Picspam: My Top Ten TSCC Episodes
Inspired by cynthia_arrow's top ten TSCC episodes post and my general non-participation in LJ lately, I decided to picspam my top ten favorite episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
In putting this together I not only got to relive many of my favorite scenes of the show, I also realized what a pretty show it really was. All the color splashed around everywhere and the direction is just breathtaking. I'm so glad I did this, it was such a pleasure. I'm hoping to be able to have the time to do my top ten for my other favorite shows. :)
**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES**
It was really hard to leave out some episodes, and once I decided on the ten, putting them in order was so difficult. So, for better or worse, these are my top ten favorite episodes of TSCC.
10. Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep
JOHN: Everyone's dreams are different. Guess it depends on what's stuck in your head.
CAMERON: What's it like to dream?
JOHN: Um, it's sorta like you're in a play or a movie that looks real and feels real.
CAMERON: How do you know it's not real?
JOHN: Sometimes you don't.
What's so great about it?
What this episode says about Sarah's psyche is so interesting: how she sees her son, how she sees herself, how they're both having to change to protect him. While the structure of this episode is kinda wonky and it seems slow at times, the dual realities offer a bunch of fun scenes including much imagined cuteness between John and Cameron. I love this weird little episode mostly for its unique place in the TSCC world.
9. Vick's chip
JOHN: Okay, it's done. [Derek grabs Cameron's chip] Hey, hey, what are you doing? Derek, don't.
DEREK: I want you to hear this in no uncertain terms. Someday one of these things is gonna kill you.
JOHN: It's not gonna be this one.
---
JOHN: What was it like? What'd you see in there?
CAMERON: I saw everything.
What's so great about it?
This episode has so much to offer: suspicion, fun family outings looking for a corpse, Sarah/Derek alternating bonding/hostile moments, Cromartie in school with John and Cameron. All the different relationship dynamics that get to play off each other in this episode all about levels of trust and suspicion are so fun to watch. For me, the best part about this episode is John standing up for and unfailing trust in Cameron. In the face of accusations, doubt and general odd behavior from her, John never once doubts she's on his side and there to protect him.
8. The Tower is Tall but the Fall is Short
JOHN: My family? Safe?
DR. SHERMAN: Well, your mother seems like a strong woman. Doesn't that make you feel safe?
JOHN: It might, if that's what she wanted. Safe is the last thing she wants me to feel.
DR. SHERMAN: I find that hard to believe.
JOHN: Oh, I'm sure she's right. She's always right. Fear can be a good thing. On a bad day, it'll keep you alive.
What's so great about it?
Boy, is John Connor one fucked up kid. Family therapy with the Connors is just as whacked as is sounds, but it's fascinating to hear out loud just how messed up they all are. I probably watched this episode three times before I realized that John totally attempted suicide. I think I lived in the Sarah world of denial that just thought it was impossible and dismissed the possibility right off without giving it another thought. But it makes sense. The other storyline in the episode with Weaver and Savannah is also interesting. That child is adorable, and Weaver adapting to make her more comfortable was creepy and amazing to watch. Oh yeah, and Jesse is introduced. Bleh.
7. Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today
CAMERON: You bring danger into Riley's life.
JOHN: I know that. I'm not stupid.
CAMERON: But sometimes you do stupid things. It would help me to understand why.
JOHN: Humans do stupid things. So don't worry about it, and be happy you're a machine.
CAMERON: I'm a machine. I can't be happy. But I understand more than you think.
JOHN: So you understand that I'm going to keep seeing Riley, even if everyone thinks it's a bad idea.
CAMERON: I understand that it's a bad idea. And... I understand that being John Connor can be lonely.
JOHN: Oh, yeah? How do you understand that?
CAMERON: You and I talk about it a lot.
JOHN: We do?
CAMERON: We do. We will.
What's so great about it?
This episode would make my list for the John/Cameron bedroom scene alone, but it is so much more than that. This is another oddly structured episode where we get different bits of the story from everyone's point of view. The bedroom scene illustrates perfectly what I love most about the John/Cameron relationship in that it displays evidence of a great future trust between Cameron and future John. It also shows how Cameron knows how to use his reaction to her to get what she wants. It's just fun to watch and try to determine what is manipulation and what is just her doing what she thinks she should. And this episode features the last we ever see of Cromartie. His last stand with all the symbolism and the music is breathtaking. The aftermath ain't too shabby either. Sarah breaking down after destroying the chip is wonderful after watching her try to be badass and subdued about everything for so damn long.
6. Born to Run
ELLISON: I told Ms. Weaver you'd never come without your mom. She said if that was the case, I'm supposed to ask one question. [he looks at Cameron] She says I'm supposed to ask you. "Will you join us?" She says she hopes you'll know what that means.
JOHN: Do you know what that means?
CAMERON: No, I don't. Please leave now, Mr. Ellison. I think you've said enough.
ELLISON: John--
CAMERON: You've said enough, Mr. Ellison. I won't ask you again.
[Ellison leaves]
CAMERON: He upset you.
JOHN: Me? I think he upset you.
CAMERON: You know that's impossible.
JOHN: Is it?
CAMERON: You said it yourself, John. I'm just a machine.
What's so great about it?
END OF THE SERIES. It blew my mind first time around, and I get choked up multiple times when I watch even now. It pays off so much from season two and the entire series all while leaving us with one helluva cliffhanger/game-changing ending. Simplest reason I love this episode? Every single Connor breaks my heart, from John's face at the end to Sarah insisting John is dead and the I love yous between them. And Weaver rocks the hell out of this one. The eel!!! I couldn't ask for a better season ender (only wish it hadn't been the series ender).
5. Allison from Palmdale
CAMERON: Your hair. It's so pretty. We work very hard on the hair to get it right. I'm not your enemy.
ALLISON: Right.
CAMERON: I want to get to know you. You're very brave. That must be why John Connor chose you.
ALLISON: I don't know what you're talking about.
CAMERON: I admire him, his determination. His spirit, his fearlessness. I'd like to meet him.
ALLISON: He wouldn't want to meet you.
What's so great about it?
SUMMER FRAKKING GLAU, that's what's so great about this episode. She goes from creepy/scary to vulnerable/scared in a turn of the head. She is unbelievably good as both Allison and Cameron. Before I watched this episode I thought I'd hate the whole Cameron used to be a real girl concept, but it's done so extraordinarily well with flashbacks and Cameron shifting between personalities. Just the questions this episode brings up are enough to make it great. Weaver and Ellison forming their relationship is good stuff too. I love it when he has to soul search to come to the right decision, and Weaver is just so very clever. Also, on a random note, has anyone ever noticed that the names Cameron and Allison have the same number of letters?
4. Today is the Day pts. 1 & 2
JOHN: You know, I've been running from the machines my whole life. They tried to kill my mom before I was even born. When I was twelve they sent one after me. I was a kid. I was stupid. I didn't know what it was all about. Both times future me sent someone back to stop them. The first time it was a soldier. His name was Kyle Reese, and he died saving my mother's life. The second time it was a machine. I used to wonder why I did that, why I took that chance. I don't wonder anymore. Human beings can't be replaced. They can't be rebuilt. They die and they never come back.
What's so great about it?
Okay, so I cheated here. Two episodes and I've totally picspammed the second part before, but these two episodes go together and I didn't want to split them apart. That quote above and the scene that goes with it are outstanding. Dekker acts his little heart out and it's perfect. Everyone is at the top of their game for these two eps and it shows in how brilliant they are. Jesse gets a back story and a reason for her cruelty, and while she is sympathetic, she also gets what she deserves. Being such a John Connor fan, these episodes are wonderful in that they show him at his most badass, his strongest and in the next breath his most vulnerable. It's breathtaking to see how far he has come from the beginning of the season or even the beginning of the series. There is not a bad scene in either episode.
3. Ourselves Alone
JOHN: Were you gonna kill her?
CAMERON: I don't know what I was going to do.
JOHN: What do you mean you didn't know what you were gonna do? Since when do you not know what you're gonna do?
CAMERON: I don't know. I should have killed her. She's a threat to you.
JOHN: That is not your decision to make.
CAMERON: It's usually not a decision.
JOHN: Well, obviously it is this time, and it's not yours. What's happening with you?
CAMERON: I don't know.
What's so great about it?
"That's a window, bird." Oh, Cameron, you slay me! This episode begins the culmination of the tension that has been building up all season. Cameron and Riley dominate this well-crafted episode, and their freakouts parallel but are completely different. Cameron sees that she's broken and puts her trust in John while making sure that his trust is in her as well. Riley puts her trust in Jesse instead of John and pays for it when she realizes too late. SUCH good stuff throughout this one.
2. Dungeons and Dragons
SAYLES: We go back.
DEREK: 20 years.
SAYLES: Set up a safe house, gather intel, and then what? Hang in there, baby? Until someone else shows up, and gives us more orders? He didn't say anything about Kyle? All that, and not a word about him?
DEREK: We can save Kyle. We can save everybody. We can fix all the mistakes.
TIMMS: How're we gonna do that? Reese, how are we going to do that?
What's so great about it?
I love Derek Reese. So much. I'm always a sucker for the future stuff, and this was pretty much our first introduction to it. KYLE REESE! All the call backs to the movies in this make for dorky fascination and glee, but Derek's story is so compelling, not to mention all the interpersonal dynamics between the Connors in the present. I'm also a sucker for Charley Dixon and he gets to shine in this episode as well. He and Sarah's could-have-been stuff gets me every time. And Derek's little smile at the end when John tells him Kyle was a hero kills me.
1. Samson & Delilah
JOHN: So Charlie told me that Cromartie killed about 20 FBI guys today. He's still out there. He's here for me. They're dead because of me.
DEREK: They're dead because some people refuse to accept the reality of the situation.
JOHN: Which is what?
DEREK: Which is that they carry death with them.
JOHN: She was different.
DEREK: No.
JOHN: I made her. I sent her back. She's different.
DEREK: She's not different.
JOHN: There's physical damage to her chip. Which means that she can be repaired--
DEREK: John.
JOHN: I need her. She saved my life. She saves my life!
What's so great about it?
"I love you, John, and you love me." The consequences and implications of those words are great for not only John, but everyone on the show for the rest of the season. I love that this episode goes back to the original concept of the movie, having a terminator bent on killing a Connor chasing after them the entire episode. Cameron gone bad is fun to watch, Charley working with cynical Derek makes me smile, Shirley Manson as a terminator is perfect, and the climax with John choosing to trust Cameron and bring her back makes for spectacular episode. It does what a lot of genre shows do with the first episode of the season being that it mixes things up and goes off its normal set-up before returning things to normal at the end of the episode. Cameron goes from protecting to hunting only to be back as bodyguard at the end of the episode. The difference here is that at the end, you feel like things aren't back to normal. Sure everyone is together again, but everything has changed and everyone isn't necessarily on the same side anymore. And John Connor actually grows up when he turns sixteen. Wow.
Did you love TSCC? What are your favorite episodes?
In putting this together I not only got to relive many of my favorite scenes of the show, I also realized what a pretty show it really was. All the color splashed around everywhere and the direction is just breathtaking. I'm so glad I did this, it was such a pleasure. I'm hoping to be able to have the time to do my top ten for my other favorite shows. :)
**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES**
It was really hard to leave out some episodes, and once I decided on the ten, putting them in order was so difficult. So, for better or worse, these are my top ten favorite episodes of TSCC.
10. Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep
JOHN: Everyone's dreams are different. Guess it depends on what's stuck in your head.
CAMERON: What's it like to dream?
JOHN: Um, it's sorta like you're in a play or a movie that looks real and feels real.
CAMERON: How do you know it's not real?
JOHN: Sometimes you don't.
What's so great about it?
What this episode says about Sarah's psyche is so interesting: how she sees her son, how she sees herself, how they're both having to change to protect him. While the structure of this episode is kinda wonky and it seems slow at times, the dual realities offer a bunch of fun scenes including much imagined cuteness between John and Cameron. I love this weird little episode mostly for its unique place in the TSCC world.
9. Vick's chip
JOHN: Okay, it's done. [Derek grabs Cameron's chip] Hey, hey, what are you doing? Derek, don't.
DEREK: I want you to hear this in no uncertain terms. Someday one of these things is gonna kill you.
JOHN: It's not gonna be this one.
---
JOHN: What was it like? What'd you see in there?
CAMERON: I saw everything.
What's so great about it?
This episode has so much to offer: suspicion, fun family outings looking for a corpse, Sarah/Derek alternating bonding/hostile moments, Cromartie in school with John and Cameron. All the different relationship dynamics that get to play off each other in this episode all about levels of trust and suspicion are so fun to watch. For me, the best part about this episode is John standing up for and unfailing trust in Cameron. In the face of accusations, doubt and general odd behavior from her, John never once doubts she's on his side and there to protect him.
8. The Tower is Tall but the Fall is Short
JOHN: My family? Safe?
DR. SHERMAN: Well, your mother seems like a strong woman. Doesn't that make you feel safe?
JOHN: It might, if that's what she wanted. Safe is the last thing she wants me to feel.
DR. SHERMAN: I find that hard to believe.
JOHN: Oh, I'm sure she's right. She's always right. Fear can be a good thing. On a bad day, it'll keep you alive.
What's so great about it?
Boy, is John Connor one fucked up kid. Family therapy with the Connors is just as whacked as is sounds, but it's fascinating to hear out loud just how messed up they all are. I probably watched this episode three times before I realized that John totally attempted suicide. I think I lived in the Sarah world of denial that just thought it was impossible and dismissed the possibility right off without giving it another thought. But it makes sense. The other storyline in the episode with Weaver and Savannah is also interesting. That child is adorable, and Weaver adapting to make her more comfortable was creepy and amazing to watch. Oh yeah, and Jesse is introduced. Bleh.
7. Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today
CAMERON: You bring danger into Riley's life.
JOHN: I know that. I'm not stupid.
CAMERON: But sometimes you do stupid things. It would help me to understand why.
JOHN: Humans do stupid things. So don't worry about it, and be happy you're a machine.
CAMERON: I'm a machine. I can't be happy. But I understand more than you think.
JOHN: So you understand that I'm going to keep seeing Riley, even if everyone thinks it's a bad idea.
CAMERON: I understand that it's a bad idea. And... I understand that being John Connor can be lonely.
JOHN: Oh, yeah? How do you understand that?
CAMERON: You and I talk about it a lot.
JOHN: We do?
CAMERON: We do. We will.
What's so great about it?
This episode would make my list for the John/Cameron bedroom scene alone, but it is so much more than that. This is another oddly structured episode where we get different bits of the story from everyone's point of view. The bedroom scene illustrates perfectly what I love most about the John/Cameron relationship in that it displays evidence of a great future trust between Cameron and future John. It also shows how Cameron knows how to use his reaction to her to get what she wants. It's just fun to watch and try to determine what is manipulation and what is just her doing what she thinks she should. And this episode features the last we ever see of Cromartie. His last stand with all the symbolism and the music is breathtaking. The aftermath ain't too shabby either. Sarah breaking down after destroying the chip is wonderful after watching her try to be badass and subdued about everything for so damn long.
6. Born to Run
ELLISON: I told Ms. Weaver you'd never come without your mom. She said if that was the case, I'm supposed to ask one question. [he looks at Cameron] She says I'm supposed to ask you. "Will you join us?" She says she hopes you'll know what that means.
JOHN: Do you know what that means?
CAMERON: No, I don't. Please leave now, Mr. Ellison. I think you've said enough.
ELLISON: John--
CAMERON: You've said enough, Mr. Ellison. I won't ask you again.
[Ellison leaves]
CAMERON: He upset you.
JOHN: Me? I think he upset you.
CAMERON: You know that's impossible.
JOHN: Is it?
CAMERON: You said it yourself, John. I'm just a machine.
What's so great about it?
END OF THE SERIES. It blew my mind first time around, and I get choked up multiple times when I watch even now. It pays off so much from season two and the entire series all while leaving us with one helluva cliffhanger/game-changing ending. Simplest reason I love this episode? Every single Connor breaks my heart, from John's face at the end to Sarah insisting John is dead and the I love yous between them. And Weaver rocks the hell out of this one. The eel!!! I couldn't ask for a better season ender (only wish it hadn't been the series ender).
5. Allison from Palmdale
CAMERON: Your hair. It's so pretty. We work very hard on the hair to get it right. I'm not your enemy.
ALLISON: Right.
CAMERON: I want to get to know you. You're very brave. That must be why John Connor chose you.
ALLISON: I don't know what you're talking about.
CAMERON: I admire him, his determination. His spirit, his fearlessness. I'd like to meet him.
ALLISON: He wouldn't want to meet you.
What's so great about it?
SUMMER FRAKKING GLAU, that's what's so great about this episode. She goes from creepy/scary to vulnerable/scared in a turn of the head. She is unbelievably good as both Allison and Cameron. Before I watched this episode I thought I'd hate the whole Cameron used to be a real girl concept, but it's done so extraordinarily well with flashbacks and Cameron shifting between personalities. Just the questions this episode brings up are enough to make it great. Weaver and Ellison forming their relationship is good stuff too. I love it when he has to soul search to come to the right decision, and Weaver is just so very clever. Also, on a random note, has anyone ever noticed that the names Cameron and Allison have the same number of letters?
4. Today is the Day pts. 1 & 2
JOHN: You know, I've been running from the machines my whole life. They tried to kill my mom before I was even born. When I was twelve they sent one after me. I was a kid. I was stupid. I didn't know what it was all about. Both times future me sent someone back to stop them. The first time it was a soldier. His name was Kyle Reese, and he died saving my mother's life. The second time it was a machine. I used to wonder why I did that, why I took that chance. I don't wonder anymore. Human beings can't be replaced. They can't be rebuilt. They die and they never come back.
What's so great about it?
Okay, so I cheated here. Two episodes and I've totally picspammed the second part before, but these two episodes go together and I didn't want to split them apart. That quote above and the scene that goes with it are outstanding. Dekker acts his little heart out and it's perfect. Everyone is at the top of their game for these two eps and it shows in how brilliant they are. Jesse gets a back story and a reason for her cruelty, and while she is sympathetic, she also gets what she deserves. Being such a John Connor fan, these episodes are wonderful in that they show him at his most badass, his strongest and in the next breath his most vulnerable. It's breathtaking to see how far he has come from the beginning of the season or even the beginning of the series. There is not a bad scene in either episode.
3. Ourselves Alone
JOHN: Were you gonna kill her?
CAMERON: I don't know what I was going to do.
JOHN: What do you mean you didn't know what you were gonna do? Since when do you not know what you're gonna do?
CAMERON: I don't know. I should have killed her. She's a threat to you.
JOHN: That is not your decision to make.
CAMERON: It's usually not a decision.
JOHN: Well, obviously it is this time, and it's not yours. What's happening with you?
CAMERON: I don't know.
What's so great about it?
"That's a window, bird." Oh, Cameron, you slay me! This episode begins the culmination of the tension that has been building up all season. Cameron and Riley dominate this well-crafted episode, and their freakouts parallel but are completely different. Cameron sees that she's broken and puts her trust in John while making sure that his trust is in her as well. Riley puts her trust in Jesse instead of John and pays for it when she realizes too late. SUCH good stuff throughout this one.
2. Dungeons and Dragons
SAYLES: We go back.
DEREK: 20 years.
SAYLES: Set up a safe house, gather intel, and then what? Hang in there, baby? Until someone else shows up, and gives us more orders? He didn't say anything about Kyle? All that, and not a word about him?
DEREK: We can save Kyle. We can save everybody. We can fix all the mistakes.
TIMMS: How're we gonna do that? Reese, how are we going to do that?
What's so great about it?
I love Derek Reese. So much. I'm always a sucker for the future stuff, and this was pretty much our first introduction to it. KYLE REESE! All the call backs to the movies in this make for dorky fascination and glee, but Derek's story is so compelling, not to mention all the interpersonal dynamics between the Connors in the present. I'm also a sucker for Charley Dixon and he gets to shine in this episode as well. He and Sarah's could-have-been stuff gets me every time. And Derek's little smile at the end when John tells him Kyle was a hero kills me.
1. Samson & Delilah
JOHN: So Charlie told me that Cromartie killed about 20 FBI guys today. He's still out there. He's here for me. They're dead because of me.
DEREK: They're dead because some people refuse to accept the reality of the situation.
JOHN: Which is what?
DEREK: Which is that they carry death with them.
JOHN: She was different.
DEREK: No.
JOHN: I made her. I sent her back. She's different.
DEREK: She's not different.
JOHN: There's physical damage to her chip. Which means that she can be repaired--
DEREK: John.
JOHN: I need her. She saved my life. She saves my life!
What's so great about it?
"I love you, John, and you love me." The consequences and implications of those words are great for not only John, but everyone on the show for the rest of the season. I love that this episode goes back to the original concept of the movie, having a terminator bent on killing a Connor chasing after them the entire episode. Cameron gone bad is fun to watch, Charley working with cynical Derek makes me smile, Shirley Manson as a terminator is perfect, and the climax with John choosing to trust Cameron and bring her back makes for spectacular episode. It does what a lot of genre shows do with the first episode of the season being that it mixes things up and goes off its normal set-up before returning things to normal at the end of the episode. Cameron goes from protecting to hunting only to be back as bodyguard at the end of the episode. The difference here is that at the end, you feel like things aren't back to normal. Sure everyone is together again, but everything has changed and everyone isn't necessarily on the same side anymore. And John Connor actually grows up when he turns sixteen. Wow.
Did you love TSCC? What are your favorite episodes?