Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2x13, “Earthlings Welcome Here”

Episode Title: Earthlings Welcome Here
Writer: Natalie Chaidez
Director: Félix Enrique Alcalá
Originally Aired: 12/15/2008
Grade: A

A transgender person, Riley being abused by Jessie and attempting suicide, Sarah killing a man, and UFOs, all in one episode? This was easily one of the strangest (and darkest) episodes to date.

I quite liked Eileen/Alan/Abraham and was sad to see her go. I had kind of pegged her as gender ambiguous from the start (Dinah Lenney definitely pulled it off), so I wasn’t exactly surprised at the reveal, although I was somewhat intrigued that the show went there. It was nice to see the issue treated in such a humane, poignant, and non-titillating way, and also to see the writer willing to compare Eileen to Sarah thematically. I also loved it that Sarah was so accepting toward the UFO enthusiasts—the woman knows what it’s like to believe in something that other people think is crazy talk.

I wonder when we’ll find out who stole Eileen’s metal sample and rampaged off on the motorcycle. My money’s on it being Jessie for now, because whoever it was seemed to have a small frame and didn’t move in a terribly masculine or Terminator-like way.

And speaking of Jessie, seeing her be so abusive to Riley in the same episode where we see what Riley came from only makes it that much worse. Jessie is not what I would call a nice person, but her attitude toward Riley in the past didn't clue me in to the possibility of this kind of physical and emotional abuse. I wonder if there's some kind of time limit ticking away that we don't know about, which is causing her to act increasingly desperate.

Cameron was genuinely hurt and angry about John trying to send her for paint to get rid of her. Her tone on, “You have 240 square feet to paint—what you have should be sufficient” clearly really meant “I know you’re trying to get rid of me and I don’t like it.” It amazes how much John has seen, and actively noticed, of Cameron behaving in a way that indicates that she has feelings and taste and opinions, and yet he still continues to push her away and treat her like a thing. I understand that she freaks him out since she tried to kill him and told him she loves him in the premiere, hence him keeping her at a distance, but I got the impression that part of that was also fear that getting to close to something that could kill you could be dangerous. I don’t get how being inconsiderate of the thing that can kill you is any better than being friends with it, safety-wise…