It's probably not the strongest episode this season, but boy, were there some awesome scenes. And what a nice debut by Denise The! That was a tough one to follow-up on from the last episode, but I think she did a pretty good job.
So the Connor family gets a little
In Treatment, eh? Cool. Loved seeing Dorian Harewood again. I can't really remember the last time I saw him, but it was a nice treat.
I will also second, third, fourth... the rejoicing of the return of the voice-over! Yeah! Learning a bit about her father was really cool. Keep 'em comin'!
Seeing the Turk in it's bored child-like stages was too cool. Love the riddle! The Turk is definitely becoming more of a character now.
The symbolism of running in this episode was interesting to see. Jeese runs from her past/future and abandons hope. Derek also runs from his past/future, but doesn't give up hope even though he almost did at one point. Sarah wants to run, but can't for the sake of her son. John wants to run, but he can't either. He's "too important".
As much as I loved the terminator fight scene (though I kinda wished it
hadn't taken place in an elevator), the scene when Sarah is listening to the recording of John talking to Dr. Sherman takes the pie (I hate cake):
Dr. S: "Why do you want to escape? ... I want you to know, everything you say is between us. This is a safe place."
John: "No it's not. No where is."
Dr. S: "Don't you feel safe around your family?"
John: "My family? Safe?" [laughs]
Dr. S: "Your mother seems like a strong woman. Doesn't that make you feel safe?"
John: "It might, if that's what she wanted. Safe is the last thing she wants me to feel."
Dr. S: "I find that hard to believe."
John: "I'm sure she's right. She's always right. Fear can be a good thing. On a bad day it'll keep you alive."
Dr. S: "Do you have bad days like that? .... John?"
How heartbreaking must that have been to listen to? I thought that was the most dramatic part of the whole episode. It almost felt like John
was speaking to Sarah. (He couldn't talk to her face to face, and she can't get through to him, so Dr. Sherman provides a good outlet where they can clear their minds and hopefully resolve their issues.)
It's such a subtle scene, but tells volumes about Sarah and John's relationship, in my opinion. John can't talk to his mom about killing Sarkissian because he's frustrated. He's upset with Sarah for not giving him a normal life - for not letting him to be a kid.
For not allowing him to ever feel safe. I think he understands why it has to be that way, but it still doesn't change the fact that he's a 16-year-old kid, as Derek said, "Not a man, not a boy, not a soldier..." He wants to rebel, he wants to run, but he knows he can't. He has to step up and be that man, be that soldier: the future leader of mankind, or the savior of the human race. That's one hell of a conflict to deal with. I'm not sure Sarah really understood this conflict before. Now she knows, so it will be interesting to see how she deals with John from here on out. She can't turn back time (heh), but she can listen to her son more closely.
I think Sarah basically feels responsible for killing Sarkissian. She's responsible for raising her son. She taught him that fear is the best motivator for staying alive (remember, "no one is ever safe"). When Sarkissian broke into the Connor house, John was angry and very, very afraid (hmmm...side note: the future Andy Goode said the Turk became angry and scared, then lashed out...nice little parallel there...). Not a good combination. That lead him to kill Sarkissian. It was the heat of the moment, of course, but it was almost innate and ingrained into his psyche, probably something like:
If I'm in trouble, run. If I can't run, fight. If I can't fight, die trying. If he feels safe, John won't run. John won't fight. John will die. John fought, went too far, couldn't slow down, and ultimately killed.
In the end, I think this hurts Sarah more than it hurts John. John will have to make tough choices in the future, should they not prevent JD, and those choices will most likely end with lives lost. That is the price of being the leader. That is his sacrifice. Sarah can't stand to see her son take up such a responsibility, especially at such a young age, even though she knows he has to. As Cameron said last season, "the world ends in four years." My bet is this will motivate Sarah, even more so, to stop JD.
So, why did Sarah lie to Derek and Charlie about who killed Sarkissian? Well, I think part of it is what a few people were saying, that she was attempting to protect her son, psychologically speaking. John was shook to his core. He needed time to recover (still does, actually, hence the therapy). He doesn't even want to talk to his mother, ya think talking to an uncle he's only begun to know and a once-would-be father (that he threw to the ground the first time they met again after the jump) would've helped him? No way. (Besides, she was trying to push Charlie away, so telling him about what really happened wouldn't have helped that.)
The other part of it is Sarah was probably in denial. She couldn't believe that she didn't protect her son from bearing the burden of taking a human life, especially in such a personal, brutal way. How do you take some of that burden? You make other people believe it was you who did it.
"No return home. No return to innocence. ... War's wounds have bled me dry."
Poor Sarah.