It’s here. This is the episode where one of the regular cast bites it. Who will it be? Well, there be spoilers in this recap so you’ll find out if you keep reading.

This episode actually features very little plot but what makes it unique is the presentation. The episode is told Rashamon-style, featuring various points of view that therefore jump the story constantly back and forth.

We begin with “Sarah’s Story.” Sarah is working on constructing something at home. It’s night and Riley is saying goodbye to John. John talks to his mom, saying he bought her a helmet for her scooter, but Sarah asks if he thinks it’ll stop a bullet. She doesn’t get through to him with this tactic. Cameron says she’ll talk to John.

In a way, I sort of understand John’s point of view. I mean, everyone’s going to die in Judgement Day if he doesn’t do anything at all, so is it really THAT dangerous for him to try dating someone?

Sarah’s finishes her project – a safe for their money that can be hidden in the floor. Cameron tells her that John won’t be seeing Riley anymore. Cameron drives off on a chore and Sarah looks up and it’s Cromartie! He tracked her down through the kid at the bowling alley from last week. He drags Sarah upstairs to John’s room, but he’s not there.

Now it’s time for “Cameron’s Story.” John and Riley say their goodbyes from the previous scene but it’s seen by Cameron, who watches them from above, in the house.

Cut to Cameron going to John’s room to talk to him about Riley. Before she enters, she drops her jacket to the floor. She climbs onto John’s bed beside him and talks about Riley, explaining the danger she’s in by being near John. John asks what she knows about loneliness and she says he used to talk to her about it, in the future when he’s older. She seems to get John to agree that meeting Riley is too dangerous.

Cameron tells Sarah about them not seeing each other anymore and leaves. She heads to a storage unit, but the lock is already open. Inside, it’s their ammunition dump and it’s Derek, stocking up. It’s his drop point but Cameron says John meant to tell him she would be coming. He didn’t and Derek says John’s not focused. Derek’s cell rings. Cameron sees the number and calls it herself, getting someone speaking Spanish on the other line. Derek says it’s an emergency code from John and that he’s in trouble.

Cut to “John’s Story.” John and Cameron are in bed and he agrees not to see Riley anymore. Cameron leaves and John calls Riley and leaves. He was just lying to Cameron.

John and Riley go on an impromptu trip down to Mexico, visiting a town he grew up in. The wander through the town center where folks are celebrating Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). They get a hotel room and while John fixes the hot tub’s broken bubbler, Riley presses him for details on his childhood, which he avoids.

Later, they go to a bar and a photographer takes their picture. John offers to pay him to just delete the picture, but the man recognizes him. John pulls him aside and the guy tries to blackmail him for all his money, but Riley grabs the camera and everyone gets in a scuffle. John and Riley run, but some local police grab her. John decides he can’t leave her alone and they’re both arrested.

At the police station, the police understand that it wasn’t a big deal about what happened but get John to admit that his mother and uncle don’t know where they are. He says he’ll let them go if he gets one of them to pick him up. John calls Derek’s phone and punches in his emergency code. He says he didn’t get ahold of him, so the police tell him to call his mother. He calls and punches in the code but Sarah doesn’t respond with the code herself, even though she answers the phone. John understands what’s happened and he hangs up.

John is sent to the holding cell with Riley while they run his name through Interpol. In the morning, Riley begs the guard to move her and that John is a guy she doesn’t know well and she’s making him uncomfortable. He goes to open the door and John grabs him and knocks him out against the cell bars. They unlock their cell door and head for daylight as bullets begin firing outside!

Now we’re back to more of “Sarah’s Story.” Sarah is tied up in the back of Cromartie’s convertible. She sees his files on them, including a photo of Cameron. Cromartie says she’s been making mistakes. Not many, but he says her chip must have damage. Sarah struggles and jumps out of the car, but Cromartie picks her up before she can recover and run. He throws her into his trunk. She begins twisting a soda can with the intent to cut herself free, when she feels the car stop and bullets being fired. The car starts up again and she cuts herself on the soda can. Sarah kicks at the trunk until the car stops. The trunk opens and James Ellison stands over him, with John beside. “Come with me if you want to live,” says Ellison.

FINALLY, Ellison is meeting up with the Connors.

Now it’s time for “Ellison’s Story.” Ellison is jogging when he gets a call from an old friend from the FBI. He says the name John Connor popped up as being arrested in Mexico and figured he’d want to know since he worked that case.

Cut to Ellison arriving at the police station (using his old badge) asking about John. The police officer in charge goes to retrieve John when Cromartie arrives, shooting all the police. Ellison sees John and Riley and grabs John and says he’s there to help.

Riley gets outside and runs for it. John yells for her to jump in Cromartie’s car and all three of them jump in and speed away from the attacking Cromartie. As they drive, Riley feels a kick so John orders Ellison to pull over. They open it to find Sarah and help her out. While they do, Cromartie drives into the area in a police car and she tells them all to run and hide in the nearby church.

Sarah and Ellison have a conversation and it’s revealed that he feels he owes her ever since she saved him from Silberman’s burning house. John orders Riley to run, saying she won’t be chased by the guy shooting at them. He tells her to take a bus to L.A. and he’ll call when they get back. Meanwhile, Sarah calls Derek and Cameron for backup. Derek reveals that they’re already there (having received John’s call).

Now it’s time for “Derek’s Story.” It’s brief. Derek and Cameron drive up to the police station, surveying the complete carnage. Then Sarah calls. What? That qualified as a “story?”

The final chapter is “Cromartie’s Story.” Cromartie enters the jail, saying he’s looking for John Connor. He then ruthlessly begins shooting all the police. He chases after the fleeing John and Riley.

Cut to Cromartie looking through the town for them, and spotting Ellison in a little church. He approaches Ellison, who asks him if he’s come to repent. “I’m looking for John Connor,” answers Cromartie. But it’s a trap. Sarah and Derek are each stationed by windows on opposite ends, above Cromartie, and unleash on him with the armor-piercing weapons Derek and Cameron brought. Cameron walks up behind him and shoots him in the face, disabling him. He twitches but is barely functional. From his point of view, we see his attackers congregate around him as his vision begins to fail. His final vision is John shooting him in the head, destroying him.

Cromartie gets thrown into a shallow grave and the Connors explain to Ellison that they’ll return with materials to destroy him completely. Ellison asks Sarah what’s next. She does not invite him in to join them as part of the team. There’s nothing more to say. He knows everything now, there’s nothing further to explain.

Ellison realizes that nothing he does to help the Connors will set his life right. Sarah places Cromartie’s chip on a rock and smashes it to hell. Sarah is completely distraught and John hugs her.

So, a lot happened for these characters even though not a lot of plot occurred. It was a lot like the final act of an action movie, just told differently. A lot of awesome action, though a somewhat anticlimactic end to Cromartie, their main opponent so far. The Connors trapped him, but it could have been more exciting. Still, it was cool how Cromartie was right about Ellison bringing him to the Connors, just not the way he expected.

I liked seeing John and Sarah share a loving embrace at the end. I understand why John is so traumatized over killing someone, but I want to see their relationship move forward. It will also be interesting seeing where Ellison goes from here. He wants to help the Connors, but they won’t let him get involved. I guess he has no choice but to continue working for “Catherine Weaver.”

A pretty cool episode. I dock it one point for the somewhat unexciting way they dispatched Cromartie, but overall I give this one 4 out of 5 Terminator heads.

photo credit: Kadath