Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – I’m Still With You

Three episodes in and I’m still really digging TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.  I had seen the first two episodes a while back, and as you know, I thought they were fantastic. But with all the hoopla surrounding the show, I was really anxious to see if I was still as interested when the third episode came along.  The answer is a resounding YES.

During last night’s episode we saw Sarah, John, and Cameron getting settled into their new lives.  For John and Cameron it meant trying to fit in, or rather yet go completely unnoticed in their new school, and for Sarah it meant continuing the hunt for the future inventors of Skynet.

A metal detector is the first of many challenges that Cameron will face as she enters the world of high school.  The detector can be explained away by a metal plate in her head, but I’m more interested in what she’ll do when a guy hits her on.  John keeps instructing her not to be a freak and to fit in, but it’s easier said when done. She certainly seemed normal enough when she first met John in HS, so she just needs to access that “program” again.  I found Cameron’s attempts at blending in by observing her surroundings to be some of the funniest moments of last night’s episode.  I especially loved, when in the dreaded HS girls bathroom, a fellow student asked Cameron if her outfit made her look fat, to which Cameron responded, “yes”.  The response didn’t go over well as Cameron was called a “bitch whore” – a term that could have been equally endearing or insulting for all our hot little Terminator knew.  I’m loving how Summer Glau is approaching the role and indirectly infusing humor into a rather humorless robot.

John has this whole “new kid” thing down pretty well and goes relatively unnoticed on his first day.  He did share a few glances with a hot blonde in his science class, but at this point I’m hoping John is a bit skeptical about who he gets his flirt on with.  The last pretty girl that caught his eye ended up being a robot from the future, so you just never know.

Cameron and John didn’t necessairly have a quiet first day as a fellow student committed suicide by diving off the roof after being affected by some kind of evolving graffiti painted in the school hallway. John wanted to rush up to the roof to try to save her but Cameron stopped him fearing the attention he would draw to himself.  Later John angrily told Sarah that if he is destined to be a hero, why can’t he start now? And if he can’t save a girl from killing herself, then what are they fighting to save?

Back to the graffiti for a minute. This was a bit bizarre to me.  Ok, what was the graffiti depicting? How did the girl know early on it was about her since early in the day it was barely anything recognizable?  How did a kid get away with vandalizing school property, albeit in a very artistic way, all throughout the day without getting caught?  Not important to the plot at all, but questions all the same.

Sarah tracks down Miles Dyson’s wife, who is a bit surprised to see Sarah seeing that it’s been seven years and she was presumed dead.  Sarah shares a bunch of photos from former Skynet employees and Therese identifies one as Andy Goode, a former intern at Skynet.  Sarah tracks down Andy who is currently selling cell phones by day and working on developing “Turk” a robot who plays chess (and develops his own mood swings) by night.  Fearing a connection to Skynet, Cameron tells Sarah that Andy must be killed. Rather than kill Andy, Sarah opts to destroy his life’s work by setting his house on fire.

Sarah is a freak.  Cameron fits in better in a social setting than Sarah.  I know that she is solely focused on protecting John but Sarah is on the verge of being unlikable.  I think that could potentially be a problem for the show as viewers really need to empathize with the main characters in order to be invested in their lives and stories.  I find Sarah to be her most interesting when she’s interacting with Cameron, and subtly instructing her on the ways of the world – you know, like wearing clothes around the house is better than not wearing clothes…the little things.

Cromartie is still kickin’ it.  Bringing a little genetic code from the future and a cooler full of stolen blood from the hospital, Cromartie “employs” some kind of genetic professor to basically cook him up some new skin.  It was all kind of nasty as the robot emerged from the bath of blood with his new “body”.  The professor cuts open two slits on his faces to reveal Cromartie’s robotic eyes.  A gruesome flashback reveals that the robot later took the doctor’s eyes for his personal use.  Ew.

While all this is going on, Agent Ellison is a few steps behind Sarah and John.  He and another detective are working the crime scene details from the apartment of the now deceased Resistance fighters.  He’s not willing to sweep this under the rug as a drug deal gone bad, especially when he suspects a connection to the murder of Enrique. Go with your gut, Ellison.

So the Connor family and their bot are keeping pretty busy these days.  Keeping themselves, and by extension-humanity, alive ain’t a walk in the park.  But a few episodes in and I’m still along for the journey, so I think that says a lot (I tend to be fickle).

Are you watching?  What are your thoughts on the new show?