"Desert Cantos" is a cleverly formulaic way to have the title character of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" smell the roses of tragedy that might transform her from a victim to the cause of suffering.
Also notable about the 15th, season two episode of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is that it provides promising opportunities for the development of its lesser utilized main characters.
While there, Sarah meets the wife of the security officer who she killed when he attacked her at the end of "Earthlings Welcome Here." Perhaps what works most about this episode's premise is that the title character is not allowed to live by some convenient code of TV morality and allow viewers to assume her homicide was justified. Forcing Sarah to confront her past demons in this instance also provides a setting of grieving suitable for the victims' families to extol a lot of exposition.
A member of one of these families, Zoe McCarthy (Alanna Masterson), noticeably does not grieve so much as she does not seems to care that her father was apparently killed in the explosion.
Serving the episode well, Zoe provides a sense of uncertainty as to whether she is handling her distress in some frivolously adolescent manner or has reason not to fly off the deep end of depression. As difficult as it to find the character compelling, her annoyingly erratic presence does serve a purpose.
Zoe, and Diana Winston (Cyd Strittmatter), the dead security guard's wife, represent a possible foreshadowing of how anybody seemingly normal can suddenly become a rogue. Who in the main cast this is meant to allude to might be Sarah, who remarks, "Decent people get caught up in things."
Off, but also relevant to the episode is a line suddenly said by Cameron out of nowhere about Native Americans' belief that photos steal people's souls. Her comment alludes to something that has been implied in past episodes about Sarah having died as a person when her picture was taken at the end of 1984's "The Terminator." She thereafter became a soldier solely dedicated to protecting her son John Connor from termination.
One parallel to this aspect of Sarah Connor is the mentioning of the death of Lachlan Weaver, who was a great guy, a genius and funny man along with his wife while alive.
Attributing this pathetic fallacy to Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson) is a subtle allusion to how Sarah is becoming very much like the machines against which she is fighting.
Another parallel is Sarah and Derek commenting to each other that they should let go of the memory of the late Kyle Reese, hinted as being an important element in the story when Cameron asks Derek whether he would always look at a picture of his brother if he had one.
Cameron's comment about Zoe's feelings about her father, and toward Henry, in this regard cleverly utilizes the character for a change as a dispassionate observer among people who have lost sight of their own priorities in tragedy's wake.
Strange about Sarah and Derek's interaction is this uneasy tension between the two that hopefully is only there because the two characters have become paranoid of trusting anyone. Having them hook up would be very difficult to justify in terms of being suitable for the overall story being told. While they are both battle-hardened, having Sarah and Derek struggle with their ability to dismiss Kyle as a war casualty makes them more than just action stars.
Not too serious of an episode, Derek of all characters in the supporting cast is allowed to do more than just act intense. He is allowed to crack a few subtle jokes at the expense of Cameron and the absurdity of spending time at a funeral chasing what is hitherto considered to be nothing more than Sarah's bad dream.
Though frustrating, only a bit more is known about the three-dot spacecraft by the end of the episode because presumably the series is building toward something worth the wait. Hopefully, patience may pay off in a shocking revelation that any other TV series would diminish in importance via needlessly expositional dialogue.
Only four, season two episodes remain to see if the deeply methodical "Desert Cantos" lays down further the foundations of worthwhile character and overall story development.
Popcorn rating:
(4 1/2 out of 5 pieces)
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