First, a disclaimer...I know that every episode cannot focus on the weird and changing dynamic between Cameron and John. It would get old really fast. That being said, I must confess those episodes are likely going to be my favorites and others will pale in comparison.
In this episode, I like that the trend of John making his own (probably foolish) decisions continues. Part of the fun of this is now trying to figure out which one is going to bite him/them all in the end. Is it saving Cameron? Trying to lead a normal life? There will be some fallout (no pun intended) from one of his decisions, and I like it because now I'm watching to see which one it's going to be.
I think stepping away from his mother and making his own decisions (and learning from his mistakes) is going to be a vital part of making him into a leader. And I think Sarah and Derek must know that. They can't shelter him forever, or he'll never learn to be the leader they need. This is not to say he is, in any way, shape or form, that leader yet. Sarah is walking that knife's edge of letting him make mistakes and trying to keep him from getting himself (and the rest of us) killed. That will keep me watching.
The whole story surrounding the nuclear power plant was a bit...meh. I understand it's vital for the resistance in the future, but this whole concept of sending various people back from the future with missions for Sarah and company that MUST be accomplished strikes me as forced. A barely disguised plot device. If you can send that many people back, why not send more help for John and Sarah? Of course, dying guy did seem to scrawl a whole bunch of stuff on the wall, so maybe he will be the only plot device visitor this season.
I hate watching Sarah worry about cancer, mainly because that's just a little too close to things that can happen in real life. Though, I did enjoy Cameron's response to her when she, Sarah, said something about being a time bomb, waiting to go off (or something like that). Essentially, Cameron said that's what we all are. We don't know what's going to happen or when. For someone like Sarah who lives her whole life based on knowledge from the future, that must have been incredibly frustrating and yet a good reminder.
I'm intrigued by Riley, the girl at school who approaches John. I keep thinking of this interview I read with Jeffrey Donovan, the guy who plays the spy Michael Westen on Burn Notice. He said that in doing research about spies, the hardest thing for him to to wrap his brain around was that you couldn't ever trust anyone who approached you. Anyone who ever made overtures of friendship, romantic interest, whatever. You could never be sure about their motives, so you couldn't be friends, lovers, even business associates. Think about how many people that would eliminate in your life.
I'm just not so sure about this girl. She is so blatantly normal. So very much want John wants right now. A normal girlfriend. A normal life. So...I see this going one of two ways. A) she's a set up of some kind, getting close to John to be able to hurt him--doubtful, given that's sort of the whole Cameron thing (an interested girl turns out to be a robot). Though, if you have one Terminator model that looks like a sixteen year old girl, why not others? It was kind of a weird moment when she built that robot out of Legos "to protect you while you sleep," but it also could have been nothing.
More likely, B) she's cannon fodder.
In writing, you have to hurt your characters and the best way to do that is to give them something they want desperately and then yank it away. I can easily see Cromartie (spelling?) finding her and trying to use her to get to John, to the point of killing her. Cold-blooded as it sounds, it will also serve the purpose of strengthening his resolve to win this war.
Now...as always, my favorites were the few Cameron and John moments. The first where she tells him she can't trust him anymore because he didn't destroy her. Okay, I can almost get that. Except is she not capable of destroying herself or requesting destruction if the situation warrants it? Isn't that how T2 ends? I'm not suggesting that she should be destroyed. It's far more interesting with her around. But I find it worth noting that she did NOT say anything like this when she was still in the car in the junkyard, covered with that flammable powder stuff. Theories?
And finally, when John asks her about what she said, about not being able to be trusted. I held my breath when he started that line, ("What you said before...") because I thought he was going to ask her about what she said when she was pinned between those trucks. Anybody else think that? I mean, wouldn't you ask about it? Yeah, I guess he could have written it off to the trick that it probably was, and maybe it would be humiliating to admit that you wondered, even for a second, if it might be real. Okay, yeah, I see that.
As for him telling her that he doesn't have to prove himself to her, that smacked way more of hurt and betrayal than anything else. I think she hurt him when she used his feelings against him. And yet that didn't stop him from saving her. Hmmm. I just don't know what to make of all this, but I can't wait to see more!
: ) Stacey
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