Tue Sep 16, 2008 — by Josh Wigler

Review: 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' Episode #202

Things get nuclear in 'Automatic for the People'

Previous Action:

Following a car explosion, femme fatale-a-bot Cameron goes haywire and tries to kill her sworn protectorate, John Connor. John spends the next forty some-odd minutes on the run with his mother Sarah while Cameron pursues vigilantly. Eventually, her programming is restored to normal. On the other side of town, the lead singer from Garbage a ruthless CEO named Catherine Weaver gains possession of super-computer The Turk and reveals herself to be a T-1000 variant.

Mission Briefing:

Sarah and company move to a new home. As it so often happens, a naked man from the future shows up with a gunshot wound and warns about something bad in two days at a power plant called Serano Point. The man dies, and Sarah decides it's time to investigate.

The power plant turns out to be a resistance stronghold in the future. Sarah and Cameron manage to get jobs as temps at the power plant. There, Sarah meets Carl Greenway, the paranoid employee in charge of taking the plant online in 36 hours. He confides to Sarah that he has reason to suspect that there are problems with the reactor, but a pullout would lead to the project being shutdown.

On the day of the supposed "bad thing," Sarah notices Greenway acting rigidly. Derek Reese goes to Greenway's house and discovers the man hanging from the ceiling, meaning the Greenway with Sarah is a Terminator. He initializes a meltdown, but is ultimately issued a smackdown courtesy of Cameron. In the process, Sarah exposes herself to some radiation, but Cameron clears her of poisoning. Later, Sarah discovers a slew of cryptic bloody messages in the basement written by the naked future guy before he died.

At the plant, an executive announces that this and six other plants will enter a partnership vowing to use advanced technology preventing human error. Later, the executive shape-shifts into T-1000 superchick Catherine Weaver.

Further Damages:

Following John's decision to trust Cameron despite trying to (wait for it) terminate him, Cameron warns the young leader that he can no longer be trusted. A series of brooding montages follow, resulting in John hooking up with fellow teenage outcast Riley. John invites her to his new house, where she meets Sarah and the gang to much disapproval. Riley spends the night, though all signs indicate that the no-pants dance did not occur. John gives her his cell phone number, but when she calls, she has to start the conversation by saying the current date. For some reason, Riley isn't weirded out, and she calls him later under this protocol.

Agent James Ellison, lone survivor of Cromartie's rampage on a SWAT team, warns Charley Dixon and his wife to flee town as they're likely targets. Charley's wife is not happy that they've been put into this situation, all thanks to Charley sticking his neck out for Sarah. Charley thanks Ellison for helping them out, then hops out of town.

Of particular note is the fact that Cameron appears slower and less capable of quick thinking since the explosion. She's always rigid, cold and generally weird, but her slow reaction time during the almost nuclear meltdown should be a big cause for concern down the line.

Next Week's Operation:

From Fox: "Sarah and Derek are put to the test after Cromartie kidnaps Charley's wife; John is in a sticky situation of his own when he finds himself caught between Cameron and Riley."

Josh Wigler is not a Terminator, but if he was, his name would be Crowiggitie.

Jump to comments (2)