The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Turk

"The Turk" of the episode title is a reference to a chess-paying machine built in the 18th century also represents quite possibly the beginning of Skynet (or perhaps a predecessor). It was built by a former intern at Cyberdyne named Andy Goode.

To set the mood at the beginning of the episode, Sarah has a dream of murdering the scientists of the Manhattan Project before they build the atomic bomb. The obvious analogy is there, but I note that the good that occurred as a result, such as the surrender of the Japanese or the rise of nuclear energy as a power source. Also, many technological innovations started with military use, including the Internet. Of course, mentioning all that would have just killed the mood.

Cameron's behavior is becoming inconsistent, perhaps intentionally. She could pass herself off as human (both in appearance and behavior) in the pilot but is having problems understanding humans now. The whole "robots not understanding humans" theme is getting more prevalent in the show and when she began rattling off synonyms while approaching the school I was thinking of Data from Star Trek.

I do enjoy the conflict between Sarah and Cameron. In her own way, Sarah is becoming more inhuman as time progresses and she practices self-justification. I'm glad that she holds on to her humanity somewhat by destroying Andy Goode's property rather than killing him.Frankly, I think Sarah was chasing the wrong lead to begin with. I think the British scientist guy who was helping the Terminator had more to do with the future than "The Turk". The writers did go with the ages-old plot device of someone from the future teaching future science to someone from the present.

I admit that I found the ending somewhat confusing and it probably would have been less so if they played the final two scenes in the correct chronological order. At least I know why the Terminator took the scientist's eyes. What I don't get is why the British scientist guy helped him out in the first place. Did I miss something?

Overall, I would say the episode was fair. The writing was weak and some of the characters seemed to be acting inconsistently or unrealistically under the circumstances. However, the opening was powerful and saved the show.