kill pretty much any human who gets in the way of her grand plan (well, I doubt she'd kill Savannah unless she was backed into a corner. She may love John Henry more, but I do think she cares about Savannah as much as she's capable of caring about anybody). But at this point she doesn't know that Savannah blabbed to John about John Henry, so she doesn't realise that the Connors plus Cameron intend to blow Zeira Corp's basement to bits.
So does she see Sarah and John as an immediate threat or not? And if not, is she generally well-disposed towards John or would she rather get rid of him? On the one hand, killing him now eliminates the risk of Future John winning the war and wiping out all AI, even the neutrals. On the other hand, John is pretty much the only human in the war effort who's willing to:
a) reprogram Terminators to work for him, and reprogram them in such a way that they're not just mindless slaves, but have some level of self-determination (not much, but some)
b) reach out and try to form an alliance with the AI's who aren't on Skynet's side (granted, she turned him down, but clearly she gave it serious consideration)
If John dies now and she's NOT successful in stopping Skynet from starting the war, then whoever emerges as the human leader in John's place may be much more doctrinaire on the subject of AI, in which case the neutrals are screwed and any chance of peaceful co-existence is shot to hell.
Oh man, I can't wait for Friday! I hope your theory's right. I'd love to see a face-to-face conversation between Sarah and Catherine.
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Date: 2009-04-07 05:34 pm (UTC)So does she see Sarah and John as an immediate threat or not?
Good question. She seemed annoyed but not more that Ellison kept Sarah's survival a secret from her and might think Sarah could be useful in a) providing Skynet (always working on the assumption John Henry is meant to be the alternative to Skynet, of course) with another distracting target, because the fact terminators were sent to her house and after Savannah proves she and her machinations aren't invisible to Skynet anymore, and she probably would want Skynet's attention elsewhere and b) getting rid of some of her enemies, if they are Sarah's enemies as well. But that's for short term. Long term wise she has to know there is no way Sarah would not want John Henry destroyed if she knows he exists, so long term wise, she probably prefers Sarah dead. So - an immediate help now, with an eye on killing Sarah once the immediate problem is dealt with?
As for John, present and future, I'm going with "she's not yet decided". Especially considering that while she may have believed Sarah to be dead, she definitely knew John had to be around somewhere, and she never made any attempt to locate and destroy him. So yes, she could see him as a possible ally as well as an enemy.
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Date: 2009-04-06 07:00 pm (UTC)I think that Catherine had Sarah arrested because she wanted to a meeting on her terms not Sarah's, I think that John Henry is the anti-Skynet and the real Skynet is the one that tried to shut him down. I think that Catherine wants to make some kind of a truce with Sarah and she will be the one who breaks her out of prison.
Also, continuing to riff off your comments, was the warehouse in the desert (which clearly was building embryonic Hunter-Killers) owned by Catherine or by some third party related to Baby Skynet on the internet? Was she slaughtering her own employees because they screwed up and talked on an unsecured radio channel, or was she slaughtering them because thanks to them screwing up, John Henry knew they existed and where, and now she had that information too? Also, Diana's husband (kidnapper guy, can't remember his character name) obviously worked for the bad guys we met in "To the Lighthouse". Are they a separate group from Catherine, doing their own pro-SKynet thing (while not realising their employer is actually a computer program)? And why did the Terminator from "Adam Raised a Cain" go after Savannah? Is he also working for baby-Skynet or was he sent back by future-Skynet with the specific mission of grabbing Savannah Weaver? And was the intent to kidnap her or to kill her? And do baby-Skynet or future-Skynet realise that Catherine is actually a T-1001?
So many questions. Don't worry, I don't expect you to answer them all. It's just where my brain went after I read your comment.
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Date: 2009-04-05 06:57 am (UTC)Show, please don't get cancelled!
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Date: 2009-04-05 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-06 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-06 09:25 pm (UTC)Excellent review, as always!
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Date: 2009-04-06 02:59 am (UTC)In this scenario, Miles Dyson is clearly God. Sadly, he is no longer available.
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Date: 2009-04-06 04:14 am (UTC)