# Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 thread \[open spoilers after it airs\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000 "2008-09-24T15:39:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/301 "2008-11-28T15:24:13Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > They have just eliminated the option of “if the future changes, the people from that future who have travelled back, do not change along with it,” i.e. it doesn’t ripple backwards. > > Even though they’re _from_ the future, they are now _in_ the present, which never changes retroactively. Exactly. From the point of view of the universe, they’re here. They might have come back from the future, and they might have congealed behind the fridge, but as of time X they exist. How they got to be there from moment to moment is irrelevant. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/302 "2008-11-28T16:15:50Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > They have just eliminated the option of “if the future changes, the people from that future who have travelled back, do not change along with it,” i.e. it doesn’t ripple backwards. > > Even though they’re _from_ the future, they are now _in_ the present, which never changes retroactively. Indeed—though this was basically established as far back as T2, when the world didn’t reset after Judgment Day '97 was averted. Also, when you think about it, it may now be impossible to kill John or Sarah Connor by eliminating them in the past, too—now that they’ve time traveled (back in the pilot), even if you kill their past selves (or ancestors), the versions of John and Sarah that ripped themselves out of the timeline are going to be unaffected by any changes. At worst, you could only change the setup of their destination—so they’d appear in a version of 2007 where they were supposed to be dead already, or had never been born; or Judgement Day had happened ten years earlier; or something. It’s all perfectly logical, if you have a good imagination (And possibly a benign Cognitive Disorder 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/303 "2008-11-28T17:56:00Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Another thought. Derek said that three people know he’s John Connor’s uncle. Is he referring to John, Sarah and Cameron? Does he actually consider Cameron a person? Is this a slipup by the writers or foreshadowing that Derek might not want to go along with Jessie’s plan? I don’t think Cameron actually knows. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/304 "2008-11-28T17:57:40Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t think Cameron actually knows. It seemed pretty clear to me that Derek was telling her that only he, John, and Sarah knew. It’s a Big Important Secret that he’s telling her to show they’re on the same side and need to start trusting each other. If he counted ‘the machine’ in that group, kind of takes away some of the impact. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/305 "2008-12-02T03:07:50Z")
Regarding tonight’s episode: Now this is interesting. It seems that the Glauminator is capable of displaying genuine compassion, for reasons entirely unrelated to her mission. (Sure, I guess it would be inconvenient if she lost her library contact to cancer - but he wouldn’t die for months, maybe years, and he could easily be replaced.) Hard not to feel bad for the Cam-Bot. By the way - I’m sorry, but what sort of twenty-something dude, let alone a grad student, would let himself spend nights, alone, with a high school girl? Even if he views it strictly as a “mentoring for donuts” gig (which I understand - donuts are good!), he should still know that this could look very bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/306 "2008-12-02T04:23:36Z")
I’ve been getting a little bored with the show, but I really enjoyed tonight’s episode. I find I much prefer Cameron to wimp John and his spacey mother. But I have absolutely no idea whatsoever why Stark wanted to kill the Governor or whoever his mark was. Did I miss something? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/307 "2008-12-02T05:47:43Z")
> [@Ring](#): > > I’ve been getting a little bored with the show, but I really enjoyed tonight’s episode. I find I much prefer Cameron to wimp John and his spacey mother. > > But I have absolutely no idea whatsoever why Stark wanted to kill the Governor or whoever his mark was. Did I miss something? No, it wasn’t explained. But why would a Terminator want to assassinate _any_ politician? Either he’s an opponent of some key proto-Skynet program, or perhaps sufficiently well-liked that his death would spark a desire for new security measures that a proto-Skynet would be involved in. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/308 "2008-12-02T13:15:09Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > By the way - I’m sorry, but what sort of twenty-something dude, let alone a grad student, would let himself spend nights, alone, with a high school girl? Even if he views it strictly as a “mentoring for donuts” gig (which I understand - donuts are good!), he should still know that this could look very bad. This can actually be easily explained away. Cameron fudges her age to whatever the situation calls for. Remember in the Power Plant episode, she was being served alcohol in a bar. So at the very least, she’s got an ID that says she’s at least 21. This is further justified in “Allison From Palmdale” when we see that the woman that Cameron’s physical model came from was 21. So it’s likely library dude had no idea how old Cameron was. And if John dropped out, wouldn’t it also be likely she did too? Thus, no talking about a high school she doesn’t attend. ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/309 "2008-12-02T14:29:50Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Regarding tonight’s episode: > > Now this is interesting. It seems that the Glauminator is capable of displaying genuine compassion, for reasons entirely unrelated to her mission. (Sure, I guess it would be inconvenient if she lost her library contact to cancer - but he wouldn’t die for months, maybe years, and he could easily be replaced.) Hard not to feel bad for the Cam-Bot. I interpreted that differently - assumed that he had killed himself, hence had a replacement so suddenly, and she did not seem to be "emotionally: affected (at least by him being gone, anyway - perhaps she reached a different conclusion). ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/310 "2008-12-02T15:14:44Z")
Good episode. It was refreshing to see John kick some ass and live up to his ‘bad ass motherfucker who saves mankind’ destiny. He still needs to become more self-assured and less of a whiny douchebag, though. I also quite liked the dynamic between Cameron and Eric. There seemed to be a mutual interest in unravelling the mystery of Stark, and the moment firing the gun was well acted and genuinely touching. It hadn’t actually crossed my mind at first that Eric topped himself, I just thought he was at a hopsital, or quit his job to swim with dolphins or something. Of course, it might seem logical when you look back at the conversation in the bathroom, but it’s pretty harsh. They make a good team, and I hope he reappears at some point. I’m just glad there was no Jessie and that stupid fucking lip-chewing accent. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/311 "2008-12-02T15:25:43Z")
> [@Hogwash](#): > > I’m just glad there was no Jessie and that stupid fucking lip-chewing accent. That actress had the same accent in “Battlestar Galactica: Razor”. It’s likely genuine. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/312 "2008-12-02T15:38:48Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Now this is interesting. It seems that the Glauminator is capable of displaying genuine compassion, for reasons entirely unrelated to her mission. I think that’s more of a philosophical debate. We’ve known since T-2 that Terminators learn by imitating humans so they can blend in better (and not be such a dork). Clearly the more Cameron is around people, the more she would start to emulate them, including displays of compassion. But whether she is doing it out of any kind of real empathy or whether it is just a programmed response is another question. Although in a previous episode she did say that they “feel”. I guess they just process things differently than we do. For some reason “irony” is the first emotion they seem to learn. It allows them to make clever one-liners, even if there is no one around to hear them. I wonder why Skynet only makes sexy female robots but all the male robots look like creepy goons? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/313 "2008-12-02T15:58:29Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > … Now this is interesting. It seems that the Glauminator is capable of displaying genuine compassion, for reasons entirely unrelated to her mission. … i’ll be convinced only if she searched out for him outside her mission requirements. will she seek him out later or simply forget him and just continue with the current librarian? since i suspect we’ll not see him anymore it should be the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/314 "2008-12-02T16:03:14Z")
> [@joemama24\_98](#): > > I interpreted that differently - assumed that he had killed himself, hence had a replacement so suddenly, and she did not seem to be "emotionally: affected (at least by him being gone, anyway - perhaps she reached a different conclusion). Do we have any idea how far ahead her visit to the new girl was? It could have been after months - when wheelchair guy had already died. (Sorry, putting the kid to bed about 7PM screws up my viewing) Either way, seems like the donuts were a way of saying, “Look, I was in with the old guy. You can be my friend too because he liked me”. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/315 "2008-12-02T16:08:23Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > For some reason “irony” is the first emotion they seem to learn. It allows them to make clever one-liners, even if there is no one around to hear them. Ironically, the last thing some people learn is that the same observation made over and over just somehow fails to come across as clever. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/316 "2008-12-02T16:31:09Z")
> [@joemama24\_98](#): > > I interpreted that differently - assumed that he had killed himself, hence had a replacement so suddenly, and she did not seem to be "emotionally: affected (at least by him being gone, anyway - perhaps she reached a different conclusion). On the other hand, she didn’t just break the news to him at the first opportunity, it seemed to me; instead, she asked him about being suicidal, so I thought maybe she was gauging the likelihood of him killing himself once she told him, so she may at least have a one note distinction between the outcomes for library guy: ending up dead or not. The subtleties, like breaking bad news tactfully and stuff, well granted, she doesn’t really have those down yet (but then again, I know people – presumably :eek: – who never quite got this, either). ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/317 "2008-12-02T16:44:04Z")
So who is that library guy and what made Cameron go there in the first place? This episode just seemed so random and disconnected from the rest of the story. I don’t like episodes like these that don’t really further the story. Also, Cameron seems to have sensors for all kinds of things, checking blood type, detecting cancer etc, but no simple metal detector? I’m referring to that previous scene where she was looking for Cromartie in Ellison’s yard. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/318 "2008-12-02T16:50:58Z")
> [@Henrichek](#): > > Also, Cameron seems to have sensors for all kinds of things, checking blood type, detecting cancer etc, but no simple metal detector? I’m referring to that previous scene where she was looking for Cromartie in Ellison’s yard. She was using a 6’ piece of rebar. She may have all sorts of cool sensors, but if she could detect metal through 5’ of dirt she probably could have also noticed the DillingeNator inside the wall just by walking past him. So, presumably she can’t do it. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/319 "2008-12-02T17:08:57Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > She was using a 6’ piece of rebar. She may have all sorts of cool sensors, but if she could detect metal through 5’ of dirt she probably could have also noticed the DillingeNator inside the wall just by walking past him. > > So, presumably she can’t do it. > > -Joe Presumably yes. What I’m saying is that they seem to have overdone her other sensory abilities, but missed out on a very simple metal detector. Maybe she’s some kind of medic-bot 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000/320 "2008-12-02T17:17:24Z")
Her own metal would probably throw it off. Besides which, the infiltration terminators were supposed to be undetectable, and only dogs could spot them. If a standard-issue beachcomber’s metal detector (or a wand from an airport security station) could detect one, you’d think the resistance would have used them. They didn’t use them, so voila! metal detectors don’t work on terminators. Then again, Cameron set one off in the first episode, so go figure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles-season-2-thread-open-spoilers-after-it-airs/465000.md?page=17)