Sarah Connor thinkings (spoilers up to 2.20 "To The Lighthouse")

[lizbee]

I haven't had much to say about SCC lately, because it's had me all ... thinky.  I just made a whole lot of handwritten notes, to whit:

Catherine Weaver -> secretly a T1001.  Apparently not Skynet affiliated.  Probably the T1001 from the USS Jimmy Carter, who refused Connor's offer of an alliance.

The Weaverbot runs Zeiracorp, which seems to be a parent company for Calida (spelling?), which oversees the legendary Warehouse in the Desert that was making strange metals and Skynet drones.  Weaverbot shuts down the warehouse (with extreme prejudice) when she learns that its staff are discussing their chromium transports over an unsecured line. 

Calida agents dog Sarah and her people, including kidnapping Sarah and planting a transmitter in her breast.  (And may I say it's unspeakably cunning to take a terribly common female fear, and then twist it into Sarah's worst nightmare?)  But the agents don't make their move until after John Henry has been infiltrated by -- what?  A parallel AI, developed from Cyberdyne's systems, rather Andy Goode's Turk?  Goode worked for Cyberdyne, and presumably based part of the Turk on what he learned there, so it might be possible to think of John Henry as Skynet 2.0.  If the unknown Cyberdyne AI really is going to be Skynet.

Anyway, it seems to be the attack on John Henry that triggers Calida's people to move on Team Connor.  But the Weaverbot doesn't seem to have anything to do with that, and we've not had the slightest hint that she's interested in the Connors, except as a failed case of Ellison's.

And why would the Weaverbot, who is not a Skynet agent, be creating drones in the desert?  (On the other hand, why not?  It's not the hardware that's at issue, it's the software controlling it.)

Furthermore: the Weaverbot has demonstrated that she can retrieve customised machines from the future, when needed.  All the Calida agents we've seen are human.  From whom are they getting their information on extracting Cameron's chip?  (Not to mention triggering her 120 second reset cycle.)  From the "brother" of the being at the other end of the phone -- presumably John Henry.  That is, I think they're communicating with the Cyberdyne AI, not John Henry, who is still young and somewhat lacking in initiative.

So ... if Calida is under the indirect oversight of the Weaverbot, does all this mean it's been somehow infiltrated by the Cyberdyne AI?  It would make sense, for a sophisticated and advanced AI to have more than one route of attack, in terms of gaining control over it's "brother".  Does it see Zeiracorp as an enemy, holding John Henry captive?

Or is it Skynet itself, manipulating the development of both AIs -- back up plans to ensure its own evolution?  Saving its grandfather's life by using its great-uncle as a substitute?  I tried to create a family tree for John Henry, but it kept circling back to Skynet.  Damn time travel. 

Now my head hurts, and I'm teh confused.  All AI kerfuffling aside, I thought this episode was slow, but eventually worth it.  I'm sorry that Charley's dead, but he had an arrow on his back from the pilot.

Comments

[shati.livejournal.com]

One thing I haven't had time to check -- do we know that Calida is under Weaver's control? When the episode aired I assumed that the plant was destroyed because of the security breach, but I can't recall any actual evidence for that now, and other people have pointed out that parts of the scene make more sense if the Weaverbot is actually destroying the unwary competition. And the whole thing makes more sense to me if the agents attacking the Connors and their satellites are being guided by John Henry's brother.

On the other hand, it is entirely possible I've just forgotten a scene early on where Catherine Weaver said, "By the way, Calida is a part of Zeiracorp, which I run, and is most definitely not connected to Cyberdyne or any hypothetical brothers of John Henry."

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

I took the assumption from the episode where Weaver destroys the warehouse -- I'm quite sure that John Henry tells her he's been monitoring unsecured communications within her company. But I might have misunderstood -- it would make things a lot clearer if I did.

[ianmcin.livejournal.com]

It's quite possible that Weaver's attack on the warehouse is one rival attacking another, rather than a superior cutting loose a compromised subordinate.

Also: And may I say it's unspeakably cunning to take a terribly common female fear, and then twist it into Sarah's worst nightmare?

Disagree here. When she thought it was cancer, we saw Sarah more scared than we've ever seen her. The moment she found out it was a electronic tracker, implanted by agents of an AI, she immediately came to life and kicked some ass. She has no idea how to fight cancer, but killer robots? She's an old hand at that.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

When she thought it was cancer, we saw Sarah more scared than we've ever seen her. The moment she found out it was a electronic tracker, implanted by agents of an AI, she immediately came to life and kicked some ass.

I was thinking of the audience's point of view, specifically the female audience.

[shati.livejournal.com]

I just rewatched it out of burning curiosity, and all he says is that while "scanning available sources for the keyword 'coltan'" he heard it on "an unsecured line." (The transmission says something about 16 tons of coltan and a man shot "out at Heat and Air," which if it is a fakeout and it's not Catherine's company, is presumably how she finds it.)

And all Catherine says is, "Well, that was a mistake," re: the unsecured line part. So it definitely looks like it's her company on first viewing, but I would say it's fair play for a fakeout. Which I'm now leaning toward. Hm.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Wow. Yes, I shall consider myself faked-out but good. Thanks!

[naewinter.livejournal.com]

seems to be a parent company for Calida

I thought it was Kaliba, and I think it's run by Skynet. Not a corporation now but an AI survivor of Cyberdyne Systems. The line "Has anyone ever seen anyone from the company?" at the funeral makes me wonder now if there are any humans in control of it at all.

It makes so much more sense if it's not Weaver's company at all. She was looking for surviving workers, who we assumed stole the drone but it makes so much more sense if she's fighting Skynet by building an AI that can fight it. Think about why she'd name him John Henry, given where she got the name. Think about why Skynet would send terminators after the child psychologist and Ellison.

[rimwalker.livejournal.com]

I also echo your theory of Weaver being the liquid-silver robot on the Jimmy Carter. Connor would not have extended that offer if he did not suspect that there might be a faction of AI not 100% loyal to Skynet. She rejected his offer and is doing her own thing.

And running with the Biblical theme...

I've begun leaning towards the idea of the Cyberdyne Worm AI and John Henry as robotic Cain and Abel. The older brother killing the younger (or, at least trying to).

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

That occurred to me, too. If John Henry chooses humans over the Cyberdyne Worm AI, the end results could be ... unfortunate.

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

Am I crazy that I still kinda wish Myles Dyson's son grew up and continued his dad's work, and is the "father" of the AI ie. "Baby" Skynet? If he's anything like his mother, he still blames Sarah Connor for his father's death.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

That would be a bit fantastic. I do love generational stuff.

[rimwalker.livejournal.com]

OR! OR! He escapes and becomes a Garret Dillahunt shaped crime-fighter who battles evil using Legos and quotes of scripture!

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

ROBOT DILLAHUNT FIGHTS CRIME would be the best show ever.

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

From whom are they getting their information on extracting Cameron's chip?

Since Cameron was attacked after John Henry, I assumed the AI got the info from John Henry. They made a pretty big deal about how long a milisecond is to an AI like John Henry. During the time the AI was connected to John Henry, it could have dloaded all of his specs, including how to extract a chip from a T-888 endo.

The real question is, how does the other AI know that Cameron is metal. If it's "baby" Skynet, then it doesn't. Only someone (or something) from the future knows Cameron is metal--and John Connor's personal bodyguard.

(The only other option is the AI is Cromartie, and they destroyed his chip before Weaver could get her hands on it. )

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Since Cameron was attacked after John Henry, I assumed the AI got the info from John Henry.

That was my assumption, too, and it's the most probable explanation, but commenters over in selenak's LJ were confusing the issue with MOAR THEORIES.

[wal-lace.livejournal.com]

I'm still not convinced that John Henry was infiltrated. All the emphasis on how fast he works could have been to convince us he had time to plant the evidence of an external attack, when really he'd just woken up to a, uh, higher plane of awareness, if you will, thanks to learning that rules can be broken or changed.

In which case Judgment Day would come about because Savannah made puppy eyes.

(Of course, this assumption became a lot less likely when the random gunmen turned out to be getting anti-Terminator information. Still, for all we know that could just be Jesse having a slight overreaction)