Sunday, July 24, 2011

Recap: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - S1E9 "What He Beheld"

For the record, this show's canon says Judgment Day was 4/21/11.  Guess we dodged a bullet there.  On Judgment Day, however, fifteen year old Derek and eleven year old Kyle Reese were out playing catch in the park when the bombs went off and the machines took over.

Sarah and Cameron have an appointment to meet "Sarkissian," the Turk purchaser, in an internet cafe.  John and Derek wait in the car.  Derek is a little pouty about it.  Sarkissian doesn't actually show up but IMs Sarah to bring $500,000 tomorrow and he'll sell her the computer.

Ellison goes to visit Charley, saying he thinks Sarah is alive and Charley knows where she is.  Charley's like, I already told the other FBI guy that I don't know anything.  Ellison: other FBI guy?  Charley gives him Kester's name.  Later, Charley swings by the Connor abode to tell her that Ellison seems ready to believe her.  She kicks him the hell out - he could have led the FBI or a Terminator right to their door.

Some slick and nasty Brit stops by Carlos's place, asking about Sarah.  Carlos ain't talking.  The Brit chops all of Carlos's henchmen to little bitty pieces and asks again.

Sarah and Derek take the freedom fighters' diamonds with them to meet Sarkissian but have to rabbit when there are cops in the area.  By the time they get home, that evil Brit is waiting for them.  He's decided he wants $2 million for the Turk ... or he'll lead the FBI to their hideout.  They've got twenty-four hours to come up with the cash.

Meanwhile, John and Cameron are on a museum field trip.  John is mopey because his birthday is tomorrow and he thinks his mom forgot.  Also, he has to explain birthdays to Cameron.  She notices one of Sarkissian's thugs following them.  Off camera she kills the guy and stuffs him in the trunk of his own car.

Ellison goes to FBI HQ and looks up "Kester" in the directory.  He is shocked to see Lazlo's photograph.  How could that guy have lied so coldly, and killed all those people, and ... it's all rather far-fetched but Ellison is beginning to think Lazlo/Kester might be a robot.

Sarah, John, Derek and Cameron track Sarkissian down.  While Cameron punches down a cinder block wall to get to him, John searches an office looking for the (or any) computer.  He also finds a little girl working on a coloring book while she waits for her daddy to finish work.  John tells the little girl to stay where she is and be very quiet.  As John tries to make his way back to the others, Sarkissian grabs him and puts a gun to his head, dragging him out to the alley.  Everyone is pointing guns every which way - but Derek has his pointed at that little girl.  "Not my kid," grunts Sarkissian.  "Mine either," says Derek and shoots Sarkissian in the head, scaring the bejeezus out of poor John.  They grab the hard drive in the office and get the hell out of there.  Oh, the little girl?  Her dad is a schmoe working in the restaurant out front.

The next day, the hard drive is "double encrypted" but John is working on it.  Derek knows it's his birthday - they got drunk together when John turned 30 - and takes him out for an ice cream.  They sit in a park, watching a couple of kids playing catch.  One of the kids is about eight, the other about twelve ... John puts it together and realizes that they are watching Derek and Kyle.  Grown-up Derek nods and says happy birthday, he thought John might want to see his father.  John gets teary and Derek smiles.  Of course he figured it out - John looks just like his dad.  Plus, Sarah is just the kind of girl Kyle went for.

Ellison leads a whole squad of FBI agents to Lazlo's apartment complex.  Charley, driving around in his ambulance, hears the call and the name "Kester" and heads over there.  The FBI busts in and Cromartie wastes no time completely shredding them, tossing bleeding and broken agents off the balcony and into the swimming pool.  Finally, he and Ellison are the only ones left.  They stare at each other, the silver metal showing through gouges on Cromartie's face.  Ellison realizes he has no chance and closes his eyes.  Cromartie walks away, leaving him alive.  By the time Charley gets there, the pool is an abbatoir and Ellison is in shock.

The hard drive begins to decrypt and they see a passport scan.  It seems that "Sarkissian" is another guy, not the Brit Derek killed in the alley.  John wants to keep working on the drive but Sarah wants him to come out for his birthday dinner.  She's sent Cameron out to get a birthday cake too.  Outside, Cameron notes a man wearing black walking down their street.  She turns the key to start their car.  The car explodes in a massive fireball.

Previously on T:TSCC / next time on T:TSCC

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