{"id":4326,"date":"2014-12-29T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-29T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4326"},"modified":"2015-01-01T11:24:52","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T19:24:52","slug":"mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e08-mr-ferguson-is-ill-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2014\/12\/mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e08-mr-ferguson-is-ill-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’: S02E08 – Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>, this is a spectacle, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so thankful I got to watch it. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Seriously, that may have been the best episode of this show by far. Before I delve into each character\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story, I wanted to talk about the brilliant way in which this was written. I do like the\u00c2\u00a0Rashomon\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>narrative style a lot, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never seen it pulled off like this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s common for this technique to be used to tell the same story multiple times in a row, but Daniel Thomsen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script keeps the narrative largely linear instead of repetitive, choosing to rewind the story just a few minutes to give us scenes that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel boring. Amidst this all, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can still shock us and surprise us, and I credit that entirely to the way this unfolds. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this would have been as satisfying as it was without the constantly-changing point of view.<\/p>\n

Bless this.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also great that this episode picks up in the aftermath of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Brothers of Nablus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s explosive fight with Sarah\u00c2\u00a0is the impetus for the events here, though I wonder if they would have been able to take down Cromartie if John had stayed home. Regardless, Sarah knows that the world is deeply unfair and that she and John can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have what they want anymore. I know that Sarah often comes across as unsympathetic and cold (which Lena Headey is perfect at portraying SHE IS SO AMAZING, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL), but she often has to be. I know there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing intentionally harmful in her actions, but John still feels stifled and in pain.<\/p>\n

But\u00c2\u00a0Sarah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s primary concern isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emotional well-being, and I think she knows\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s busy at the beginning of this episode securing their home and building a safe, not comforting her son. We know she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly that good at affection. Is that going to change after this episode? Will she re-think her position on civilians in her life? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think so. Given how she treated Riley after Riley saw pretty much everything, and given how she addressed Ellison, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more set in her ways than ever before.<\/p>\n

Cameron<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, lord, Cameron continues to fascinate me. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s adapting in ways we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see in the other Terminators. Here, she recognizes John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unspoken attraction to her, and she tries to use it to her favor when she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s busy convincing him to stop seeing Riley. Like Sarah, Cameron has no problem reading a situation and determining the biggest risks to John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safety. Unfortunately, the biggest \u00e2\u20ac\u0153risk\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she observes is\u00c2\u00a0an actual person<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s justification to her is so important; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t truly understand. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand the desire for companionship.<\/p>\n

But she can understand John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s loneliness. OH NO, THAT LINE WASN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T OKAY.<\/p>\n

John<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

This feels like the peak in John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s teenage rebellion, and unfortunately, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0disastrous<\/i>. As he tries to maintain a sense of normalcy with Riley, he quickly realizes that he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t maintain the illusion. Riley is perceptive as hell, and she correctly guessed that John had fought with his mother and that their little trip to Mexico was partly a gesture of revenge. So she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to start asking questions about John that he won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be able to answer truthfully. I mean, he took her to the city he grew up in, and once she started asking about his childhood, he closed himself off. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely understandable that she became frustrated with him! Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0anyone<\/i> feel that way? Plus, you have to take into account the fact that John has made it clear that he wants to take his relationship with Riley to the next level. And yet? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unable to be truthful with her about nearly everything in his life.<\/p>\n

This is then exacerbated by their arrest, which is the understatement of the goddamn century. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this\u00c2\u00a0falls apart so spectacularly, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s terrifying to watch. We know that once they run the name \u00e2\u20ac\u0153John Connor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d through the system, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll flag the authorities, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the\u00c2\u00a0least<\/i> of their worries. While we do see how John contacts Derek from that earlier scene, we have no idea how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get out of jail before anyone comes to get him. NOR DO WE KNOW HOW HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GOING TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS TO RILEY.<\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I had no idea how real this would get.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great chance for me to talk about how the visual medium of television allows for brilliant storytelling. I thought it was incredible that the show committed to Sarah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point of view and stuck the camera with her inside Cromartie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trunk. We hear the chaos and gunfire outside of the trunk that was hinted at during the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see it. We expect the worst because COME ON. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cromartie. So I was terrified when that trunk was opening because I fully expected Cromartie to do something awful.\u00c2\u00a0BUT NO.<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0ELLISON???\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>BLESS THIS SHOW.<\/p>\n

Ellison<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

JSUT!1!>1>!>1>?!?!? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. THIS IS SO AMAZING. Out of fucking\u00c2\u00a0nowhere<\/i>, Ellison is suddenly INTRICATELY INVOLVED and THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NO DENYING WHAT HE KNOWS and THIS IS SO INCREDIBLE. Shit, when Cromartie appeared behind Ellison at the police station, I nearly lost it. This episode does such a fine job conveying the chaos of that gun battle. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0horrifying<\/i>, particularly since it was entirely possible that Ellison might not make it out of this alive. But goddamn, he does it. He escapes, grabs Riley and John, and they all discover that Sarah was in Cromartie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trunk.<\/p>\n

I appreciate that the show committed to Sarah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reluctance to ever involve someone new into their circle. Look, just because Ellison helped them out and saved the Connors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lives doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to suddenly ask him to be partners. Again, she has to view everything as a risk, and Ellison is a risk. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too much of a chance that with Cromartie tracking Ellison, Ellison will accidentally lead the Terminator to the Connors. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no chance that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll team up with him. (Which frustrates me because BOTH OF THEM ARE NOW SO CLOSE TO CATHERINE WEAVER AND IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S FUCKING ME UP.)<\/p>\n

Derek<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

Where is Cromartie?<\/i> Oh my god, that one line was so frightening, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

Cromartie<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story<\/b><\/p>\n

Just the sight of his name was exciting to me. This episode takes so many risks with the story and the perspective, and I absolutely adore that the last major \u00e2\u20ac\u0153story\u00e2\u20ac\u009d centers around the villain. That scene in the church\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 FUCK. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so great to me that a building that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s traditionally used as sanctuary is used here for destruction. Through sheer force \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that amazing shotgun that Cameron had \u00e2\u20ac\u201c these people finally take down the Terminator that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been tormenting them for over a year. I honestly believed that Cromartie would last until the end of this show, so I was genuinely shocked that they killed him off. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge chapter in\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one that ends emotionally for Sarah. How much of her life would have been easier if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d just killed Cromartie back when he first came after John? It wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprising to me if she blamed herself for all of this, even though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not her fault. Regardless, Sarah shows a rare moment of vulnerability as Ellison walks away, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a haunting sequence. What now? What role\u00c2\u00a0does<\/i> Ellison play? Is he going to tell Catherine Weaver what he just experienced? What threat are the Connors going to face next?<\/p>\n

This show is such a gem, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today\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":"