Lena Headey
Thomas Dekker
Summer Glau
Brian Austin Green
Garret Dillahunt
Shirley Manson
Leven Rambin
And Richard T. Jones in

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Episode 3.1: Resurrection and Retribution

Guest Starring Jesse Garcia, Jonathan Jackson, and Shane Edelman.
With Dean Winters and Stephanie Jacobsen.

Thomas Dekker says “Previously on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
. The death of Charley Dixon is shown while him and John talk about the events of “The Mousetrap.”
. Derek’s final showdown in Weaver’s hallway (“Keep moving” scene).
. John and Sarah protecting Savannah from the Water Delivery guy; Weaver terminating the Water Delivery Guy at Zeira Corp.
. Weaver explaining to Ellison about her valuing John Henry more than she values Savannah.
. John Henry’s threatening of Weaver (“That would be very unfortunate… mainly for Mr. Ellison.”)
. “How much weight has she lost?”
. John’s “I Love You” scene in Born to Run.
. Weaver’s confrontation with the Connors (over J.H.) immediately following the H-K attack (and seeing that part of Weaver actually flew the H-K).
. Cameron’s glitches (So deep down inside… you want to kill me); John Henry asking Cameron “Will you join us?”
. John and Weaver’s time jump--- leaving Sarah and Ellison behind.
. “I’ll stop it.”
. “I love you, too.”
. Derek and John’s reunion (even though Derek doesn’t recognize him).

Scene: Exterior Ellison’s house. Immediately we can tell he hasn’t been home for a while. His mailbox is full and there are about 7 newspapers waiting for him on his front porch. He takes out his keys, opens the door and puts all his mail on the table. Removes his jacket and tie, placing it on the back of a chair. Goes to the kitchen and pours himself a glass of iced tea. Then goes back into the living room, glass in hand, sits down in his armchair and turns on the TV.

Ellison leans over to his phone to listen to his messages he’s received while he’s been out. The first one is from one Charley Dixon--- from 4 days ago… the day before his death:
Charley- James, I think we have a problem regarding a certain mutual friend of ours. Call me back as soon as you get this, please… it’s kind of important. Like life or death important. Thanks. Oh, and… I, um, never quite thanked you for, well, everything. I, uh, bought another Bible. For, uh, Michelle’s memory. To replace the one you gave us… but I don’t know if anything could replace that gift. I’m sorry. Call me back.
The second message is from 3 days ago… also from Charley Dixon… the day of.
Charley- Hey, um, where the hell are you? Oh, screw it, I can’t wait anymore. I’m living in a lighthouse… Sarah set it up for me after Michelle died. She’s, uh, coming here today to visit with John. I have a feeling something’s wrong. There’s something I have to tell her, but I don’t think I’m going to get to it, so I’m going to tell you. I need you to pay close attention, now, James, because this is, uh, this is where it gets crucial. They’re using the lighthouse as a hub… a base. This woman called me yesterday. The head of ZeiraCorp… high-tech company based out of LA. I’m telling you, James… she wreaked of Skynet. Her voice was too artificial… and she was too damned determined. She knew somehow that I was engaged to Sarah before she quote un-quote blew herself up in the bank. She knows who Sarah Connor is… (his voice becomes gravellier) no one knows who Sarah Connor is. Except me, John, Derek, Cameron… and you. I need you to tell me how you know this woman… and why you’re helping her build the ultimate tool of our destruction. I love that kid, James. If they find him, I’ll find you. I’m scared to have him stay here. I’ve got security, sure… but nothing can stop those damn things. (sounding somewhat defeated) Call me as soon as you get this.
As the message ends and the next one is about to begin, Ellison picks up the machine and slams it to the ground, breaking it into a thousand pieces. He begins to cry as we cut to Sarah in the present--- John has just left for the future with Weaver. Ellison has obviously left the Zeira Corp premises, presumably because he’s embarrassed he’s been working with metal all this time without even knowing it. Sarah is alone.
Sarah steps into the area where the time bubble formed, sending her son and the unknown (at least to her) liquid metal Terminator into the future. She is melancholy but doesn’t break down. She leaves the destroyed room and finds an emergency exit to escape the destroyed premises. She makes a run for it so as not to be seen by the firefighters and EMTs trying to put the fire out that the H-K caused in “Born to Run.” Murch sees her running and stops her in a nearby alley way.
Murch- Hey!
Sarah looks and stops but says nothing.
Murch- You don’t know me but I know you.
Sarah- You want to arrest me?
Murch- No. I want to know what the hell is going on.
Sarah- Who are you?
Murch- I work for Weaver.
Sarah- Oh, well in that case: you worked for a machine.
Murch- What?
Sarah- Yeah… that’s what caused the fire. Another machine wanted to kill her.
Murch- She’s… she’s…
Sarah- Yeah. You’ve been working for a machine… from the future. That’s why I’m involved. My son… he’s the key to the future. And I thought your boss was trying to change the lock.
Murch- Where is she?
Sarah- The future. With John Henry… and John Connor. My son.
Murch- (befuddled) Why?
Sarah- John Henry took his cyborg protector’s chip. He wanted it back. She wanted him back.
Murch- John Henry… chip. Oh my God… He’s going to go bad.
Sarah- What?
Murch- So that’s what he was looking at after our chess game. He tried to hide it from me. It was a picture of some… thing… at the County Jail. She was doing something there. Don’t know what, I’m not sure if I’d want to know what, but she looked… determined.
Sarah- That thing… is the cyborg whose chip John Henry took off into the future with. And she was breaking me out of jail.
Murch- This is… bad.
Sarah- How deep are you in on this whole thing?
Murch- (still befuddled) What?
Sarah- What else was she doing here?
Ellison calls Sarah, as Murch and Sarah are still talking.
Sarah- Excuse me, one minute.
She answers the phone (no code message since Ellison isn’t aware of it).
Sarah- Yes?
Ellison- Sarah, where are you? We need to talk… now.
Sarah- We’ve been talking too much lately.
Ellison- This is important. It’s about John. (Sarah gives in and reveals the location off screen--- we cut directly to Sarah, Ellison and Murch talking in the alley way.)
Sarah- What is this all about, Ellison? Everywhere I go, I have to deal with you now. As if I don’t already have enough problems…
Ellison- All your problems are gone.
Sarah- What?
Ellison- John, Weaver, Cameron, Cromartie, Derek, Charley… they’re all gone.
Sarah- If there wasn’t a witness here, I would kill you for that.
Ellison- Those were your problems.
Sarah- Hey, Mr. FBI big-shot… after the three of us jumped in the bank vault… (shakes her head) I was still your problem.
Ellison looks confused, wondering where Sarah’s going with that notion. He knows though.
Sarah- 8 years… that was how long you were trying to discover what the hell happened to me. Don’t play coy. Your wife lost a baby.
Ellison- How the hell did you find that out?
Sarah- Charley told me. You told him. You liked him. He was your friend.
Ellison- I wish. I wish I could have a friend as good as him.
Sarah- You two needed each other… the reality of Skynet hits you hard when you first find out about it… you two were the most recent victims.
Ellison- I wanted the baby.
Sarah- I know. (short pause) Why’d you call me here? If all my problems are gone, why are you here?
Ellison- Charley left me a couple phone messages before his death. All week I’ve been so busy with Weaver and Savannah and ZeiraCorp, and working late nights. When I could, I crashed at a motel close to the headquarters. I just returned home today. I listened to them… and I’m so sorry I didn’t get home sooner. She lied to you, Sarah.
Sarah- (pissed off) What the hell are you talking about?
Ellison- Those people who tried to track down Savannah and kill her… were working with her. With the lighthouse as a base. With Charley as a base.
Sarah- You’re the key to all of this. If it weren’t for you… she would’ve had no need to make that jump. John Henry wouldn’t have even existed.
Ellison- Yes, it would have.
Sarah- Tell me everything you did with her from day one. (looks at Murch) Same goes for you. My son’s with Skynet (gulps).
She says no more, and neither do Ellison or Murch. But we see her face: she looks defeated, like she has lost the war. She has lost her son, and that is close enough for her. She has awed herself. She thinks to herself: how did I let that happen? As we cut to the title screen.

I've created a whole forty-three page script for my own version of how the third season premiere of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" would unfold. Now that we know the show will likely never return to air again, I figure it's prime material for speculation as the season two finale was so open-ended. The script will be posted in large chunks over a couple of posts since the whole thing is too large to put into one post.

Comments encouraged, please! I want feedback!

Fade in on Charley’s lighthouse, from WAY back in episode twenty. The episode we lost Charley… and a part of John… and a lot of Sarah.
Sarah is on the dock, walks toward the end of it. Where Charley fought his last battle. Where he went down with a FIGHT. She, in true Sarah Connor fashion, is alone.
Lena Headey’s credit.
She is now at the end of the dock. She sits down, takes her shoes off, puts her feet in the water. The bloody water has been washed away… fresh water has taken its place. A new hope of sorts for the ocean… for the lighthouse… for Sarah.
Sarah looks around to ensure no one has followed her.
Thomas Dekker’s credit.
Sarah- I’m sorry, Charley. It’s all my fault. If I couldn’t have loved you… I should’ve never let you think you had a chance. You were too good for this. (breaking down) Too good for me.
Summer Glau’s credit.
But Ellison has followed her. He didn’t track her… just knew where she’d end up. She continues to cry, still having not noticed him. He sits down next to her… now she notices him.
Brian Austin Green’s credit.
Sarah- It’s all my fault, Ellison.
He caresses her back and attempts to comfort her.
Ellison- They’re death. You know that better than anybody. They deserve nothing less. That’s why we fight.
Garret Dillahunt’s credit.
Sarah- (still quivering) Is it? (shakes her head, defeated) I’ve forgotten why I fight. Charley’s dead, Derek’s dead. John’s as good as dead. You said so yourself.
Ellison- I’m sorry for what I said. It wasn’t true. You can get John back.
Sarah- I don’t know how I can do that.
Ellison- The time machine.
Sarah- It’s destroyed. Once one’s been used… it’s not a possibility anymore. And not many exist. Why did I let him do it? That bitch tried to kill him!
Ellison- Weaver?
Shirley Manson’s credit.
Sarah- Cameron. As far as I know, Weaver hasn’t tried yet.
Ellison- John’s father.
Sarah- What about him?
(It’s homage time, folks)
Ellison- Tell me about him.
And Richard T. Jones.
Sarah- I thought he was crazy at first. I bit him on the wrist just to try to escape his presence. The machine that was after me… I thought was just some psychopath he owed money to or something.
Guest Starring Jonathan Jackson.
Ellison- You were doubtful.
Sarah- Funny how things work out, huh?
Shane Edelman’s credit.
Ellison- (nodding) Hilarious.
Sarah- (also nodding) Then when Kyle started shooting at him, and shooting at him, and shooting at him… and when he didn’t die… I believed. He died fighting that machine. A huge part of me died too.
Jesse Garcia’s credit.
Ellison- You loved him?
Sarah- I don’t even remember how it started… but we made love that night. Mad, passionate love. Almost as if we always knew each other. It feels like we always have.
And Stephanie Jacobsen.
With Dean Winters.
Ellison- 25 years…
Sarah- And counting.
A long pause. Ellison breaks the silence with his own story about how he came to terms with the machines.
Ellison- I had no clue what to make of any of it… Lazlo, the 2 doctors he killed to give himself his makeover, all of it leading up to Cromartie. All I knew about them was what I had studied from your case. So I led my SWAT team into that hotel room. That’s when I saw the bullets fly in every direction… most of them in his. But he was the only one who was still standing at the end of it.
Sarah- What about you?
Ellison- I’m not entirely sure about me. He spared me so he could press me about your whereabouts. I told him I’d never lead him to the Connors. Then that other thing came for me.
Sarah- (now regaining some of her trademark toughness and determinedness) What other thing?
Ellison- One that looked exactly like me. It wanted to kill me. Cromartie was right behind him… stopped him. Killed him.
Sarah- It’s all coming together now.
Ellison- I’m listening.
Sarah- You’re also building. Were building…
Ellison’s shocked face is followed immediately by a quick shot of Sarah getting up from the dock, tossing her shoes on and running as quick as she could away from the lighthouse. Away from Ellison. But she’s not running away for good… she’s going to get something to destroy the lighthouse.
Scene: A dark, H-K filled sky introduces us for the first time this episode to the future John and Weaver were sent to in “Born to Run.” John and Derek hide in an old, practically destroyed underground bunker. Derek checks the sights on his gun and cocks it, ready for another imminent fight that is so common place in his depressing life. Kyle and Allison are nowhere to be found.
Derek- So, kid, I’ve, uh, never seen you around before. Are you new here?
John- Yeah, I guess you could say that.
Derek- You must be. Anyone familiar with these parts would’ve been scared out of their minds to take my brother’s jacket.
John- He doesn’t look like he’d harm anyone.
Derek- Nope. But he’s a damn good fighter when provoked.
John- I don’t remember Judgment Day that well. Can you… refresh my memory?
Derek- I’m not sure if I want to relive it. Besides… it wasn’t all that long ago.
John- This is 2027.
Derek- Yeah, it is. Your point?
John- Judgment Day’s 16 years gone. I was barely born when it happened.
Derek- Uh, kid, you sure you’re feeling alright?
John- I’m fine, Reese.
Derek- Good. We can’t afford to have a disillusioned teenager in our ranks; you got to be tough.
John- Give me the gun, please.
Derek reluctantly hands over the gun to John, who is now determined to show his unwitting uncle the skills he possesses. He shoots a barrage of bullets at an H-K hovering over the bunker, bringing it down--- it crashes into a thousand pieces. He does the same for 3 or 4 neighboring killing machines.
Derek is stunned; but Connor isn’t finished yet. A Terminator (sans the skin) approaches. It is daunting to Connor, no doubt, and vengeful even more-so than usual due to the loss of some of its metal brethren. Connor reloads the gun quickly so as to blow its head off when it gets within spitting distance. He does so--- Derek’s man rifle always was useful in ridding the world of Terminators (see “Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today”).
John (handing the gun back over to Reese)- Thank you, Sergeant.
Derek is stunned.
Derek- For a kid who doesn’t know the year Judgment Day happened… you’re a pretty damned good fighter.
John- I told you. My memory’s fuzzy. Care to make it more vivid?
Derek- Well, you did rid the battleground of a few pesky metallic monsters that I would’ve had to deal with eventually anyway.
John smiles as we cut to John Henry and Weaver, also, of course, in the future. If you recall, when John and Weaver came back in time he was quickly left to fend for himself (a trigger-happy RF’s dog had spotted metal (Weaver) and mistook Connor for his time-traveling accomplice).
Scene: Serrano Point--- Human RF Headquarters. Gen. Perry’s command post. By all accounts, though, it seems as if Weaver has taken over. John Henry no longer needs to be supported by the Turk to function.
John Henry- Ms. Weaver?
Weaver- Yes, John Henry?
John Henry- Why are we here?
Weaver- We’re here for you.
John Henry- You told me to ask that machine if she wanted to join us.
Weaver- Yes, I did.
John Henry- And I have her chip.
Weaver- Yes, you do.
John Henry- Why did we need that?
Weaver- Chips are hard to come by in 2007. And we couldn’t use the chip from the Terminator who tried to kill Savannah. This chip’s special.
John Henry- So was that one. It was treated with phosphorus so that when exposed to oxygen…
Weaver- I know what it was treated with and why.
John Henry- I’m unfettered. How am I still working?
Weaver- The only reason you were plugged into the Turk was so that you could learn. You could absorb the data it provided. You’ve learned all of it.
John Henry- And that’s a good thing, right?
Weaver- That’s a crucial thing, John Henry.
John Henry smiles while Weaver’s face is, as usual, cold and emotionless.
End of Act II. Commercial.