{"id":4319,"date":"2014-12-25T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-12-25T16:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4319"},"modified":"2015-01-01T11:17:27","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T19:17:27","slug":"mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e06-the-tower-is-tall-but-the-fall-is-short","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2014\/12\/mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e06-the-tower-is-tall-but-the-fall-is-short\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’: S02E06 – The Tower Is Tall but the Fall Is Short"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>, I CAN BARELY BELIEVE THIS SHOW IS REAL. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of PTSD\/trauma, suicide.<\/b><\/p>\n

THIS SHOW IS TOO MUCH OH MY GOD. Seriously, this was\u00c2\u00a0so<\/i> good, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Introspective, boldly emotional, thrilling, and COMPLETELY UNSETTLING. Where do I start?<\/p>\n

Catherine Weaver<\/b><\/p>\n

Who knew that a mother learning to be affectionate with her daughter could be so utterly horrifying??? I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to this show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s credit that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re keeping Weaver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivations such a huge secret because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, it creates\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>. We are constantly uneasy when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re watching Weaver at work because we never quite know if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big antagonist or if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 something else? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard for me to see her as any sort of ally or force for good because of how pervasively creepy she is. With the recent casual reveal that Catherine has a daughter, Savannah, matters are only made worse.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear now that the helicopter crash was the actual infiltration point, and Savannah confirms that. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point where she became\u00c2\u00a0terrified<\/i> of her mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior. (So, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a mini-Terminator. PHEW.) The show brilliantly mixes in multiple therapy sessions with Dr. Sherman to explore the traumatic past of many of these characters. In Savannah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s frightened of her mother, and Catherine knows that if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to stay hidden in plain sight, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to do better. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have anyone suspecting that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something wrong between her and her daughter. So she\u00c2\u00a0studies old tapes of Catherine Weaver<\/i>. Oh god, it reminded me of the way Cameron studied Allison, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO CREEPY. Even though Savannah is thrilled that her mother is more affectionate, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but feel immensely uncomfortable about what was happening. JUST\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 WHY IS THIS SHOW DOING THIS TO ME?<\/p>\n

It also looks like Dr. Sherman is going to be part of the team, which confuses me. Not from Catherine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perspective, that is. It makes sense to bring on a psychologist who could examine the Turk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own development. But if Dr. Sherman is destined to help Skynet come to fruition, why the hell was that Terminator dead set on killing him? Seriously, nothing makes sense in Catherine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s storyline, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tormenting me. BUT WHO CARES, BECAUSE THE FIGHT IN THE ELEVATOR BETWEEN CAMERON AND THE OTHER TERMINATOR IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THIS SHOW HAS EVER DONE.\u00c2\u00a0EVER<\/i>. OH MY GOD. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get over how bizarre the choreography is between Terminators, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so thankful they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve stuck to the mechanical style for them instead of going with something more fluid. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant.<\/p>\n

Derek \/ Jesse<\/b><\/p>\n

So much of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Tower is Tall\u00e2\u20ac\u009d relies on this idea of trauma and tolerance. How much can a person take? Are some people expected to be tougher than others and is that fair? I think you can see that in the Connors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 story, but I wanted to talk about both of these characters and how that relates to them. Jesse is\u00c2\u00a0a fascinating character (even before her duplicity is revealed) because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a direct parallel to John Connor within her characterization. Well, not just John either. We find out that Derek also was suicidal at one point, and Jesse inadvertently saved him from that. Both of them have been dealt so much trauma over the years, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really great that the writers are letting them unpack it in this manner. Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to\u00c2\u00a0truly<\/i> talk about Jesse because the last image of her in this episode reveals that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lying about her mission. If that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case, how much else is she lying about? Did reprogrammed Terminators really take out half of a bunker? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to believe her story about wanting to spend time back in 2007 with Derek; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly a cover. (And one he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s falling for.)<\/p>\n

So what gives? She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a Terminator, so what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s her deal? What possible mission could she be on that would require her to stalk John and Derek for days on end? Who is she gathering intelligence for?\u00c2\u00a0Why am I turning into someone who distrusts everyone on this show?<\/i> It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your fault. YOURS.<\/p>\n

The Connors<\/b><\/p>\n

JUST\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 HOLY HELL. Look, I think one of the big reasons I enjoyed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Tower Is Tall\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so much is because it validated the idea that both Sarah and John\u00c2\u00a0needed<\/i> therapy. No matter what Sarah intended with her relationship with her son, John didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel comfortable being entirely honest with her. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now true, based on the final scene, that the reverse applies as well. John occupies a frustrating and confusing space in the world because, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve mentioned before, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s between identities. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s John Connor, but not quite\u00c2\u00a0the<\/i> John Connor that is savior of mankind years into the future. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of pressure to be put under, obviously, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s compounded by the many horrible things he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0already<\/i> experienced. From the violence, to the constant threats on his life, to his need to compartmentalize his experiences, to his longing for normalcy\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot for one human to be asked to deal with\u00c2\u00a0and have no way out<\/i>.<\/p>\n

So I loved that the show put him in front of Dr. Sherman and then gave him an outlet to begin to talk about the myriad of problems that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy for him because in addition to the monumental task of unpacking all of the trauma he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone through, HE CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T ACTUALLY TELL THE TRUTH. Unless he somehow gets a therapist that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally aware of the upcoming apocalypse, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shit out of luck. And yet, he tries. He tries to explore his own notions of agency and self-worth. He tries to open up about how he feels stuck.<\/p>\n

Does it work? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know think a couple therapy sessions are enough for John. Hell, neither did Dr. Sherman. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll continue since Catherine Weaver has recruited him to work with her. Perhaps that means we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see him more frequently. Because the truth is that John hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dealt with the most traumatic part of his life yet.<\/p>\n

He was the one who killed Sarkissian, not his mother.<\/p>\n

GOOD GOD, WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Tower Is Tall but the Fall Is Short\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next two Double Features are now in the schedule! I will be watching <\/b>The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i><\/b> and then <\/b>Leverage<\/i><\/b>. <\/b>Commission away!
\n– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2015, so check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"