We’re at the halfway point of Neflix’s bold, anime powered, entry into the Terminator universe and for anyone who was worried that this would be a lame, watered down and ultimately unnecessary addition to a legendary franchise, Terminator Zero has proven that it absolutely will not stop until it accurately apes the dark, grungy feel of James Cameron’s 1984 original.
In this respect, the show has absolutely fucking nailed it so far, even going so far to have a threatening synth score and Terminators that manage to match the intimidation factor of a Schwarzenegger’s first model – you know, the one that wasn’t a minigun carrying supernanny to mankind’s future savior.
However, if one thing is missing in this love letter the franchise is that extra edge that would take this show from animated love letter to legitimate spin off is a sense of the unexpected. However, the sense that seismic changes were ultimately due has finally paid of with an almighty twist that finally starts to change the game.
Ground zero starts here.
After denying the Terminator from killing its chosen target for the second time in a row, we rejoin determined warrior from the future, Eiko, as she races through the city streets in a stolen police car with the authorities in hot pursuit. However, she isn’t having to go on the run solo as sharing the getaway car with her is the middle child of the Lee clan, Reika – but if Reika is with Eiko, what has become of housekeeper Misaki and Reika’s two brothers Kenta and Hiro? Well, after the Terminator’s assault, the other half of our targeted troupe has managed to find temporary shelter at a local police station where Misaki tries to tell the tale of their unbelievable evening. However, when the detectives present try to delve deeper into her personal records, they are troubled to discover that there seems to be no record of the mild mannered nanny whatsoever which obviously sets of some alarm bells.
But you know what also sets off alarm bells? The sight of that tenacious Terminator striding into that very same police station and starting to obliterate every single cop on duty with a minimum of fuss. Amidst the chaos of slaughtered authorities and ricocheting, ineffectual gunfire, Hiro and Kenta try to flee as bodies fall left and right, but in a selfless effort to try and hold off their mechanical murderer, a shocking twist is revealed that even Misaki wasn’t aware of.
Meanwhile, Malcolm is still trying to convince doubtful AI Kokoro to stand against Skynet as time quickly runs out, but the secret plan the scientist is relying on to convince her depends on having more time – something, it seems, that Skynet isn’t willing to provide.
As Judgement Day get underway and countless missiles launch from their silos, what possibly hope can humanity have for salvation?
It seems ironic that the episode that finally marks Terminator Zero as its own beast, rather than just a procession of The Terminator’s greatest hits, is an episode that riffs on the franchise the most, but with its fourth episode, the show really has found that sweet spot between fan service and doing something new. But first things first – let’s deal with the old stuff. From the opening car chase that sees Eiko willing to murder innocent policemen in order to achieve her goal, to a brutal assault on a police station that pays obvious homage to a legendary scene for ge first film, Model 104’s fan game is almost overwhelmingly strong to the point where it almost staggers over into full reboot territory. What helps is that the scenes are carried off so well and are so unapologetically cool, that it’s tough to complain too much. In fact, the police station massacre may actually be one of my favorite moments of the trilogy, so to see it honoured in the form of Anime is something of a legitimate kick and if nothing else, it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the makers of Terminator Zero know their T-800 related stuff. It even has a couple of detectives, a la Paul Winfield and Lance Henriksen from the 1984 movie, who try to do their utmost to help, but still fall valiantly in the wake of their inhuman foe. Further playing the fanboy card is the fact that the Terminator is now kitted out in the uniform of a Japanese traffic cop which makes him look suspiciously like the T-000 did in T2’s final act. Still, homages aside, it’s a magnificent sequence that doesn’t overplay its hand with the gore, yet still succeeds in being incredibly disturbing and impactful and the show is definitely getting its money’s worth from the Terminator’s wrist mounted bolt shooter, that’s for sure. However, a superbly animated, beautifully edited action sequence that riffs on another is all well and good, but at this point the show is in desperate need of some new ideas. Enter Misaki.
Now, up to this point, Misaki has been the every civilian in this adventure, as timid as Sarah Connor originally was before all the pull ups but seemingly without that third act shift into embryonic warrior woman, but after a little foreshadowing concerning her lack of identity, we find out exactly what her deal is when the Terminator latches onto her arm and twists. Bottom line, Misaki is a robot, or more accurately a cyborg covered in human flesh and the fact that I didn’t see this coming is a major plus. Oh, I thought someone was hiding a metallic secret alright, but my money was on Eiko and while some fans out there might try and harsh my buzz and bring up Sam Worthington’s character, Marcus, from Terminator: Salvation, this seems somewhat different. For a start, Salvation barely even tried to keep that twist under wraps, but this revelation brings up a whole mess of questions that enriches the story. Does Misaki even know she’s a cyborg? When did this happen? And most of all, does this mean she’s a bigger piece of Malcolm’s master plan to show Kokoro that humans and machines actually can co-exist? If that last part is true, it truly brings Malcolm’s parenting skills into question as he’s been leaving his children in the care of a kind of machine he knows full well may one day turn all Hunter Killer on mankind’s ass at the drop of a bomb.
Speaking of which; in yet another ballsy move, the show opts to drop the rather disconcerting news that Skynet has already begun its attack and Malcolm, in the midst of his debate with his own AI, states in horror as a plethora of nukes are launched at various target across the globe in order to fully get Judgment Day underway. While we still have the time it takes for those warheads to get to their targets and vaporize them, the ticking clock that Malcolm has been fighting against essentially just went off early and if he wants to enact his mysterious plan, he’d better get moving.
A secret robot character and Judgement Day kicking off halfway through the season? Seems like the end of the world is getting impatient…
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