TV Verdict

It looks like Fox was hiding a surprise, after all. Charley’s death last week was only a distraction, so we wouldn’t be ready for Reese’s death in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Episode #221, “Adam Raised a Cain.” He’s shot as Sarah and company storm into the Weaver home to protect Savannah from a Terminator.

Another Terminator? Nobody knows his name yet, but John Henry calls him “brother.” That didn’t stop John Henry from trying to protect Savannah when he sensed something was wrong, telling her to hide and then to run to the garage for safety. He’s even thinking of Savannah’s fears, steering her away from her mother’s dead helper, who was shot as she greeted the Terminator at the door. “Debbie’s in the foyer. We’re not going that way,” he says as he steers Savannah away from the scene through her cell phone earpiece.

John Henry has been thinking a lot. He’s been weighing the implications of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, realizes that Ellison lied about Sarah Connor being alive, and wonders if Sarah might be planning to do him in. After all, she’s accused of killing his creator. “I don’t want to die again,” John Henry says. It also appears as he and Catherine talk that he’s more concerned about Savannah’s well-being than she is.

At the end of the episode, cops catch up to Sarah as she meets with Ellison at a moviehouse. As she’s struggling with the cops, John Henry’s voice is heard singing a ballad. That could be a musical cue. While John suspects Ellison turned Sarah in, I’m thinking John Henry might have done it, fearing for both Savannah’s safety and his own.

“I imagine you’re unique,” Ellison tells John Henry at one point during a philosophical conversation. I’m beginning to think that next year’s storyline will prove that statement, making him the first AI who’s acting on his own, for interests purely his own. It’s an interesting idea to ponder, especially since it could have some interesting impact on Cameron and Catherine as well. Reese’s death makes room for John Henry as a regular important player in the stories. Of course, it’s also possible that Brian Austin Green just wanted out, but we’ll see.

Of course, it’s still speculation that there will be a third season, and next week’s season finale might send things in any number of other directions. Stay tuned.

Cr: Richard Foreman/FOX