Mania Grade: C-
35 Comments | Add
Rate & Share:
Related Links:
Info:
- TV Series: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Episode: Allison from Palmdale
- Starring: Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Thomas Dekker, Richard T. Jones, Shirley Manson
- Written By: Toni Graphia
- Directed By: Charles Beeson
- Network: FOX
- Series: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES: Allison from Palmdale
When Terminators Cry By
Stephen Lackey
October 01, 2008
Cameron (Summer Glau) Finds a New Friend in the "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Allison from Palmdale"(2008).
© Fox TV
It eventually had to happen, the show had to slip again and it does this week. There are high points, mostly due to Summer Glau’s performance but the writing is weak in this episode. This is a flash forward episode that gives back-story on Cameron and where she will come from in the future. After knowing this story, it’s easy to see why Cameron even being a machine is able to lose John. It’s actually built into her programming. She’s an infiltration unit meant to ingratiate herself into the resistance and destroy it from within, whether by simply killing John or by other means. Cameron appears to represent one of the most advanced models of Terminator, something that the series has already defined but that information is given even more weight in this episode. Seeing Cameron cry and actually shed tears goes a little far but it’s easily explained away based on the character development from this episode.
Basically without getting too spoiler-ish, Cameron goes a little nutty this week and she begins to remember what happened to the person she was built to replace within the resistance. Her memories cross in her programming leaving her believing she is the human not the terminator. She goes on the run and John sets out to track her down while keeping the whole thing secret from Sarah. Sarah is completely wasted this week. There’s a bit of an emotional exchange between Sarah and her pregnant landlord Kacy. Initially Kacy was an interesting character but this week it feels like the writers just changed their minds about what they want her to be part way through the episode. The set up with her “baby daddy” is an obvious story arc that just comes off as future filler. Busy Philips is a good actress and up to now has been interesting on this series, so hopefully her character will find her way back to being interesting in future episodes.
The most annoying part of the episode is that John doesn’t do much about Cameron after he gets her back. It’s obvious she literally has a screw loose but he barely seems concerned. This story arc needs to either get resolved or given some real weight because it’s starting to hit a wall way sooner than it should. Also, Dekker was just not in this episode, and not even referenced. Finally, Ellis is still chatting it up with the T-1001 and there’ a reveal involving her that definitely merits more conversation and will surely be a focus of future story arcs.
This episode just doesn’t make the impact that it should have considering all of the information that it delivers. Rather than edge of your seat suspense, the writers seem to be stumbling through this script. Considering how good the show has been, it’s really surprising just how bad this episode ends up being.