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I actually thought it was a two hour final as well not two episodes but you can blame Fox for that because that's how they advertised it.
It was okay, the most intersting part was the chip trying to take over and reactivate.
Smashing two episodes of a series together as a “two hour season finale” isn’t always the best idea because two episodes don’t have the pace, the build up, and the epic nature that a truly two hour finale would be. So, It would be unfair to review them as a single finale so I’m gonna review the two episodes separately.
So, John’s untrusting Uncle reveals that Cameron has been hiding Vick’s chip. Of course right away everyone stops trusting Cameron, for a few minutes. After she shares what the chip can do for their mission the focus changes to hacking into Vick’s chip and away from Cameron’s vagueness about hiding the chip. John also asked Cameron if she would lie to him, even about the important things and she answered yes. I think this deserved more attention. He barely seemed to show any concern about her answer. Maybe all of this is leading up to some secret about her true mission. I’m not saying that Cameron will actually end up being a villain but maybe she has a secret secondary mission that will be revealed at the right time.
There’s also a good bit of videogame footage in this episode and it contrasts with the first person view of Vick’s memories. This episode isn’t making a statement about violence in videogames (like I’m sure some finger wagers will try to say). It’s actually saying something about evolution of the technology. The way these games look, Halo 3 here, is the same as what the Terminators see from their perspective. There’s also a separation in these games from humanity. Killing in the game, at least in most circumstances, doesn’t spur a real emotional response. The killing is just part of completing the mission set forth by the game. Terminators, so many years in the future, still basically work this way, They kill their way through mission with no care about humanity or what they’re doing other than how it affects the task they have been ordered to perform. I believe this ties to a point of this episode, that a lot of smaller things will tie together around the Turk or some similar super computer to create SkyNet. Basically, we could see Halo 6 and A.R.T.I.E., the traffic control system that is at the center of this episode, combine with many other little tech advancements to help create SkyNet. So, did Bungie/Microsoft basically pay for this episode?
Overall, I have to simply say this episode was just average at best. There’s so much hacker and virus cliché with Johnny Pneumonic looking special effects throughout that I felt myself very irritated several times. A little originality in this department would be appreciated. It also feels like a lot of stuff happens that just doesn’t matter, for instance Sarah and Derrick’s botched infiltration of the A.R.T.I.E. headquarters. I mentioned earlier that I have a real problem with how Cameron seems to be able to lie when it benefits her and doesn’t necessarily benefit John. Maybe, if the show actually gets to come back next year, the writers will give some attention to this plot thread. I did like the riff on how modern videogames could play a part in the future of SkyNet though. Also, there was some suspense with Cromartie killing his way closer and closer to John. We don’t get another slam each other into walls face-off here, but there is an interesting one in the season finale.
