orchidcactus

TSCC 102

(These comments are probably best read soon after watching the episode.)

I haven't quite decided on a formatting style for these blatherings... hope this is less crowded than before.

~It's the swing set!

I'm such a sucker for imagery. Really. I blathered into the realm of excessive on inky's journal about innocence and the damned swing set. Seeing it again makes me all sorts of happy.

Even if you don't get all silly about things like this, it's nice continuity from the close of the last episode, along with -bonus- homage-style dialogue.

~New IDs

Immediately, we have John and Sarah in conflict, and right on cue, Cameron steps in, echoing John's words. As an added bonus, she underscores her relationship/knowledge of future John with a bit of information… like a bread crumb trail leading to a place Sarah can't go.

Right from that into a moment of… turkey? I love the way this show gives us these contrasts of how 'normal' looks in this family.

~Resistance fighters

"They've seen me before." The second time through, I appreciate the foreshadowing.

Love how Terminators 'clank' when they punch each other. (Random thought flutters randomly when watching the fight scene… why bother with torsos? Why not go for the chip directly?)

Looked for the poster, this time around… and was rewarded! A little gem.

I'm sure everyone's drawn the parallel between Sarah and Terminators. When she orders the motorcycle dude to get off, there's no emotion. She's on a mission.

"You told me we'd be safe." I could go in a circle of justification of why I don't like this bit of dialogue; I understand why it's used, that it's an echo, a theme… but I end up in the same place. I don't like it.

It *does* lead into the next dialogue about Sarah dying. "Because you died." Now, I'm not a tough chick type, but hearing that in the past tense it wicked cruel. Her reaction to John in the next scene says it all.

I constantly want to push EVERYONE'S hair out of their eyes so they can SEE. Not a fan of pretty for the sake of pretty, here.

~So, Terminators in '07 not knowing to 'look' for John gave me a completely different reaction than either he or Sarah had. "So if one of them walked by…" gave me a creepy, haunted-house vibe. Like things *everywhere* in the dark, that you don't know are there. (*shivers* *Looks at cat*… are you a machine??)

~John happy being who he is? Who exactly is that? I don't think he's ever been allowed to be who he is, any more than Sarah has been since '83.

~"The best fighter he knows." Love the reaction to this.

~Sarah and Cameron go ID shopping. John goes to the mall.

The phone messages are great, because they end with the reality of John's life.

"You are a very quiet girl." A Terminator, mirroring, adapting, laughing. Nice.

I (heart) how TSCC pays attention to small details between the technology John's used to, and '07.

Really nice shot of John surfing the internet, with the display in the background. It gives a two-for-the-price-of-one moment in his reaction to information. Smart; I like.

~Rise of the machine!!

German Shepherd, yet again, a nice continuity touch.

I am lost the second time around. It's walking without a head? What? I know that can't be right? What am I missing? Help me, inky!!

~Dogs don't like Cameron; Sarah says she's a cat person. LOL

Cameron learning to be more human. This is a hoot, though. Humor, done well.

Secrets. Everyone has them.

Sarah learns about 9-11. I really like how this was handled. I didn't feel it was gratuitous, which was good.

Sarah acting like a trophy wife bitch, Cameron clueless.

"Aren't they the same"; "Not yet."

~More breadcrumbs, places Sarah will never see.

~John visits Charlie - John seeking connections (people, the past, happier times), but then pushing away. He keeps doing these things; the audience is reminded he's *not* a machine.

"You mean cat-scans?" Is that *almost* incredulity in Cameron's face? LOL

~'Hang in there, baby.'

Is this a theme from the movies? An in-joke I'm missing? (I know it's used later... I just feel like I'm missing something important here.

Annddd… Cameron's down for the 120. Cue 'T-music'!! Barking dogs!! Longest 120 seconds ever!!

Cameron says, "I can see my house from here!" (No, not really, obviously.) Now *that's* a handy trick.

~Diamonds, and cash, and guns, oh my!

They are a girl's best friend; and Sarah is not pleased Cameron has one.

More 'not pleased' because bread crumbs spill all over the place. The Wizard of Oz (in Spanish) is a detail that's *Sarah's*… a machine has this piece of her life, her connection to John. The flip of that coin is that her son talking about it, years later, shows her the impact (this time an emotional, 'normal' impact) she's had on her son.

~Cameron learns about makeup. Love it.

~Betrayed by an old friend.