This week in the Terminator universe is a walk down memory lane for our characters. Sarah Connor relives some experiences from her past regarding John’s birth. Catherine Weaver reveals to James Ellison the haunting memories that drive her to learn more about the mysterious machines – even if these memories are false or stolen. Finally, we are privileged to get a chilling glimpse Cameron’s past as a glitch sends her mind traveling back and forth between the present and the past.
The Connors’ new and very pregnant landlady, Kacy Corbin, asks Sarah to help her to the hospital due to some abdominal pains. Although she is fine, she has to stay for testing so Sarah stays with her. After Kacy discusses the pending birth, Sarah tells her of John’s delivery in the depths of the jungle (the price of running for your life). We get to see a tender side of Sarah as she reveals to Kacy that while John’s father died before John’s birth, she tells people he was there with her because that’s how she wishes it had been. However, being the tough-as-nails woman she is, she also sternly tells Kacy that being alone shouldn’t stop her from being a strong mother and making it through. An interesting development in this newfound friendship is that the father of Kacy’s child is a police officer. After the promise Sarah makes to help Kacy, it’s only a matter of time before he recognizes her as a wanted criminal.
The wait to know Agent Ellison’s decision regarding CEO (and Terminator) Catherine Weaver’s request that he work for her tracking down Terminators is finally over. Weaver tells Ellison that her husband’s death in a helicopter crash was the result of human error, and explains that her interest in the machines is to explore the possibilities they offer in the way of eliminating such human error – not to raise a destructive army of human-killing robots. After having his ex-wife (interesting peek into his past) do a background check on Weaver (which naturally came up clean – duh! Terminator!), Ellison gives in to his curiosity about the robots and agrees to help her. On a side note – Weaver had a “daughter” with her. Is this child the daughter of whoever Weaver is impersonating? Is she a small mini-Terminator? Interesting developments ahead!
At last, we come to Cameron’s trip down the lane of memories. The episode starts with a flashback (or is it flash forward?) of a girl frantically running from a Terminator, and we quickly realize this is Cameron herself. Before we can process wonder at Cameron’s very human fear, we are back in the present where John is sending Cameron for groceries. She experiences another flashback of herself being questioned by Terminators that leaves her in a state of robot amnesia. Unsure of who she is and without any ID, Cameron is taken to the police department where she has a memory of being Allison Young, and apparently human. We should pause here to applaud the acting skills of Summer Glau. She exudes robotic nature – cold and emotionless – in every scene as Cameron, and then switches so believably and passionately to Allison Young. Glau was an excellent choice for this role.
After Cameron is released, she is befriended by another former detainee; Jodie. Jodie takes Cameron to a homeless shelter shows her the ropes. Cameron, in her new role as Allison Young, is running the gamut of human emotions – joy in her new friendship, fear at her lack of memory, etc. During an interview with the shelter’s counselor, her flashbacks to the interrogation by Terminators become more frequent. She suddenly remembers a family in Palmdale, and a mother named Claire Young. The counselor dials the number and a young pregnant woman answers. It seems that this is the mother that Allison Young will have – once she’s born.
John finally tracks Cameron to the shelter, only to have her aggressively resist his attempts to make her leave. Security forces John out of the shelter, but seeing him awakens new memories in Cameron. In her mind, Allison Young is brought face to face with her questioner, only to find that it’s a Terminator made to be exactly like her. We realize that Cameron wasn’t human; rather she was made to emulate this specific human being, a trusted friend to John Connor. Cameron’s purpose was to adopt her identity in order to infiltrate the camp and kill John. As she is recalling this in the present, she ceases to act human and once again becomes the cold robotic Cameron we know and love.
Jodie convinces Cameron to go with her to a home that she plans to rob. As Cameron helps open the safe she realizes that Jodie had planned to rob the house and leave Cameron to take the blame. In her memory, her past self strangles and kills Allison Young, and her present self starts to do the same to Jodie… right as John bursts into the house. While Jodie survives the encounter, we aren’t sure whether this was mercy or an accident on Cameron’s part.
This episode was a flood of information about the mysterious Cameron. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of information that only opens the way for more questions! Nevertheless, the episode was revealing and wonderfully acted. Happily, there was no exposure to sulky John, no dark and ominous words from Derek Reese (who was AWOL the entire episode), and plenty of awesome Cameron action. Hopefully, we’ll continue to get these glimpses into Cameron’s past and learn why exactly she is here.
Susan Kearl is a university student with too much time on her hands who loves to watch TV. She’s happy to contribute her opinions to the world of television viewers like you.
