By Daniel
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.This episode at first appears like it's going be all Rashomon on us, with "Sarah's story" and "John's story" and "Cameron's story," etc., except it ain't no Rashomon. The characters aren't telling different versions of the same event; their stories just complement each others', filling in the blanks.
It starts really slowly, with John sneaking out to see Riley while Sarah scowls all over the place, and her mood isn't improved when Chrome Artie shows up. Cameron has tried to make John see reason when it comes to Riley by -- showing off her own body? OK…
John heads to Mexico for a too-much too-soon date with Riley, which is kinda ruined when Chrome Artie shows up (with Sarah in the trunk), and he gets WAY literal with the Day of the Dead celebrations.
See, John's gotten himself in trouble with the authorities after getting in a fight with someone who recognized him from when he used to live there with his mother, and the police attention draws Ellison into the fray as well, and, since he feels like he owes Sarah for the time she saved his life, he helps the Connors (Derek and Cameron manage to get their asses south of the border, too) lure Chrome Artie into a trap and they shoot him a bunch of times, take his chip and bury him. For some reason, none of this makes Riley run screaming as fast as her legs will take her. Congratulations, John: you're no longer the dumbest one of the group.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!A title screen informs us that this is "Sarah's Story," so we're going to get some kind of multiple-perspectives thing? All Rashomon and shit? Or like that X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully tell their stories, and we see their differing perspectives, like for Scully, Luke Wilson was a suave southern sheriff while for Mulder he was a bucktoothed hillbilly? No. It's not going to be that good.
Sarah's outside the Connor Compound hammering together some sort of structure -- probably a machine-gun turret to be added, A-Team-style, to a Connor Car, when John and Riley come outside, John taking pictures of the ridiculous bike helmet that Riley has on. He tells her it's to keep cars from playing ping-pong with her head. Riley spots "Mrs. Baum" and thanks her for having her over, and Sarah can barely muster a smile in response, like don't make her feel TOO welcome, Sarah.
John and Riley continue to coo at each other all awkward teenagers in love-style. John, major player that he is, offers to text her again, and Riley suggests he call her. Like, you know, with his voice. And then they tell each other to "be safe," like maybe John should put a condom on, and then Riley rides away.
John strolls back over to his mom and says, "I bought her a helmet," and Sarah blankly calls that responsible, adding, "You think it'll stop a bullet?" which I seem to remember my mom asking similar questions upon meeting girlfriends of mine. "Why, you gonna take a shot at her?" which is kind of funny, except the odds of Riley getting shot at are pretty damn good if she keeps hanging out at the Connors', and Sarah reminds John of this, so he stomps off. "You care about this girl?" Sarah calls after him. He says he does. "Then leave her alone," says Sarah. John walks away, passing Cameron, who tells Sarah she'll talk to him. "John's not listening," says Sarah. "He's always listening," says Cameron. Sarah looks at her, and Cameron sashays off the path after John.
The day, Sarah's sticking a safe in the floor of the living room, like there goes the damage deposit with the big gaping hole in the floor. Cameron comes in and says, "I was going to suggest a safe," and Sarah busts on her for not suggesting it before they got robbed. Cameron grabs some keys off the table and says she's going to "restock the supply drop" which, if Cameron weren't a Terminator, I'd probably assume was code for "buying Tampax." "We've been using a lot of ammunition," says Cameron, and Sarah wryly notes that business has been booming. She asks where John is, and Cameron says he's still up in his room. Sarah seems remarkably surprised at the prospect of a sixteen-year-old boy not getting out of his bed unless forcibly removed, and Cameron gives her a little lecture on the fucked-up circadian rhythms of the teenage male. "How late were you up talking to him?" asks Sarah, and Cameron says, "Not late," adding John won't be seeing Riley anymore.