With The Sarah Connor Chronicle's pilot set in 1999 and two years after the events of Terminator 2, it forces T2 to have taken place in 1997 instead of 1995. And the date of judgement day in T2 has to get bumped two years as well, from August 29, 1997 to August 29, 1999.

The pilot opens with Sarah having a nightmare on the morning of August 24, 1999, but wouldn't that have been way cooler if it had been five days later — on August 29? Even if she believed they'd stopped judgement day, there was no way of knowing for sure until that day came and went without the world blowing up. So what a perfect morning it would have been for Sarah to have a nightmare about John's death and the end of the world. But instead, she has that dream 5 days beforehand. Oh what a missed opportunity.

With the way this show had trouble with dates, I wonder if the story was actually supposed to kick off on the former judgement day and they just screwed it up?

Just a reminder about the Sarah Connor Society series rewatch. New discussion about The Pilot episode begins today. Also, we've opened up the boards there a bit more so that unregistered members can see more (you still have to be registered to post, though).

As you know, I wasn't happy with the season finale of TSCC (see Born to Fail part 1), but I think I could still talk about it and analyze it and speculate about it for months (which I absolutely will if the show gets renewed and maybe even if it doesn't). "Born to Run" circled back to the start of the series and hit on so many episodes in its wrap up that I could spend hours talking about that alone. Maybe that's why it felt so series finale-ish. But in that, I do digress.

God I love this show. Even when it lets me down, it never does.

( What I've got here are my thought leftovers and since I didn't want them to spoil, they had to be posted. )

It's been a week now and after my fourth viewing of Born To Run, it doesn't make me miserable anymore. I guess I finally desensitized to what I disliked and that freed me up to think about the rest. I've got gripes and grievances, nits to pick and sundries to poke. But there are good moments to talk about too (and lots of speculation to be done). ( So my wallowing has finally come to an end and it's time to dig in. )

I was never happy about the John retcon in "Today is the Day part 2". It just didn't add up. He never acted like he had a clue about Riley until "Ourselves Alone", but that didn't give him any time to follow her around, learn about Jesse or figure out the plot. So that's where I've been stuck for a long time. And believing he figured anything out before that doesn't work for me because it requires the acceptance of too much off-camera cleverness and a ta-da! reveal. For a show that spends so much time on character and plot steps, it felt really false.

Well, I've found a way to make that whole thing work that I really like. It not only works based on what we actually saw, it does so without taking anything away from John's cleverness. And more importantly, it allows me to enjoy his confrontation with Jesse without rolling my eyes. So here goes...

He never did follow Riley around. It was a bluff.

John didn't figure anything out until Sarah told him about Riley's "bleached skulls" breakdown and blabbing about the Mexico trip. He knew he hadn't told her about judgement day, so that's the moment he realized Riley was future girl. He then backtracks through the time he spent with her — backtracks to carrots and apples, how she was in Mexico, etc. It all fits. I also think Sarah saying "I don't believe you" is what makes it the "bad day" John refers to when he later talks to Jesse.

He knew it was unlikely that Cameron killed Riley once he saw the body, which meant her death was either a random crime or she was killed by a co-conspirator. Future girl dropping into his life pretending not to be future girl logically meant there was a plot of some sort. So that's the idea he started running with — there's another future person somewhere who's involved and who likely killed Riley. But who and why?

John talks to Derek, fishing for information and it all comes out. John probably tells him that Riley was from the future and must have been plotting something. He isn't sure what, but suspects it might be an attempt to frame Cameron for murder — maybe an attempt to get him to turn on Cameron. Bingo. Derek makes the connection to Jesse. That also explains why we had to have that scene where Jesse was callous about Riley's death and Derek was all innocent life lost is horrible! It gives Derek something from his own experience to connect into what John has already figured out. Between the two of them, they unravel the whole plot.

John has Derek take him to Jesse, where he confronts her about it all. At that point he does know everything, but he bluffs about having figured it out a while back and bluffs that he gambled with Riley's life so that he could win the game. The reason he bluffs is to intimidate Jesse and prevent her from thinking that it might have worked or that she almost won. He bluffs to win the game right then and there. And he bluffs to make it known that you don't fuck with John Connor.

It works really well for me because it allows John be intelligent, gutsy, clever and not retconned.

I know it's been a few days, but I remember my reaction quite well to what happened about 13 minutes into this episode... Holy Shit! The ending was pretty big too, but spoiler whore that I am, I was expecting that. ( I've finally written out my lengthy thoughts >> )

I was off to the mother-in-law's house Friday evening where there is *gulp* no internet. We had her record TSCC for us, but I really was dreading watching it old school (non-HD, non-widescreen, on vhs). I lucked out and the mystery neighbor whose unprotected wifi we can sometimes pick up from my mother-in-law's driveway was accessible Friday night. Sweet! So I stood out there in the damp, chilly weather for like 40 minutes and downloaded the episode (cisaac kept me company in chat). Then the man and I cozied up on the couch and watched it on my laptop :)

I LOVED IT. So much goodness in this episode and it totally had a season 1 feel to it. Every character was involved and every character felt perfect and true and, my God, likable (how long's it been?). All the stories overlap, but Sarah is at the center. That's my idea of a TSCC ensemble. It's how the show works best and it's what's been missing for a lot of this season. As much as I LOVED LOVED LOVED our recent Sarah arc, I would trade that for an entire season of this kind of episode (assuming of course that I can't actually have an entire season of Sarah-centric episodes).

( More Lighthouse love ahead... )

Ourselves Alone wasn't a bad episode by any means, but there was so much talk about this being the start of total kickass-ness that would roll to the finale that I felt a little let down. I know many people loved it, so maybe my expectations were just too high. It was mainly set-up for all the OMG to come, rather than being the start of the OMG. Also, following the total awesomeness of SMWWSMS, it was going to be impossible to blow me away again so soon. ( But, lots to be learned from this episode and lots of spec to be made. )

Attention haters (and people who are just plain confused)
You don't have to like an episode, but saying "Some Must Watch, While Some Must Sleep" sucked because you didn't understand it is kind of stupid. So to fix that, I've written a guide.

( WARNING: This guide may contain mockery and condescension. )

 

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ETA: The above post was linked to from the official TSCC blog back when I wrote it. That was really cool and while most of the comments about it there were positive, some people seemed to be put off by it. So in case anyone stumbles in here has a negative reaction to what I wrote, here's a reposting of my reply to the comments there (I'm allergygal):

 

Thank you to the blog for linking to my LJ post. I’m kind of amazed by the response. It seems to have been well-received, but hey, it was poking fun at some so I accept the criticism of the presentation that a few expressed. Maybe I can clear up a few issues.

My use of the term “hater” was explained in the brief intro to the piece and I don’t know why anyone took offense to it. To fall under my definition, you’d have to have this attitude: “I didn’t understand that episode so it sucked.” Come on, anyone seriously offended?

I do find the idea of a simple boyfriend/girlfriend relationship between John and Cameron a bit silly, so I made a ridiculous caricature of a Cameron-drooling Jameron fan play my “idiot”. But no, I don’t think John/Cameron is idiotic. On a deeper level there’s definitely something to it. It’s been set up since the beginning of the series and has been unfolding ever since. John is confused and conflicted about his feelings towards Cameron and she is utterly devoted to him (purpose!). It’s a relationship to be sure, but it’s complex, it spans present and future, and I think we’ve got a long way to go on that story.

When I sat down to write about Sarah’s journey, I didn’t write it to tell anyone they didn’t understand it. I wrote it *for* anyone who didn’t understand it or maybe didn’t get it as fully as I delved into it. I never expected more than maybe a handful of friends to even read it, but I made it a public entry so anyone could. I’m glad so many have and that so many enjoyed it.

I personally find Sarah Connor to be the most fascinating character on television. I’ve loved the character since T1, but the way this show has developed her and the way Lena Headey has played her has brought Sarah Connor to life in a way I never expected. Her fierceness and determination are layered with an emotional depth that makes me believe her every sacrifice and feel her every struggle. And of course, she’s totally badass.