Thoughts on TSCC Episode 2x11 "Self Made Man"
Very weird episode for me, so you get a slightly different format for my weekly thoughts.
Sarah -- I do not like Sarah being only in one scene for this episode. This is a major beef for me.
Derek -- I don't mind when he's occasionally gone, but something could have been said.
Charley -- I think John's monologue is the official 'written out of the plot' moment for Charley Dixon.
Cameron -- She broke my heart this episode. Repeatedly. She's suicidal and failing at making a friend and everything that would make you want to take a normal human and try to help them. How the hell did Cameron the terminator become The Woobie? When she was trying to ask her friend (in the bathroom) if he'd ever thought about suicide, that was classic displacement. She had been thinking of it extensively, you could tell. And she really tried to use her lesson of empathy from last episode to help the wheelchair bound friend (Eric). She still doesn't understand pride, I don't think.
John -- He made sense this episode at least. He's still angry, but starting to wise up a little. Even with the makeout session with Riley. Of course, he was out 'all night', so do we know if it went beyond first base?
Eric (wheelchair guy) -- Great one shot actor for this part. I liked him. He did very well.
Riley -- Even more manipulative this episode. Is it possible for me to hate her more? I'm not even a Jameron shipper. I just can't wait for her to get her comeuppance.
The Premise -- I think it was very high brow and a neat attempt to try something new. Unfortunately it felt very disonant with the rest of the series and the flashbacks just did not work at all, imo. I felt that more time could have been spent with Sarah or John as Cameron tracked down Stark instead of going with the flashbacks.
It wasn't 'Automatic for the People' bad, but it wasn't the best episode this season by far. The last two were homeruns. I'd say this was a flyout on a 2-2 count. Better than the strikeout that AftP was, but still not great due to some serious structural flaws in the pacing and layout of the episode.
Sarah -- I do not like Sarah being only in one scene for this episode. This is a major beef for me.
Derek -- I don't mind when he's occasionally gone, but something could have been said.
Charley -- I think John's monologue is the official 'written out of the plot' moment for Charley Dixon.
Cameron -- She broke my heart this episode. Repeatedly. She's suicidal and failing at making a friend and everything that would make you want to take a normal human and try to help them. How the hell did Cameron the terminator become The Woobie? When she was trying to ask her friend (in the bathroom) if he'd ever thought about suicide, that was classic displacement. She had been thinking of it extensively, you could tell. And she really tried to use her lesson of empathy from last episode to help the wheelchair bound friend (Eric). She still doesn't understand pride, I don't think.
John -- He made sense this episode at least. He's still angry, but starting to wise up a little. Even with the makeout session with Riley. Of course, he was out 'all night', so do we know if it went beyond first base?
Eric (wheelchair guy) -- Great one shot actor for this part. I liked him. He did very well.
Riley -- Even more manipulative this episode. Is it possible for me to hate her more? I'm not even a Jameron shipper. I just can't wait for her to get her comeuppance.
The Premise -- I think it was very high brow and a neat attempt to try something new. Unfortunately it felt very disonant with the rest of the series and the flashbacks just did not work at all, imo. I felt that more time could have been spent with Sarah or John as Cameron tracked down Stark instead of going with the flashbacks.
It wasn't 'Automatic for the People' bad, but it wasn't the best episode this season by far. The last two were homeruns. I'd say this was a flyout on a 2-2 count. Better than the strikeout that AftP was, but still not great due to some serious structural flaws in the pacing and layout of the episode.