Goodbye to All That

Main info

John and Derek protect a future member of the resistance at a military academy, and Weaver gives Ellison his first assignment.

Recap

On a suburban patio, a man grills. "Martin Bedell?" a Terminator asks. Oh, crap.

Derek shows John and Sarah a newspaper article on the death of Martin Bedell. He explains that a man named Martin Bedell is one of Connor's best soldiers in the future -- a trained military man who will help John put the resistance together. Skynet has obviously sent back a machine to track and kill all possible Martin Bedells (like they did with Sarah Connor originally).

John confirms that there are two other Martin Bedells currently in Los Angeles -- and in fact, figures out that one is at Presidio Alto Military Prep School. As in "P. Alto." As in, one of the names on the Connors' bloody wall.

Derek and John head out to Presidio Alto. Sarah and Cameron will go after the other Martin Bedell and try and stop the T-888 before it gets to Presidio Alto. And so John and Derek take off (in their all-new 2009 Dodge Ram!)...

Ellison looks at file on the nuclear power plant meltdown. Weaver has asked him to look into it -- find out what really happened there. She has an interest in it and believes that the meltdown was not an accident. Weaver shows Ellison a triple eight's eye that she has acquired -- and he's off to find out what really happened at Serrano Point.

At Presidio Alto, Derek remembers the war -- particularly a mission involving his brother, Kyle, and Martin Bedell. He enrolls John at the school and gets offered a job filling in for the week (after all, he is a veteran).

A kid's video game is interrupted by the doorbell. "Martin Bedell?" the same Terminator asks. Oh, crap. But Sarah grabs him and throws him off to the side as the T-888 shoots! Sarah and Marty run out of the house and jump in the jeep, driven by Sarah. The Terminator jumps on the roof. Sarah shoots him, but he's still coming...

Nelson briefs Ellison at Serrano Point Nuclear Power Plant. He shows him the valve that Greenway ripped open (and Cameron later closed) and tells him that the truth clearly wasn't reported. Nelson reveals that there's a new plan for the plant to go back online -- in August 2009 -- completely automated.

At Presidio Alto, Derek finds some strange tar in the woods while John goes shooting at the gun range. After he helps a kid unjam a gun, he meets cadet captain Martin Bedell.

John and Bedell go running in the woods and stumble upon Derek. He remembers Bedell in the future and immediately recognizes him.

Sarah and Cameron hide Marty at the Connor house. She tries to find him clothes but he immediately recognizes it isn't her stuff and that she doesn't know much about acting like a mother. Marty wants to call his mom -- she was supposed to get him a book for his book report. But Cameron threatens him with the truth before Sarah makes her put him down.

With Marty asleep, Cameron tells Sarah they made a tactical error. She believes they should have not run and killed the Terminator when they had the chance. But Sarah tells Cameron that the boy is too important to risk.

Derek addresses the students. As the new TAC he is responsible for making sure they are all doing okay. But when asked about the war and if he's "got a lot of kills" by one of the students, Derek explains the the realism of the war and of death. War is no game.

Underground in the future, Bedell explains the mission to Derek, Kyle, and a scrappy band of resistance soldiers. Back in the present, he watches John and Bedell in the cafeteria at lunch. Bedell lets John in on a secret -- he met a girl and had decided to leave the military school to be with her.

Derek tells John that the T-888 is going to come from the woods -- it's the least secure place on campus. John confesses that Bedell plans on quitting school, but Derek insist he won't. It isn't written that way. "He doesn't have a choice?" John wonders. Not unlike his own life...

Marty watches his parents' desperate plea on the news. After all, they think he's missing. Sarah tries to comfort him but he's upset and is worried about his book report. Sarah offers to help. Cameron suggests The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. "It was John's favorite." Meanwhile, Sarah and Cameron make plans because the machine won't stop. She sends Cameron back to Marty's house to protect his parents.

Ellison visits the Busted Atom -- Serrano Point's bar where Sarah met up with Greenway. Ellison inquires about Greenway when he spots a picture. In the back corner of the picture, a reflection: Sarah Connor. Not exactly what he was expecting to find, but finally, some confirmation...

Derek and John begin setting the trap in the woods: a speed bump to slow it down. Derek tells John a story of Kyle's humanity, even in the future. Not unlike John Connor now.

Ellison briefs Weaver on what he found in the power plant. "So you agree it was a machine, as I thought?" she asks. "Two machines," he responds to her surprise. She wonders where they came from and why they fought, but Ellison doesn't know. He relays that he's not the only one asking questions. He tells her that Nelson wants answers, which will complicate the plant reopening. She agrees that he is not good news for either of them.

Back at the Busted Atom, Nelson drinks and meets a beautiful woman... who takes him outside the bar for a little action. In the moment, she kisses him with her GIANT LIQUID TONGUE! As she morphs into Catherine Weaver, Nelson drops dead...

Cameron tells Sarah that the FBI have moved Marty's parents. If it was her, she'd switch targets and go after the other Bedell. Sarah sends her to the military academy to wait for him to get there. Sarah calls and warns Derek that the machine is headed their way. Also, Cameron's on her way there too.

Sarah helps Marty with his book report on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Sarah apologizes to Marty, tells him this wasn't the plan. He thanks her for saving his life -- something she rarely hears in her life.

Bedell sets up an obstacle course exercise for the cadets in the woods. But Derek arrives with a new plan -- a faux exercise and way to trap and kill the machine. Back in the future, Derek sees that Kyle is trapped by the machines, his life hanging in the balance. There's only one way, one person who can save him...

Marty and Sarah read The Wizard of Oz as the cadets hover in the woods at dark. The machine arrives, and Pyle signals to the rest of the group. Derek sets up at a distance and fires his rifle at the T-888, hitting him, blinding one eye, but not knocking him down. The Terminator chases after Derek...

John sets off the detonator, knocking the machine down but not killing him. It spots Bedell, who falls within his range. Faced with Bedell's impending death, John does the only thing he can -- he diverts the machine's attention. "Hey! Look over here! It's me, Connor! John Connor!" Mission priority override.

John runs, followed by the Terminator. He lures him across a plank, when Derek shoots him again, knocking him into the tar below. Derek blows off it's face as John lights the tar and the machine burns up and right in front of Bedell...

...and behind them, hidden, is Cameron. Watching.

Sarah says goodbye to Marty and puts him on the bus home. Meanwhile, John and Derek pack up the truck. Bedell asks them what he's supposed to do now -- stay here and act like he doesn't know the end of the world is coming? It's familiar to John. "It matters. It all matters." Off Bedell, a new understanding.

On their way home, Derek tells John the truth of Bedell in the future. On a mission to save Kyle, Bedell volunteers to go in Derek's place; it's a suicide mission and they both know it. Bedell sacrifices himself for Kyle, rescues forty prisoners, including John Connor.

"He died, John. He died for you. We all die for you."

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