Lower Decks

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
“Today Is the Day Part Two”
Originally Broadcast Friday, March 20th, 2009

John Connor is a lot of things in this episode.  Despite never being seen in the future scenes, he’s probably the most influential person in the story.  In the “present” scenes, he’s also orchestrating everything that happens, but we get to see several different sides to him.  But the final scene shows the most important part of him: he’s just a kid…in way over his head.

I love this show.  It’s an episode that features Jesse’s main motivations for her mission, but it features a lengthy scene of her swimming at a community pool.  It’s an episode that deals with death, Hell, and humanity’s darkness…and it ends with a little boy crying.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  This show just isn’t what you think it will be.

We finally know what happened on the last voyage of the Jimmy Carter (more on that at the end) – and I still wonder what Jesse’s motivations are.  Is she really there to save John Connor…or is she there to kill him?  At different times in the episode, I was sure it was one…and then the other.

But this is a woman who, in a matter of hours, completely changed her opinion on metal allies.  There’s obviously a good chance she’s not even sure what she’s doing.

I thought the scenes on the submarine were very well done, and I thought Jesse’s change in heart made sense.  Because living on a submarine in metal-infested waters would have to be scary to begin with.  If you’re living on one with a member of the enemy who could kill you at any moment?  That’s the kind of situation that can change your mind in a matter of seconds.

So what was her main motivation?  Is she mad at Connor for sending them on the mission in the first place?  Is she mad about his trust in the machines, hoping to change Young John’s opinion so that he won’t be as trusting in the future?  Or does she blame him for her lost child and the loss of other members of her crew?

The big deal in the episode, at least for me, is the package and the answer to the question.  “Will you join us?” is the kind of question that can really make you change your thinking about the Terminator universe.  And, in the end, that’s what this episode does the best.

Because John Connor asks the question, assuming that the machine can make a choice.  As if the T1000/1001 is a neutral force in the war that can choose to go against Skynet.  It makes you wonder if these machines weren’t built by Skynet, and it makes you wonder if there are other “neutral parties” in this war that we don’t know about.

Specifically, it makes you wonder what Weaver is up to.  The T1000 on hte sub chose against joining Connor’s resistance; is there a chance that Weaver said yes?  There have been indications over the course of the series that Weaver isn’t on Skynet’s side, but I also doubt that she’s on the human side.  I’m still willing to bet that she’s on her own side, but we should find out soon enough.

Then there’s future John Connor, who isn’t quite as beloved as we were led to believe.  This is something that I think is very important…because I don’t think humanity would simply unite as one…even at the threat of extinction.  People would still be people, and they’d still disagree and kill each other.

And no matter how great John Connor is, people will still disagree with him.  And let’s face it, the show has it right…Connor’s strategy of using machines would be extremely controversial.  Because, as crazy as that crewman seemed, he’s voicing a legitimate concern – how do the humans know that all the machines aren’t equipped with some kind of “sleeper agent” program.  Or, at the very least, some kind of self-destruct mechanism to destroy the resistance from the inside?

But here’s my question – what is John doing in the future?  It seems that he has cut himself off from human connections – giving orders directly to machines (Cameron and the submarine captain) and (seemingly) refusing to let humans in on the loop.

It makes you wonder if Connor is even alive in Jesse’s future – it would certainly explain why the machines seem to be in so much control.  Maybe they’re continuing the fight against Skynet…making the war metal vs. metal.  Hopefully we find out soon enough.

And I think John’s conversation with Derek was very important – he needs to know that he’s important.  But he also needs to know that he isn’t perfect, and he isn’t expected to be perfect.  I think that will go a long way to helping him live with the burden of being John Connor.

I also loved that John knew it all along, but he simply didn’t have the heart to tell Riley.  It shows that John is much more intelligent than we’re giving him credit for; he’s not a boy who will grow up to be a great man.  He’s a great young man already.

And I also like that he tells Jesse that he wouldn’t have killed Cameron…even if she killed Riley.  I’m not entirely sure that I believe it, but it has to be a kick to the gut to Jesse.

Speaking of Jesse…did Derek kill her?  I don’t think that he did, but I loved that scene.  The whole Andy Goode story is the kind of thing that I love about this show because actions on this show have consequences.  People do the hard thing because it needs to be done, but the pain from those decisions doesn’t go away.  Andy Goode changed everyone’s lives…in the present and the future…and I’m glad that he hasn’t been forgotten.

If this were the season finale, I would probably be more convinced that Jesse was dead.  But I think Derek listened to John Connor…realizing that our John is a lot closer to his John than he originally thought.

I think Jesse still has work to do on the show, but I wouldn’t be surprised (not for a second) if the show killed her off.

The rest of the episode dealt with Ellison, Weaver, and John Henry.  John Henry seems interested in painting model figures, but it seems like his main concern is the soul.  However, I found it odd that Ellison didn’t seem more interested in discussing the soul with the machine.  Because you’d think that teaching John Henry about the soul would go a long way to teaching him about the value of human life.  Because I believe that John Henry understands that the soul, if he believes in it, is what separates the machines from the humans.

Then, of course, there’s the discussion of Ellison’s letter of resignation.  Weaver likes Ellison, obviously, but she’s also prepared to get rid of him if she needs to.  And did I sense a bit of disappointment in John Henry’s voice?  Is there a chance that he’d side with the human over the machine if it were to come to that?

Because a lot of the Ellison/John Henry scenes seem to be John Henry trying to impress Ellison.  A lot of the John Henry/Weaver scenes seem to be about John Henry digging up dirt on Weaver.  So which side do you think he’d fall on?

That’s about it – another fantastic episode from this show and another step to the season finale.  I really, really hope this show gets renewed for another season because it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite shows on television.  The writing is clever and interesting, and there’s a whole lot of layers to it.  They found a way to make the Riley story interesting, and they’ve creatively darkened the show in a lot of ways.

And while I think the Ellison/Weaver/John Henry storyline is going a bit slow, I might just think that because I’m genuinely interested/anxious in seeing it develop.

So watch the show.  Buy it on iTunes.  Maybe even go buy the DVDs of the first season.  This is a show that needs to continue, and we all need to do our part.  I could probably do better by 1) watching it live or 2) getting a review out earlier – but this is hopefully my part.

And, yes, I know that the episode is also called “Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter” elsewhere on the Internet – but my TV called it “Today is the Day”.  And since it’s my review, that’s what I’m calling it.  Sue me