(no subject)
TSCC 2.06 - "The Tower Is Tall, But the Fall Is Short"
The overarching theme of this episode seemed to be parenting: what we teach our children, and what we learn from them.
Although Sarah has taught John to stay safe--has taught him that nowhere is ever safe--she's also taught him to kill, and seen him do it. They've both been irretrievably changed by that, and as hard as it is for Sarah to accept the idea that John might need someone to talk to who's not her, that she can't fix this, that he might need the help of someone outside their insular world, in the end she goes back to Sherman, the family therapist, because she thinks her parenting has failed them, and because she's learning from John that war is not enough. (And how much of her own paranoia and isolation did Sarah learn from her father, the Vietnam vet? PTSD runs deep in this family.) The show seems to have gotten into the right groove with John: when he complains about his destiny, he comes across as whiny; but when he deals with the consequences of it, and of the fact that there's no outlet, it's incredibly distressing to watch him sag beneath all of that weight.
Derek also seems to be learning that war was not enough--at least it wasn't for him, when he thought about killing himself. He's in the middle, not part of the immediate family, but someone who both learned from an older John and his helping to raise the younger one. Although I'm curious what Jessie's agenda is, in some ways it's less interesting than the effect she has on Derek: for the time being, at least, she's a secret he keeps from John and Sarah, and something he's doing that has no purpose other than connection, no military value. It's the first time we've seen him allow himself the luxury of some kind of outside life, at the same time when John's been pushing for the same thing.
And then there's Catherine Weaver, with her human and computer children. They both do things she doesn't understand, and she sees the lack in herself, the missing spark of individuality, of willingness to cross against the light; and she studies, she imitates, she tries to get closer to the goal. Sherman could explain both Savannah and the AI to her, could break down their behavior into understandable equations. That seems to be his value to SkyNet, although Cameron's theory--that he helps John--is interesting because it could also be true, and because it's a possibility that Sarah is too defensive to think of at this point.
I also thought Cameron's relatively restrained, quiet fight with the other terminator was interesting. The stealth was played for humor, but the way she folded her up like a pretzel was both gruesome and something of an anti-catfight: very little punching or flying hair, just clinical blows and bending metal. And now we know that the future has changed again under our feet: the tamper-proof chip means that SkyNet knows John is reprogramming robots. I'm curious about the timing; Jessie was scarred by shrapnel from a reprogrammed terminator turning on them, so when did SkyNet figure out what John is doing with their machines? Sometime between when she came through and now?
I also have two small things to say about "Chuck vs. the Cougars":
1. Nicole Ritchie is a much better actor than Paris Hilton, though admittedly, that is a bar so low that it rests in a trench.
2. Although I'm not sure I'm entirely on board with Sarah's backstory, I do like that she was a chameleon before she joined the CIA: that they directed her, but didn't shape her that way.
* * * * *
Rosanne Barr left a message on my machine today urging me to vote for Cindy Sheehan for Congress. Nothing about that sentence is right. Nothing. (Some background: In addition to not living here at all until she decided to pull this stunt, Cindy Sheehan appears to be going completely batshit insane.) November 5th cannot come fast enough.
The overarching theme of this episode seemed to be parenting: what we teach our children, and what we learn from them.
Although Sarah has taught John to stay safe--has taught him that nowhere is ever safe--she's also taught him to kill, and seen him do it. They've both been irretrievably changed by that, and as hard as it is for Sarah to accept the idea that John might need someone to talk to who's not her, that she can't fix this, that he might need the help of someone outside their insular world, in the end she goes back to Sherman, the family therapist, because she thinks her parenting has failed them, and because she's learning from John that war is not enough. (And how much of her own paranoia and isolation did Sarah learn from her father, the Vietnam vet? PTSD runs deep in this family.) The show seems to have gotten into the right groove with John: when he complains about his destiny, he comes across as whiny; but when he deals with the consequences of it, and of the fact that there's no outlet, it's incredibly distressing to watch him sag beneath all of that weight.
Derek also seems to be learning that war was not enough--at least it wasn't for him, when he thought about killing himself. He's in the middle, not part of the immediate family, but someone who both learned from an older John and his helping to raise the younger one. Although I'm curious what Jessie's agenda is, in some ways it's less interesting than the effect she has on Derek: for the time being, at least, she's a secret he keeps from John and Sarah, and something he's doing that has no purpose other than connection, no military value. It's the first time we've seen him allow himself the luxury of some kind of outside life, at the same time when John's been pushing for the same thing.
And then there's Catherine Weaver, with her human and computer children. They both do things she doesn't understand, and she sees the lack in herself, the missing spark of individuality, of willingness to cross against the light; and she studies, she imitates, she tries to get closer to the goal. Sherman could explain both Savannah and the AI to her, could break down their behavior into understandable equations. That seems to be his value to SkyNet, although Cameron's theory--that he helps John--is interesting because it could also be true, and because it's a possibility that Sarah is too defensive to think of at this point.
I also thought Cameron's relatively restrained, quiet fight with the other terminator was interesting. The stealth was played for humor, but the way she folded her up like a pretzel was both gruesome and something of an anti-catfight: very little punching or flying hair, just clinical blows and bending metal. And now we know that the future has changed again under our feet: the tamper-proof chip means that SkyNet knows John is reprogramming robots. I'm curious about the timing; Jessie was scarred by shrapnel from a reprogrammed terminator turning on them, so when did SkyNet figure out what John is doing with their machines? Sometime between when she came through and now?
I also have two small things to say about "Chuck vs. the Cougars":
1. Nicole Ritchie is a much better actor than Paris Hilton, though admittedly, that is a bar so low that it rests in a trench.
2. Although I'm not sure I'm entirely on board with Sarah's backstory, I do like that she was a chameleon before she joined the CIA: that they directed her, but didn't shape her that way.
* * * * *
Rosanne Barr left a message on my machine today urging me to vote for Cindy Sheehan for Congress. Nothing about that sentence is right. Nothing. (Some background: In addition to not living here at all until she decided to pull this stunt, Cindy Sheehan appears to be going completely batshit insane.) November 5th cannot come fast enough.