TV Recap - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - To The Lighthouse

“What were they doing before these past few episodes?”

– My wife. (Second biggest Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles fan in our house)

Well said my love. Terminator:SCC has turned a corner. While I have always been attracted to the storyline, there has been a meandering, disjointed aspect of the show. But, I feel, Terminator is starting to become what every hardcore fan has expected from it. We have been waiting for the writers to delve into the forces driving, or fighting against, Judgment Day. It is folly to expect that John, Sarah, Cameron and Derek are the only humans out there with knowledge of the future. Tonight we learned that many others out there are operating for their own end games. What those are remains to be seen, but the fight for the future began with tonight’s episode.

Sarah and company are on their third consecutive episode moving out of the house. As a professional packer (ask my wife) this is hard for me to comprehend. I digress. Sarah is moving John to a safe house while Derek and Cameron retrieve some weapons in storage. The safe house Sarah has in mind is a waterfront lighthouse. We discover that Charlie lives here. For those that don’t know Charlie, he is Sarah’s ex-fiancé and a father figure to John.

Sarah has the idea that being with Charlie is as safe as she can expect John to be. She has discovered a lump on her breast and feels like fate (in the form of cancer) has finally caught up with her. Charlie loves John like a son and if she were to die this is where she wants her baby boy to stay.

Then there is John Henry. Usually I avoid the John Henry storylines because I find them trite and sanctimonious. The constant discussion of God and His role in the universe, in comparison to robot programming, didn’t mesh well for me in its presentation. Tonight though, I found it interesting. John Henry malfunctions forcing Zeiracorp to shut him down.

The random company techie says that John Henry must be turned back on and given network access so they can diagnose the problem. After coming back online, John Henry equates his shutdown to “dying,” and asks, “Why has God forsaken me?” Some would consider the ultimate step toward enlightenment is the acknowledgment of a higher being. John Henry is at that step. Bad sign. He says his mainframe has been hacked, and after examining the code he reveals that “another like him” is responsible. John Henry has a brother out there. The malware code traces back to Cyberdyne Systems and Miles Dyson. (Please just watch Terminator 2). John Henry says that this worm is out there infiltrating a high percentage of computer systems searching for him.

At the doctor, Sarah finds out the lump in her breast isn’t cancer after all. (Sigh of relief) Instead it is a tracking device implanted by those bastards at Desert Canyon Heating and Air. (Cry of panic) These guys have been tracking the Connors’ every move. They plan a coordinated hit on the whole crew. Everyone escapes but Charlie dies saving John’s life. This was a touching moment in the show as Sarah comes to grips with the idea that others continue to give their lives for John. John’s destiny gives way to the idea that others will always fall in order to protect him.

Another great episode. John is missing in action. Derek and Cameron are separated from the others. John Henry has a brother out there (Ben Linus?) and another group is working with its own A.I. The adventure continues.