TSCC: Ep 2.10 Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point
There was some good stuff, and some problematic stuff in this episode.
- Looking for freshly dug up earth, or getting a metal detector would have been a lot simpler way to find out if Cromartie was buried in Ellison's backyard than poking the ground with a stick. The writers fell down on this; although an in the world explanation would be that Cameron's chip is really fried.
- Oh, so that's what the 3 dots in Sarah's dream meant. Trying to find patterns and meaning, even if it might not be there. This is the ep where I believe that this Sarah was in a mental institute. It's the mirror smashing, the way she was with Akage. I like that there's an occassional miss with the hits; it's realistic. And oh, Sarah.
- Sarah's situation with John was totally mirrored by Akage and son. I liked that Akage was initially sympathetic and personable, and I think it's good storytelling that there was a double cross, and Akage did it to ensure his son's future, but his methods were wrong. I'm not sure what to make of it in terms of race. It is a stereotype that Asian (Americans) are sneaky and untrustworthy. And yet! Akage referenced the Japanese-American internment camps, and I've never seen that bit of Asian American history brought up in prime time tv. Although it is ironic that the subject of real Asian-Americans being fucked over because of wartime racist paranoia of spying and working for the enemy is brought up in a storyline where fictional Asian-Americans (and a British Asian) characters turn out to be doublecrossers and spies.
There's also the matter of Jesse and Derek's storyline, where Derek finds out that Jesse was spying on the Connor/Reese/Phillips household, and she comes off as untrustworthy. But Jesse's positioned more sympathetically, and it turns out she's doing it for the resistance.
- According to Jesse, future!John might have gone round the bend, only keeping Cameron's counsel. That presents an interesting scenario. I also love that there are unforseen consequences to meddling with the past. Future!John sends Cameron to protect this John, and they might end up having such a close relationship that it ends up alienating the resistance fighters. And as a counter-measure, resistance fighters are trying to fix that by sending Jesse to gather intelligence, and Riley to do stuff that needs getting close to John and winning his confidence.
And in the last ep, Derek may have inadvertently caused his own torture. Now that's the good stuff. I've been feeling the show is about the characters reacting to the robot apocalypse, doing stuff, but we don't really see if it has the right effect in the future. Now we're getting the consequences.
- Ellison's association with Wheeler is also paying off. Whoa. Ellison wants to know why Sherman died. He asks John Henry (I love that the baby AI is named John Henry), how he feels about Sherman, what he knows about death, how he feels about causing Sherman's death and gets nothing nothing nothing. But Ellison doesn't blame John Henry, he blames the makers. Which goes back to Andrew Goode's comment in S1 of Skynet as a baby, scared and alone when it first wakes up.
Ellison also draws on the religious themes that the show brings up, and says the AI should be taught the 10 commandments, after saying John Henry has no feelings or ethics. I can see how religion is one way to be taught ethics. I suppose Sarah can represent for those that don't get their ethics from religion.
Cromartie's body being used to house John Henry was creepy and perfect. And now that I think of it, a type of resurrection.
- Derek comes off as flat to me, even as he's questioning the Connors' judgments, and looking for affirmation and leadership that someone knows what they're doing. I think it's the actor. I'm trying to remember if he had more than 1.5 expressions, or 2 ways of delivering lines.
- The conversation between Sarah and Cameron at the Go board reminds me of the first? second? ep where Catherine talks about how computers deviating is unpredictable. Sarah thinks the rules should always apply, while Cameron thinks that during certain situations (like the 1 2 point in the game of Go) the rules stop applying and strange things start happening.