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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 1.3
Despite the occasional hiccup, I continue to be a fan.
- We're continuing the theme of fathers versus mothers. Sarah as Mother of Mankind's Savior versus the Fathers of Destruction. She's dreaming her fear of inadequacy, will she be able to do what's necessary when it's necessary? It's interesting to watch her calculated murder of those fathers. In a way it brings to mind the Terminator, so to see the men transform into Terminators who proceed to murder Sarah is a fascinating comment on the interchangeability of man and machine. Fathers as destroyers as terminators. The mother attempting to become like the fathers, destroyers, but failing in the end to become a terminator. Sarah is ever tugged between the two extremes with John on one end of the spectrum and Cameron on the other. John's admonishment at the end ties it all together rather neatly, do we become like our enemies in order to defeat them?
- Sarah and Tarissa Dyson are made of AWESOME! I love everything about them. The tension and the dislike. Dyson was so very, very pointed about the consequences of Sarah being alive and her impact on the Dyson family. Loved that as much as Sarah wanted some kind of lead, Tarissa was so very, very unwilling to give up any information. The comment about people dying in vain. OMG!!
- Cameron continues for the win! Although, I find the transformation from episode one to now really curious. I wouldn't exactly describe it as a degradation of personality, but it is sort of a degradation in her personality. Her ability to behave human has been severely reduced. This episode focused on models of femininity, both Sarah and Cameron are learning and re-learning gendered behaviors. Cameron's indoctrination into the catty, double-standard and Sarah's uneasy re-appropriation of her own womanhood. That shirt she wore on the first date with Andrew felt like such a costume in contrast with Sarah's typical wife beater, structured button down look. Keeping her hair pulled back from her face in an attempt at openness, the bangs swept to the side, all very soft in contrast to the messy, utilitarian pony tail Linda Hamilton sported in T2.
- The secondary storyline in the school was a bit distracting and WTF up until the very end. I suppose it was a way to introduce Cameron to the aforementioned bitch culture popular among young women. I loved Cameron in that entire exchange. I was cheering -- step off, she will kick your ass, biotch! It did double duty, of course, to focus our attention on John as Hero. He's got instincts, yo! He's also got those girly, emo feelings that the women do not. John as intellectual nurturer. Sarah and Cameron are our blunt instruments. John grilling Sarah on the specs of the Andrew's computer was another example of her failure. I thought that his comment in the end was pointed and unfair. The school storyline was otherwise obscure and heavy handed. I was expecting so much more out of it besides home chick taking a swan dive off the cafeteria/gym/whatever it was.
- I will not be surprised if blondie bear with the long sleeves turns out to be a resistance fighter. Covering up her tattoo? hmmm ....
- I called the skin regrowth thing as soon as the Terminator stole all that blood. How gross was that, btw. And he STOLE the guys eyes!! OMG!
- Although, I understand that the scientist guy staying to watch the Terminator grow new skin and everything and then dying because of it was a comment on Sarah's voice over about how these men, these scientists, do not stop or think to stop even in the face of destruction, their own or of others, I'm not sure what that comment is. Is it just to reaffirm what we've already established? Sarah, after all, fails once again to become the terminator. Instead of killing Andrew, she destroys his work. We've seen before that this doesn't work, apparently, it only delays the inevitable.
In other news, I have to work tomorrow. *is very very sad*
Despite the occasional hiccup, I continue to be a fan.
- We're continuing the theme of fathers versus mothers. Sarah as Mother of Mankind's Savior versus the Fathers of Destruction. She's dreaming her fear of inadequacy, will she be able to do what's necessary when it's necessary? It's interesting to watch her calculated murder of those fathers. In a way it brings to mind the Terminator, so to see the men transform into Terminators who proceed to murder Sarah is a fascinating comment on the interchangeability of man and machine. Fathers as destroyers as terminators. The mother attempting to become like the fathers, destroyers, but failing in the end to become a terminator. Sarah is ever tugged between the two extremes with John on one end of the spectrum and Cameron on the other. John's admonishment at the end ties it all together rather neatly, do we become like our enemies in order to defeat them?
- Sarah and Tarissa Dyson are made of AWESOME! I love everything about them. The tension and the dislike. Dyson was so very, very pointed about the consequences of Sarah being alive and her impact on the Dyson family. Loved that as much as Sarah wanted some kind of lead, Tarissa was so very, very unwilling to give up any information. The comment about people dying in vain. OMG!!
- Cameron continues for the win! Although, I find the transformation from episode one to now really curious. I wouldn't exactly describe it as a degradation of personality, but it is sort of a degradation in her personality. Her ability to behave human has been severely reduced. This episode focused on models of femininity, both Sarah and Cameron are learning and re-learning gendered behaviors. Cameron's indoctrination into the catty, double-standard and Sarah's uneasy re-appropriation of her own womanhood. That shirt she wore on the first date with Andrew felt like such a costume in contrast with Sarah's typical wife beater, structured button down look. Keeping her hair pulled back from her face in an attempt at openness, the bangs swept to the side, all very soft in contrast to the messy, utilitarian pony tail Linda Hamilton sported in T2.
- The secondary storyline in the school was a bit distracting and WTF up until the very end. I suppose it was a way to introduce Cameron to the aforementioned bitch culture popular among young women. I loved Cameron in that entire exchange. I was cheering -- step off, she will kick your ass, biotch! It did double duty, of course, to focus our attention on John as Hero. He's got instincts, yo! He's also got those girly, emo feelings that the women do not. John as intellectual nurturer. Sarah and Cameron are our blunt instruments. John grilling Sarah on the specs of the Andrew's computer was another example of her failure. I thought that his comment in the end was pointed and unfair. The school storyline was otherwise obscure and heavy handed. I was expecting so much more out of it besides home chick taking a swan dive off the cafeteria/gym/whatever it was.
- I will not be surprised if blondie bear with the long sleeves turns out to be a resistance fighter. Covering up her tattoo? hmmm ....
- I called the skin regrowth thing as soon as the Terminator stole all that blood. How gross was that, btw. And he STOLE the guys eyes!! OMG!
- Although, I understand that the scientist guy staying to watch the Terminator grow new skin and everything and then dying because of it was a comment on Sarah's voice over about how these men, these scientists, do not stop or think to stop even in the face of destruction, their own or of others, I'm not sure what that comment is. Is it just to reaffirm what we've already established? Sarah, after all, fails once again to become the terminator. Instead of killing Andrew, she destroys his work. We've seen before that this doesn't work, apparently, it only delays the inevitable.
In other news, I have to work tomorrow. *is very very sad*
no subject
Date: 2008-07-16 07:10 am (UTC)From:Amen!! I was re-watching T2 the other day and was struck at how different Dekker's John is from Furlong's. They are night and day. I don't know if it's the network's insistence on likeable characters, which might also explain Headey's Sarah. John is almost personalityless. I am definitely more invested in Sarah and Derek and Cameron (mostly because we know so little about her or her model).
because while Cameron is AWESOME in some ways, I find her hard to get a handle on as a character.
Yeah, Cameron is such an unknown quantity. She's got lots of potential but it's all programming and it's difficult to write anything onto that. She is completely unrelatable.
I love the point you make about John's strength being his humanity. In the series, at least, part of what Sarah is working to preserve is that softness that her son has. It's definitely an interesting comment if that softness, his humanity, is what makes him so effective against the Terminators.