Terminator: The Tower is Tall but the Fall is Short

Again, apologies for the delay. I just got back from a trip and wanted to watch this one twice before finishing my review.

Excellent episode this week, with a really great focus on character. I was completely engrossed from start to finish, especially with John’s and Catherine Weaver’s parts of the story.

I was so pleased the writers returned to the events of the season premiere. Those unseen events between John, Sarah, and Sarkissian kind of got lost in the shuffle over the last few weeks. They’ve been so focused on John resisting and slowly coming to terms with his destiny, that I forgot his whole rebellion was pretty much kicked off by what happened in that house. His first kill. It was always obvious to me that John had killed Sarkissian, but I liked the way they tried to keep the audience wondering. And I loved that we finally learned the truth through Sarah. It is her story after all. She’s been in some denial for awhile. First denying that John even needed help, then thinking that she could be the one to provide it. I’m glad she was finally able to see that he's not the boy she knew and he needs someone else to help him. And that maybe she needs some help herself. I hope Dr. Sherman can help them.

Catherine Weaver’s part of the story was completely fascinating. They confirmed what one of my readers suggested a few weeks ago: that liquid metal Catherine is a replacement for the real Catherine, and that the little red-haired girl is the real Catherine’s daughter. That poor little girl. Her first few sessions with Dr. Sherman were really heartbreaking and terrifying all at the same time. I kept expecting Catherine to just kill her. I could not figure out why she was bothering to get help for her “daughter” in the first place; she obviously doesn’t care about anything except her project. But my husband suggested Catherine needs the daughter as part of her cover, and the child’s abnormal behavior could draw unwanted attention or questions. Makes good sense to me. Plus, it was a good way for the writers to have her connect with Dr. Sherman and seek his help for young Skynet (one assumes).

Of course, if Dr. Sherman’s name was part of the blood list on Sarah’s wall, it is likely that he was previously part of Skynet’s development. So why wouldn’t Catherine know this already and seek him out deliberately, instead of finding him by accident? Was he only on the wall because he helps John? Is his role in Skynet a new development? Aargh! I feel another time loop theory headache coming on.

I was glad that Derek continued to have good material this week. His scenes with Jessie gave us some more insight into his future/past and his current state of mind. It spoke volumes when he walked away from Jessie after learning she had deserted and just wanted to wait for the end to come. He can’t just run from the war. He may have tried in the past, but he can't now---not when he has a chance to stop the war from ever beginning. He needs to fight to get back those things that were lost, like the innocents he seems to enjoy watching in the park. Perhaps his efforts are in vain; if Sarah’s voiceover is to be believed, “… what is lost is lost forever.” Plus, his girlfriend appears to be up to no good. She said John Connor didn’t send her back; did the “metal” send her back? Given what we saw with the photos, I doubt her story about needing a rest and wanting to be with Derek when it all ends was true.

Only Cameron really got shorted on strong material this week, primarily providing the big action sequence and serving as comic relief. I’m wondering about the true purpose of that Skynet soldier. She couldn’t have been sent just to kill the doctor, because she could have accomplished that pretty easily without taking out his assistant. She must have been sent to infiltrate his office. To spy on him or to protect him? If she was there to protect him, from whom? The Connors?

Other thoughts:

The voice over monologues were back! Yea! And they even provided some new insight into Sarah’s past with her father. You’d think the child of a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder would be better able to recognize the symptoms in herself and her son.

Stephanie Jacobson, the actress playing Derek’s girlfriend, Jessie, also played Kendra Shaw in Battlestar Galactica: Razor. Poor girl seems to be typecast as a burned-out military type.

Acting kudos to Thomas Dekker this week. I thought he did an outstanding job in his scenes with Dr. Sherman.

Agent Ellison is starting to get suspicious. I hope he’s seriously questioning his role in whatever Catherine Weaver’s company is “building.”

Final rating: 5 out of 5. I love a good character study, especially when it pays off earlier plot threads while setting new ones in motion.

Jess Lynde is a highly engaged television viewer. Probably a bit too engaged.

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