Terminator: TSCC - 2×01 “Samson and Delilah”
When Fox brought us the first episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles back in January, it’s a fair bet that none of us expected the freshman series to last more than a few episodes. “It’s Fox, the grim reaper! Scourge of sci-fi/fantasy television!” exclaimed some familiar voices. “They’ve even got River from Firefly! It’s doomed!”
To be honest, it still might be. Anyone reading this from the perspective of a genre fan won’t need to be reminded that Fox hasn’t allowed a fledgling science fiction series to prosper since David Duchovny was still a fresh face. With that in mind, let’s just enjoy this little deviation while we can and try not to knock on wood too much.
Following a redone opening and recap sequence (I still get a huge kick out of “come with me if you want to live!” as delivered by Summer Glau), “Samson and Delilah” picks up right where the first season finale left off: with fire, and lots of it. Hit the break for my full review, but beware that past this point there be dragons. Spoiler dragons.
Boom! The car bomb which appeared to claim the life of Cameron the Rivernator in the cliffhanger proves to be just as ineffective as we all expected, but still manages to reset her programming to Robert Patrick mode. Inside, the Connors are too busy being roughed-up by hooligans over an issue of stolen property to notice the fireball; that is, until the newly blackhat Cameron accidentally sets the house ablaze as she stumbles forward on her new assassination mission.
After Sarah and John dispatch the hired goons and find themselves staring down the barrel of the Rivernator’s gun, it’s back to flight mode once again, something all too familiar to these characters. I sometimes wonder how much of the Connor’s lives have been spent behind the wheels of stolen vehicles. In a fun change of pace from the first season, this is essentially a chase episode right from the teaser. Most other shows would reduce this style to tedium pretty quickly, but with Terminator it feels nice and comfortable, like old leather.
While our fleeing mother/son duo retreat into a nearby church to hide, Cameron, still badly damaged from the explosion, hobbles after them with considerable aplomb. Summer Glau has really grown into the role quite well and it especially shows during her character’s trademark fish-out-of-water moments. For instance, she takes a second to stop at a convenience store and repair the nasty gashes on her face with baby powder and a staple gun. Take that, Tom Green!
This isn’t just another roadshow, however. A solid amount of time is spent with Agent Ellis as he struggles to pick up the pieces after the disastrous ambush which killed twenty of his fellow officers. His FBI bosses place him on paid leave to recover from the ordeal, but we all know he’s not just going to sit around. This one recurring subplot probably has more meat to it than any of the others; it’ll be a real shame if Ellis doesn’t find himself with the main group eventually.
“Samson and Delilah” also introduces us to newcomer Shirley Manson (yes, that Shirley Manson), although it’s going to take more than one episode before I’m completely sold on her character. That’s not a knock against Manson - she adds an interesting layer of creepiness which we aren’t really getting from the rest of the cast - but seeing her saunter around the screen in costumes befitting of a Bond villain while quoting bible passages is a mild departure from the cold, hard realism this show usually projects. That said, I seriously marked-out for her final moment in this episode.
Car chases and continuity moments aside, where Terminator truly shines is with its character moments and there are plenty to go around here. I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to say that John Connor’s gradual evolution from angsty teen to hardened battlefield commander is becoming one of the better executed arcs for this kind of character, thanks largely to Thomas Dekker’s performance. This is something the movies could never accomplish simply due to the limited running time, regardless of the casting.
Nowhere is John’s development better displayed than his relationship with Cameron. There were quick flashes of something deeper scattered throughout the first season, but never brought into the forefront as strongly as in this episode, where the connection is literally shouted out for all to hear. Love between man and machine is a theme seldom explored even in science fiction so there is plenty of spelunking to be done. It’ll be one hell of an important layer to the series moving forward, especially considering the context of this universe.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention just how stylish this show is when it wants to be, while never going the route of most Fox dramas and overplaying its hand. One great example is Bear McCreary and Shirley Manson’s rendition of Samson and Delilah which plays over the teaser. Sure, it’s perhaps a little reminiscent of the All Along the Watchtower cover McCreary composed for Battlestar Galactica, but I can forgive the minor similarities considering how much ass he kicked with that track.
This was a great way to open the new season. It’ll be interesting to see how the show holds up through a full run without any strikes to cut everything down.
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