Sarah Connor Chronicles
Here is where I confess that I watched the first season as a hopeful Terminator movie fan, even tho the show itself wasn't quite doing it for me. But second season is making me happy already.
This is going to be the mother of unpopular opinions, I'll bet, but I don't find Lena Headly at all believable as a bad-ass. I secretly worship Linda Hamilton's slightly unhinged and muscular portrayal in T2. And I actually was not thrilled about the repurposing of Sarah Connor. In a way, the movies themselves were the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and that's where she experienced her character arc -- because after their conclusion, she had served her part in the hero's journey, and that was to teach the little padawan his harsh life lessons, and then die to launch him on his journey.
So what I loved about this episode was that John Connor is now becoming his own man, *because of* her previous influence (as was destined), and *in spite of* her current influence. Which is AWESOME. He is not the wimpy, sulky, entirely unsympathetic teenage broody boy of season one; he's grown a pair, and he's defying his mother and Derek. Maybe not for the right reasons, but wow, you can see the steel in his spine now. You can see the soldier he's becoming. And you can see the grudging respect on his mother's face, even as she tries to mother and comfort and protect him, which he is clearly not planning on having any more of.
Also, I found myself liking her so much more when she kills bad guys off camera. Whatever happened there (and it's really not clear to me what *did* happen), it's implied it was deeply traumatic for John, and NOT for Sarah, which goes a loooooong way towards fulfilling what I wanted to see out of her character. I want to see her as the hero of her own story, as I did in the movies, and to do that, I have to believe in her. This made me believe in her, in ways all of season one didn't.
Cameron remains an awesome, awesome character. She's an enigma wrapped up in a mystery wrapped up in synthetic skin, and Summer Glau is amazingly effective as a terminator. Her body language is really interesting; it helps to sell her totally as a machine.
Now for my questions. Since when does cleaning a chip with a rag somehow constitute repairing it?? Come on, now, future leader of the resistance. Also, why didn't the evil terminator shoot the FBI agent? I love that FBI agent. Even if right now I can't remember his name. Hey, it's been a long summer. I still love him lots.
Also, badass =/= lead singer of Garbage. Especially as a t1000 morphing out of a urinal. *refrains from making jokes about how she's only happy when it rains* I miss the good old days. I think Robert Patrick needs work, no?
This is going to be the mother of unpopular opinions, I'll bet, but I don't find Lena Headly at all believable as a bad-ass. I secretly worship Linda Hamilton's slightly unhinged and muscular portrayal in T2. And I actually was not thrilled about the repurposing of Sarah Connor. In a way, the movies themselves were the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and that's where she experienced her character arc -- because after their conclusion, she had served her part in the hero's journey, and that was to teach the little padawan his harsh life lessons, and then die to launch him on his journey.
So what I loved about this episode was that John Connor is now becoming his own man, *because of* her previous influence (as was destined), and *in spite of* her current influence. Which is AWESOME. He is not the wimpy, sulky, entirely unsympathetic teenage broody boy of season one; he's grown a pair, and he's defying his mother and Derek. Maybe not for the right reasons, but wow, you can see the steel in his spine now. You can see the soldier he's becoming. And you can see the grudging respect on his mother's face, even as she tries to mother and comfort and protect him, which he is clearly not planning on having any more of.
Also, I found myself liking her so much more when she kills bad guys off camera. Whatever happened there (and it's really not clear to me what *did* happen), it's implied it was deeply traumatic for John, and NOT for Sarah, which goes a loooooong way towards fulfilling what I wanted to see out of her character. I want to see her as the hero of her own story, as I did in the movies, and to do that, I have to believe in her. This made me believe in her, in ways all of season one didn't.
Cameron remains an awesome, awesome character. She's an enigma wrapped up in a mystery wrapped up in synthetic skin, and Summer Glau is amazingly effective as a terminator. Her body language is really interesting; it helps to sell her totally as a machine.
Now for my questions. Since when does cleaning a chip with a rag somehow constitute repairing it?? Come on, now, future leader of the resistance. Also, why didn't the evil terminator shoot the FBI agent? I love that FBI agent. Even if right now I can't remember his name. Hey, it's been a long summer. I still love him lots.
Also, badass =/= lead singer of Garbage. Especially as a t1000 morphing out of a urinal. *refrains from making jokes about how she's only happy when it rains* I miss the good old days. I think Robert Patrick needs work, no?