{"id":4369,"date":"2015-01-13T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4369"},"modified":"2015-01-06T10:08:39","modified_gmt":"2015-01-06T18:08:39","slug":"mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e19-today-is-the-day-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/01\/mark-watches-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-s02e19-today-is-the-day-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’: S02E19 – Today is the Day, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a mess. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a shell of a human.\u00c2\u00a0I am not okay<\/i>. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of death\/grief, miscarriage, and a brief mention of suicide.<\/b><\/p>\n

Lord.<\/p>\n

Ellison<\/b><\/p>\n

He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so close,\u00c2\u00a0he<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so close<\/i>. I actually thought that during Ellison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with John Henry, Henry would open up about his secret. But I understand why that hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happened yet. Instead, Ellison is asked an incredibly surreal and uncomfortable question: does his time spent with John Henry now mean they are friends?\u00c2\u00a0Can<\/i> they even be friends? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to say that what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of John Connor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with Cameron has shown us that a machine and a human\u00c2\u00a0can<\/i> be friends, you know? But Ellison doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the sort of experience that John Connor has had with a Terminator. His life was torn apart by these machines. (And I imagine he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be\u00c2\u00a0incredibly<\/i> upset when he learns who Catherine Weaver is.) (I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT CATHERINE WEAVER LATER, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL,\u00c2\u00a0OH MY GOD<\/i>.) His interactions with John Henry have been guarded and calculated. But Garrett Dillahunt portrays John Henry with a bizarre sort of childishness, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an absolute trip to watch. When you watch him with Ellison, he almost seems\u00c2\u00a0eager<\/i> for Ellison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s validation. Pair that with his reaction to Catherine Weaver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s refusal to trust humanity, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say that John Henry is progressing. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already somewhat protective of Ellison, enough that he brought up the fake resignation papers for Ellison. This is what Catherine wanted, right? But\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i>?<\/p>\n

I have a theory. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to it.<\/p>\n

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

I could not possibly have guessed what was in that box. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still struggling to understand the ramifications of it in terms of the story arc for this\u00c2\u00a0entire<\/i> show. At the very least, we finally find out how Jesse went from a loyal soldier to one who distrusted Connor so much that she traveled back in time to sabotage his relationship with Cameron. After the\u00c2\u00a0Jimmy Carter<\/i> picked up Connor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s secret cargo, the writers dropped us into a claustrophobic nightmare, akin to many closed-room thrillers. (I was reminded of\u00c2\u00a0The Thing<\/i> the most here, since the Terminator alloy could disguise itself as anyone.) But it was far more fascinating to me to see how Jesse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sense of trust eroded as the events became more nightmarish aboard that ship. While she was frustrated at being left out of the mission details, she still swore her loyalty to Queeg. She had no reason to doubt his loyalty, but once that\u00c2\u00a0thing<\/i> came out of the box? WELL.\u00c2\u00a0WELL<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The paranoia was bad enough, but I was horrified by how far the rest of the crew went to prove that Jesse was human. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine how betrayed she must have felt, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also clear that she puts this aside in favor of her own suspicions. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all due to Dietze\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she necessarily felt that Dietze was in the right; she just knew that Queeg had gone too far. Even if he would have eventually been executed for treason and mutiny, Queeg shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have murdered him. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how the seed is planted, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how Jesse begins to question\u00c2\u00a0everything<\/i> Queeg does. We watch her unravel, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not entirely irrational. I appreciate that! How\u00c2\u00a0can<\/i> these people trust a machine when it is behaving so secretively about\u00c2\u00a0another<\/i> machine that no one has ever seen before? (I feel safe saying that no one had seen a metal alloy Terminator prior to this.) Even if Jesse\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i> misguided, she truly believed that John Connor and Queeg were putting the entire Resistance at risk. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important thing to establish because we see it reflected in Derek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with John at the end of the episode. John leads the Resistance as he sees fit (I liked the chess metaphor used), and that means that there are\u00c2\u00a0always<\/i> going to be people who disagree with him and dislike him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not in charge because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s liked.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Jesse becomes one of the people who utterly distrusts John Connor because of the events on the\u00c2\u00a0Jimmy Carter<\/i>. On top of losing faith in his leadership skills and questioning the place Terminators have within the Resistance, Jesse loses her child with Derek. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s left unsaid whether that was due to the beating or the change in pressure during her escape, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. Both things happened because of John Connor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cargo. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why she befriended Riley and used her. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why she was so determined to tear apart Cameron and Jesse. In her mind, this was the only way to truly save the future.<\/p>\n

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

IS THAT CATHERINE WEAVER? IS THAT HOW CATHERINE WEAVER ENDS UP IN 2007? Granted, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not much here to perfectly validate this theory, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that her little speech about not trusting humans is a reference to the events in 2027. But I was utterly devastated by the question Connor had asked those Terminators:\u00c2\u00a0Will you join us?<\/i> We knew that the answer was no, so that means\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 is this a third party? A non-Skynet set of machines? Is Catherine Weaver a third party, separate from\u00c2\u00a0both<\/i> John Connor and Skynet?<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M A MESS.<\/p>\n

John Connor<\/b><\/p>\n

My god, there are just SO MANY thrilling and emotional and brilliant scenes in this episode that all center on John Connor. The big moment, of course, is John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confrontation of Jesse. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious to me know how long the show had been leading to this moment. My god, how had I never questioned Riley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior in Mexico? She knew that John shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be photographed! I DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVEN PICK UP ON THAT. It makes sense to me, then, that John would have long ago been able to determine if someone was treating him as John Connor or John Baum. Christ, I want to re-watch this season because I feel like I could see John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awareness of Riley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true identity.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heartbreaking to think about it, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. He knew she was lying for at least the last few episodes she was in, and he gave her a chance to tell the truth. But she never did. At the same time, I was so refreshed that John accepted responsibility for Riley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s demise. He saw that she was in trouble, and he chose not to help her. (Is that a reference to the suicide last season? I feel like it is.) That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on his conscience, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always have to live with that. I suppose it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird to think about what John\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life has become, you know? This is who he is and what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always have to do. He got like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what? Ten years of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153peace\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? Even then, he was on the run or in foster care for most of that time. And now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sitting in Jesse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hotel room, confronting her about her murder of Riley, and the whole thing is unbelievably surreal to think about.<\/p>\n

I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why the final scene is so devastating. John Connor has had to live this unfair life of violence and paranoia, and that often means he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a chance to just be human. His breakdown in the arms of his mother is his first human moment in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Today is the Day, Part II.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s haunting to see it contrasted with Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction: disinterest.<\/p>\n

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

John Connor let Jesse live, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that Derek did not. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not his Jesse, and I think I finally understand the timelines. Derek makes reference to Andy Goode being Billy Wisher in his future, and the only way those two names make sense is if the murder of Andy Goode\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i> what created the two timelines. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no Billy Wisher in Jesse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s timeline, despite that she should know who he is. Therefore, Jesse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions in\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i> timeline could potentially ruin everything for John Connor. In Derek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes, as a loyal friend to John Connor, Jesse is a complete risk. So he takes her out. He eliminates the threat.<\/p>\n

Everything hurts, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel good about Jesse dying, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel good about Riley dying, and everything is a complicated disaster. I do appreciate that the writers have given us such a layered story, but I also hate them because\u00c2\u00a0do they not care about my emotions?<\/i><\/p>\n

Clearly not.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Today is the Day, Part II\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.
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\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"