I’m going to say this right up front. I think this was the best episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles yet. So this might be a good episode to watch to gauge how much your mileage varies from mine.

The episode begins with a recap of past episodes, mostly of the second episode this season, “Automatic for the People”, which dealt with a Terminator plot to control a new nuclear power plant or at least prevent the resistance from having it in the future.

This week begins with a middle aged guy cooking in his backyard but when he turns around a T-888 is standing right there and asks if his name is Martin Bedell. Cut to the Connor household where Uncle Derek shows John a news story about the man found dead. Derek explains that a Martin Bedell is one of John’s soldiers in the resistance. Just like the T-800 that originally hunted down Sarah, a Terminator is eliminating everyone with that name. John grabs a phone book and they see that there are two other Martin Bedells, who are now targets for the T-Triple-Eight. One of the two has an address that reminds John of something.

The family goes to their garage (not their basement as I’d previously thought) where information was scrawled in blood by a dying resistance fighter. One of the notes was P. Alto, which John thought was a name. It’s not. It’s short for Presidio Alto, a military school where one of the Martin Bedells is located. That’s the one who will become a soldier in his army one day. John has a plan. He’s going to join the school and protect Martin. Sarah is reticent to agree, but it’s an all-male school so John is the only one who can do this. She probably also knows that she needs to let him become the man he is destined to become. Sarah says she and Cameron will protect the other Martin Bedell. Cameron says he’s not important, but Sarah isn’t going to just let an innocent person get murdered. Derek and John load up their truck with weapons and head out.

Side note. This episode features fewer commercials and they’re all by Dodge. Dodge sponsored the episode and folks DO drive Dodge trucks, but they never get an establishing shot or a line of dialog talking about how awesome they are, so as far as this stuff goes, I’m ok with it.

Ellison has a meeting with Weaver. She explains that her company has a holding interest in the Seranno Point power plant and wants him to investigate what went down there recently. She hands him a piece of a Terminator, the one Cameron defeated there (guess they weren’t too thorough about cleaning up this time!)

John and Derek arrive at the military academy. It gives Derek a flashback to the war. During one of those trademarked evening battles, Derek and Kyle are discussing strategy. Derek wants to follow John Connor’s orders, which require them to fall back and leave behind some allies. One of his fellow soldiers supports Kyle and without the support of his troops, the decision has been made to save their fellow resistance fighters. In the present, John totally notices his uncle spacing out.

Derek speaks to the head of the school about enrolling John. The commander says he’ll accept him for a three-week trial period due to his scores. If he does well, he can enroll. The commander is keen enough to realize Derek has seen combat. There’s a teaching position open and he cajoles Derek into accepting until they can hire a replacement.

The other Martin Bedell is a small child. He’s alone when there’s a knock at the door. He answers the T-888 who asks if he is Martin Bedell and the T-888 shoots through the door. But Sarah has snuck in and snatches the boy out of the way at the last moment. She and Cameron rush the kid to their car. The T-888 is right on top of them and rips the roof off, but Sarah knocks him off with a well-placed shotgun blast, escaping.

Ellison is at Seranno Point power plant, talking to the manager. The manager says the official report lists the damage as caused by essentially luck. Ellison’s shown the damage, such as a valve that was both wrenched open and later closed. When he asks what kind of strength would be needed to close it, the manager answers superhuman. He’s also shown the explosion where the Terminator was killed, which the manager is similarly at a loss to explain. He’s happy to have a private investigator like Ellison take a crack at answering their questions. He also says they plan to have an automated system take control in late 2009.

John is at the target range with his fellow cadets. One cadet has a jam. John teaches him the “SPORTS” system of clearing a weapon jam: Slap, Pull, Observe, Release, Tap, Squeeze. He also fires a perfect shot. An upperclassman gives John a merit for helping his fellow cadet and also a demerit for not calling for an instructor. This is Martin Bedell, also the fellow soldier Derek was flashing back to.

Sarah is keeping little Martin at their house. She hasn’t let him call home. When he gets scared and tries to call, Cameron pulls the phone away and lifts him, saying that if he calls his mother, they’ll both get killed. Sarah’s motherly instincts finally kick in and she tells Cameron to put him down. In the best line of the night, Cameron tries to recover by asking Martin if he wants a bedtime story now.

Derek is ordered to speak to the students and give them a pep talk. He asks if they’re good and says they look good and that’s his speech. The students are excited to have an instructor who has seen combat time. One of them says he can’t wait to try to be a ranger or a member of Delta Force and asks how many kills Derek has. Derek snaps a bit, telling them that scoring kills isn’t a game and that when you have to drag a friend who’s bleeding to death out of the line of fire, you won’t be so excited.

Derek has a flashback to Bedell giving orders to move out of the tunnels and out into the open. Later, in the mess hall, Derek is quiet and not in touch. He clearly has post-traumatic shock. Bedell and John are eating together and Bedell tells him his favorite part of the academy – the Cross Country Track. He likes to run, and also opens up about a girl he has a crush on. He says that when she returns from college, he plans on leaving the academy and spending his life with her. The conversation goes on while the run through the woods and they come across Derek. He’s found an area in the woods full of tar. He’s exploring the academy grounds, trying to figure out how best to defend John and Martin.

John talks to Derek later. Derek is on one of the building roofs, looking at the school. He’s nervous about how open and unprotected the area is. However, John has a plan.

Little Martin is watching tv with Cameron. His parents are on the news, afraid he’s been kidnapped. Sarah comes into the room and is mad at Cameron for letting him watch that. Martin is upset, but being a little kid, his priorities are out of whack. He’s most afraid of falling behind on his book report because if you don’t turn it in on time, the teacher makes you read it in front of class. Sarah helps him pick a book from their library – The Wizard of Oz.

Ellison hits the bar by the power plant and interviews the bartender. He doesn’t have much to say, but remembers some of the people Ellison asks about and says there’s still some pictures on the wall from a party that was going on. Ellison studies them and sees Sarah in the background of one.

Derek and John set up weapons in the woods, setting some type of trap. They also discuss Kyle Reese and how much of a hero he was.

Ellison reports his findings to Weaver, explaining his theory of TWO robots fighting. She expresses surprise, saying that that’s new. Ellison can’t explain everything that occurred though, and warns her that the plant is still investigating, which she wouldn’t want while she’s conducting her private search for Terminators.

The plant manager is at the bar, drinking. A pretty girl hits on him and they head out to the alley to make out. She shoves her tongue into his mouth and turns liquidy, jamming more of herself into his throat. It’s Weaver, the T-1001. He won’t be investigating any further.

A short scene back at the Connor house features Sarah and Connor talking strategy. Cameron thinks the T-888 has lost the trail on this Martin and will go after the real target next. The kid completely understands that there’s a man that wants to kill him and that Sarah is trying to keep him safe.

Sarah calls Derek to warn him that the T-888 is coming to the academy and is upset that John is in danger. Derek promises to keep him safe. Little Martin thanks Sarah and she is genuinely touched by the gratitude. She offers to help him with his book report.

Derek changes the evening exercise for John, Martin and the rest of their fellow cadets. He tells them the new exercise will be an armed man coming through the woods. He tells them they are not to attack him, not even as a joke. If they see him, just wave a warning sign. If Derek sees them properly warning about the intruder before he sees the intruder, they win.

In another flashback for Derek, Derek and Martin are hunkered down. A large tank is approaching and Kyle is out in the field and needs to be rescued. Derek plans to run up and blow up the tank, but Martin insists on doing it because he’s a faster runner.

Sarah reads the Wizard of Oz to Martin and the voiceover of the Tin Woodsman fighting an army of flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch is laid over the T-888 stalking Martin Bedell through the forest. The cadets properly signal and Derek, up in the hills with a sniper rifle shoots the T-888, attracting his attention but hardly damaging him. The T-888 bears down on Derek but a mine goes off, slowing him down. He spots Martin, his main target. But John sees what’s going on and shouts out who he is. The T-888’s goal is overridden and he chases after John. John runs over a plank of wood over a pool of tar. The T-888 gets halfway before Derek shoots him and blasts him into the tar. John throws a thermite grenade on top of him, burning him to nothing. Martin sees everything. In the woods above, Cameron is watching. How long has she been there?

Sarah sees little Martin off on a bus, to go back to his parents. The soldier Martin knows about Terminators and the coming Judgement Day. John tells him he’s supposed to continue on to West Point. Martin asks if he’s supposed to just follow fate’s plan and John says that’s what he does.

While driving home, Derek sees that John is quiet and distant. He asks if he wants to know what happened to Martin. In a flashback, Martin takes the anti-tank weapon from Derek and runs out into the open. Derek says he saved Kyle and rescued 40 prisoners, one of whom was John himself. John is crying hearing that this guy he just befriended is going to die to save himself and his father.

“He died, John. He died for you. We all die for you.”

Powerful episode. I never imagined Brian Austin Greene would be so great playing a traumatized war vet. I liked how all of the characters were represented. I think this might be my favorite episode yet of the show. I give it 5 out of 5 terminator heads.

photo credit: dklimke