So, Derek Reese is dead. And Charley Dixon is dead, too. Dead, because we killed them. We sat down, and we wrote it, and we killed them.
Okay. So here’s the deal. It’s not like we enjoy doing that. Trust me, I know what you guys think. I’m a fan – I know how we think. I know what I invest in, I know how I invest in those things. It’s not rational. It doesn’t make sense. We bond emotionally with characters because they speak to something in us. So when they die…
It hurts.
This is not an apology. This is me confessing on our behalf. Not to ask forgiveness, not because we crave absolution. Because we want you to know that sitting in the writer or producer’s chair doesn’t deaden you to the horror or pain that unfolds in your characters lives, just because you chose that they would suffer it.
You love these people. I loved them, too. I loved Riley. I loved Jesse (jury is out I know – but go with it). I loved Charley. And I loved Derek. They were heroes. Flawed heroes. Tragic heroes. But heroes, every one. Which is a pretty romantic way of saying they were screwed from “go”. Because it’s the destiny of the hero to die.
I read something once that stuck with me as a writer, though the source is lost to memory: you haven’t told a character’s story unless you’ve told the story of his death. I’ve meditated on this for years. Really. It’s not as simple as it sounds. It’s not about telling all the beats of the story, from cradle to grave. It’s about how we understand a character’s life through an understanding of his or her death.
Riley Dawson died a fighter, struggling to survive – in the end, an animal. The kind of animal that could survive Judgment Day. If Jesse is dead, she died alone… in her own mind systematically betrayed and disappointed by everyone she believed in and risked all to protect. Defiant. Charley Dixon sacrificed himself not for John Connor, future leader of mankind – he did it for John, the boy he called “son” in his heart.
Derek Reese died like a soldier. Doing the job. Exactly the way he expected he would. No blaze of glory. No eulogy. Only the mission. His number came up, as everyone’s eventually must in the cold mathematics of war.
If that’s small comfort to you, you’re not alone. It’s not supposed to be comforting. It’s supposed to be a kick in the gut. It’s supposed to hurt like hell. On some level, The Terminator franchise is about the value of human life. Death is the scale on which it is measured. Pain means it matters.
And we keep moving.
I just hope we get a season 3.
Thank you Hadley. Very touching and honest. We like to know you guys feel the way we do about these characters too.
Beautifully stated, Hadley, thank you.
Now will someone please pass the tissues~ my heart hurts over all the truths that you stated in this post and because tonight is the season finale. Let’s hope that season three is just over the horizon.
That was great, Ashley. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Sure hope you guys get another season. We love the show.
Damnit Ashley, that was touching. And it couldn’t be any more true.
Derek’s death was LEGEN….and I hope your not lactose intolerant DARY!!!
Perfectly executed.
Charley dying, not for the future saviour of mankind, but for little John, his “son”.
You guys really kicked it up a notch. I wasn’t sure anymore after the first 3 of the back 9 but it has gotten much better.
Riley was a fighter.
I wish everyone over at the official wiki would repeat
those words. Enjoy the show for the story told and
realize that Riley Rocked.
MURDERERS
hahaha jk
Thank you. Thank you for everything you guys done for this show thus far. Because I do NOT regret every single damn minute I’ve spent on the Terminator Wiki. Or re-watching episodes dozens of times, and I will re watch them in the years that are yet to come. This show deserves it. Lena deserves it, Summer deserves it, Thomas deserves it. Every single genius behind this show, the actors that played the characters that died. This IS the greatest show I have ever watched and none other show has an emotional impact such as this. I thank you for this, you guys make the television a better place.
Here’s for the third, fourth, fifth season and so on.
Thank you Ashley.
Keep that thought you’re on a good track with a lot of people standing by you.
Hopefully the uncertainty will be lifted for season 3 and you guys will be able to drive with a little perspective ahead.
Back to fighting the T:SCC fan war.
Thanks
J.
Ashley,
Good stuff. I agree…
Though…
What I always loved about the first two James Cameron “Terminator” films was this:
Out of death and despair, comes hope for a better tomorrow. Without the hope part, you don’t have much to fight for, do you?
One thing I absolutely hated about T3: they forgot the hope.
Please think on this as you move forward.
We all die. Life goes on. On the other side of this planet, this solar system, this galaxy, this universe, what cares? What is the binding force that makes us WNAT to be responsible for anything or anyone other than ourselves>? Love? Honor? Caring? A sense of belonging? An urge to fulfill a higher purpose? An instinct towards the greater good?
Whatever it is, TSCC allows us to look at life - and death (the prospect being 3 billion die on Jday and all of humanity to follow in this story) - in ways that we often don’t take the time to do, in our normal “busy” lives.
Thanks Hadley, for taking the time. Unlike Desert Cantos, this was all that was needed to honor those that have fallen in this battle. We take a moment to reflect, to praise them, and move on.
That being said, there IS still a WAR on…
On your FEET soldier!
Ashley - Thank you for the dose of realism you and the rest of the writing team injected into the series. That’s what makes it so enjoyable. One doesn’t know what to expect from week to week, but it’s going to knock the wind out of one’s gut. That said, we fans are still fighting the good fight on your behalf. You’ve held up your end of the bargain. So shall we. No fate…
Now don’t make me cry. I knew that they would die but it still bothers me . I loved the characters. I still haven’t really accepted Derek’s death. I was really shocked at first and was so upset and had to try really hard not to freak out and pay attention the the rest of the episode. But I liked that Derek died so suddenly, it made it real. He survived many fights, but he couldn’t have survived forever. I will miss him and Charlie, dying for John just because he thought of him as a son. I love that Riley was a survivor and fought to the end. It’s really just messed up and touches on a emotional level which bothers me but is the way it should be done because this is war.
Thank you Ashley.
I’ve loved and hated (in it’s own perspective and measure) every minute of this series.
Keep fighting the good fight!
I wish we could hear Ashley’s, or any of the writers’ thoughts when someone says the show has no “hope”. That it’s all just doom and gloom.
To me the show is all about hope, and protecting the future. Fighting the fight. The darker feel they do here on TSCC makes it seem dangerous. The moody feel they give the show is awesome.
Thank you for this, Ashley. It’s nice to get inside a writer’s head every now and then, and you tell it so well.
Wow, all I can say is wow. I saw that weaver was building the unit that captured Allison from palmdale and created cameron. I kind of figured she was part of that organization teaching john henry morals. However I never thought cameron would give him her chip and that the story would travel to the future. Usually most shows are predictable but this one completely surprised me. I really hope they get a season 3, the acting, story, dialogue, creativity, and etc are amazing. This brought me back to the terminator shows after terminator 3 rise of the machines ruined it for me. Well if they can’t get a season 3 on FOX, maybe they should go to another channel like sci-fi where whedon and summer had firefly.
Thank you Ashely. I was also very upset and shocked at Derek’s death as lots of other fans were that day. It took all my strength not to throw the remote at the TV. But by the end, I figured there was a reason.
That quote also resonates with me. As an amateur writer, I’ll keep that statement in mind.
Wait a second! If Jesse is dead? What do you mean by that? A great post, and a great show. Personally, I thought Jesse was pretty cool even if I didn’t dig her particular mission. She definitely did what she had to do on The Jimmy Carter.
Beautiful words, Ashley. Thank you!
I appreciate that too. It’s so disheartening to see characters die that you have invested time in or come to love through becoming a dedicated fan. Nice to know that I’m not alone and not a big goofball because I get emotionally involved in what is “just a TV show”! Especially after tonight’s episode, which was probably the last ever. Now THAT is really sad! :^ (
Great finale. Tons of questions raised though. I really REALLY hope there is a season 3 cause with all the time paradox’s and switches I’m totally backakwards now, and am afraid my head will explode if the questions aren’t answered. I’m usually pretty good at figureing this stuff out but Terminator has always tripped me up.
The only logical thing I can think of is It doesn’t say whch version of John sends Kyle back in time for T1. The soldier John or the teenage John. Its also obvious that the furture they went to was before Kyle was sent back so in that furture John doesn’t exist yet, kyle has no idea whats in stor for him and Alyson Young is still alive. Its possible that the reason Cameron and John have such a strong bond in the future is because of a realtaionship he and Alyson hav, but in order to save humanity he sends Kyle back to ensure he is born, sends Alyson on her misiion that ends her life but creates Cameron, and its obvious that the Chip put into the caputured bad Cameron is the original one that is now in John Henry. My head just melted.
Best ending ever. So much more story to tell in another season - great set-up guys. It’s so hard to watch another program after SCC is over, there’s just no more emotion to put into another show. Everyone was awesome……..thanks to the whole cast and crew and everyone involved. I cheered so loudly to see Derek again in the future and have to think about what all that means. How much did they actually change the future. How much do we change our every day.
Till next time….
Jan
When someone you love dies, there is no dramatic, slow-motion effect.
Hell, there is often times no room to even say goodbye.
There is sorrow. Emptiness.
It happens in a flash.
The transition from being alive to being dead happens in an instant - hell, even that is relative.
Regardless, Derek’s death was, in my opinion - the single greatest peice of writing I’ve seen in a long, long time. It was realistic, sudden - and more importantly - suprising.
All to often we forget that we are all vulnerable. We are not Supermen, despite our great technology and aspirations. We are not eternal, and that is what makes us human. We have no rechargable power source, no way of downloading our mind to continue in a future body when our current one rots and deteriorates.
Green’s death has reminded us of all that.
Great work, all. Great work in today’s seaons fanale, also.
Well, it’s a tribute to the actors when we take ‘fiction’ to heart. Lena gets a lot of credit in my book — she creates the emotional overlay that colors every character, every story element, she’s superb. A big plus to your music creator, the soundtrack to TSCC operates on the rarefied ‘John Williams’ level.
One of the saddest stories in childhood legend is ‘Mighty Casey Has Struck Out.’ Brian put this into Derek — D. Reese was so confident, he had us believing he was unbeatable. But even though D was an A-list paramilitary assassin with off-the-charts skills, every time he faced off with metal he risked death. It was only our fantasy that D was too fast ever to turn a corner and get beat. That’s why it hurt me. Some of that goes back to Michael Beihn — the legend of the Reese Boys. Truth is, if D (Brian) didn’t believe it, his kill ratio wouldn’t be ’skynet high.’
Just for the record, what was D’s metal kill ratio — Reese 20, metal 1? 50-1? 100-1?
Ashley,
As a bit of a writer myself, I fully understand your caring for your characters. Characters are the children of the writer’s imagination. You conceive them, give them names (not always an easy task to find a character’s true name), and send them out into a future that may be very uncertain. In your case you also have to put them into the hands of an actor. Fortunately the actors in the series did an exceptional job of bring them to life.
I’m sorry that TSCC was not a commercial success but it didn’t fail with the fans who were devoted to the series. And the fans were devoted because they loved the characters you created and the fictional lives they led. I wish you and the rest of the writing team all the greatest future success and I’ll look for shows with your names attached.
If I can make a final request, perhaps when you and the other writers have a free moment you might tell us where the series might have gone if there had been more seasons. Also, there are still a few loose ends that weren’t tied up by the series finale (the prom, Dan, Cheri Weston, the remaining clues on the bloody wall, and so on) and perhaps you could explain where they were supposed to take the story.
Best regards,
damm i did not get the ending of ttscc. is connor supposed to be erased from humanity and kyle reese leads the resistance???and were is kat???
Some of the most truest words I’ve ever read. Well said Ashley.
Ashley, I understand that you writers think about the characters far more deeply than we do. All WE, do is get attached to them, and yes it does hurt. It hurt me when Derek died. He was,….well to be simple , cool. We become part of the story, a war story, and in wars people die, loved ones die.
But, Derek isn’t really dead, if you think about it. He’s dead in this present, but still alive in the future. He can come back, you can bring him back. John Connor, could send him back…again, to a later date. But, he IS gone. Brian has moved on to another show. Which really sucks, but WE move on, as you said.
However, Cameron. You simply can’t, kill her. You can’t. Yes, you are the writers, you are the professionals, you know best….but, we the viewers like happy endings. Not that this is the ending. I have faith that we will get S03.
So Ashley, I trust that you the writers will make us happy, you’ll give us what we want.,……… mostly,………maybe,………hopefully. And you will kick ass doing it.
Thank you.
This is my plea for a Season 3. I don’t watch much TV. I don’t even have cable. Season 1 of TSCC was my inspiration to go buy a widescreen HDTV, so I could watch the show in high-def. Ok, you moved the show to Friday night…there’s still Saturday to go out, and I can sometimes meet up with people during the week. Ok, sometimes I travel and I’m not home by 8…those episodes I had to download.
For two seasons this show has been guiding my purchases and having me rearranging my social life. Please don’t pull the plug on it now. A show that runs on Friday night shouldn’t have to compete on an equal footing with one that runs Sunday-Thursday.
I admit I’ve gotten into Dollhouse now, and would also be very disappointed if it were canceled. But I only found Dollhouse because it came on after TSCC.
Some of the episodes could have been better. But these last several have been very impressive…engrossing…consuming. I didn’t know tonight would be the season finale, but after it was over I just had to hunt down this site. If there’s any way it can be continued with the current level of writing, please make it happen. And if not…thank you.
“Derek Reese died like a soldier. Doing the job. Exactly the way he expected he would. No blaze of glory. No eulogy. Only the mission. His number came up, as everyone’s eventually must in the cold mathematics of war.”
Exactly what I’ve been saying on the other TSCC boards. Thank you so much for not letting Derek go out like a punk or in some stereotyped TV fashion. He had made his peace with Kyle and he was fighting terminators alongside John and Sarah Connor. That was a better death than he probably ever expected to have.
It’s like what John told Derek about Kyle’s death: “He was a soldier. And he was a hero.”
Taken Derek Reese out like he was David Silver (1st season), Disgusting!
You have an opponent, it moves, it repeats, it telegraphs.
Based on what was written before, the character would not have reacted like that.
It was a stupidly, poorly written death for ‘that’ Soldier!
That unique, time traveling solider.
Would have seen it comin, should have seen it comin, would have seen it comin!
No Barbara Hershey anywhere in sight (what?).
Kill your characters, that’s fine, that life.
Just don’t kill a bad ass solider like he was David silver.
Disgusting, and then some.
If John could carry the girl, Cameron could have carried the meat and bones, why leave evidence.
Oh yeah I got it, easy writtin. Yeah that’s it.
De disputed, ReCaptchia out.
ASHLEY ….. thanks for taking the time to write this, and let us have some insight into how you feel on this subject.
I didnt like dereks death either, but after seeing the finale tonight , it doesnt bother me now.
I also think these last 2 eps were the best of the season, and the last 5 were all good.
I think maybe getting the back 9 surprised you guys , so there was the not so good eps. I am hoping there is a S-3 as it looks like it could be great.
this is the best show for a while for me fox make andther season if not you guys are pansy ass puntang pies
Derek’s death was well done. It’s why you’re trained to try and put yourself in the position where the opponent comes to you, rather than going searching them out. Derek didn’t have that option here and he’s not as quick as a Terminator. The quick and the dead.
(Spoilers below if you haven’t seen the finale)
If my theory of the finale is correct - that John and the Weaverbot jumped forward in time to the future before the events seen in the original “Terminator” movie, then we saw Derek’s death (for Sarah’s timeline anyway, i.e. in the Sarah Connor Chronicles). The Derek we saw at the end of the finale is Derek before future!John has sent back Kyle Reese and before Derek jumped back to meet Sarah - is the Derek that will (in his own personal future) die trying to rescue Savannah.
John, that was certainly my impression of the jump destination time point also. That’s what immediately came to mind.
And yes Derek’s death was well done. The impact really portrayed on JC’s face. Dekker did a nice job there, and reflecting later in the episode. Some people will just never get it. I really don’t know why.
Bittersweet-that description of the balance of hope and despair, sadness and joy that separate the great myths of human existence-the life and death of Beowulf- the once and future king of Camelot-the ultimate fate of the ghost assassin in No Country for Old Men and the haunting image of the departed father going ahead to make fire from a horn. High praise for you guys to achieve a tone in that rarified company. Even if the audience didn’t always get the point, as writers your strongest allies were the incredible actors that treated the material like a quest and not just a job. Thanks for taking the time to join us in our prayer session (true believers need that).
Chills on network TV? John watching the father he never met play catch with his surrogate father who’s teaching him to stay alive-Alison calling the mother who can’t even dream of her future-”John Connor? Never heard of him…” Great stuff!
Wow so nicely stated. That’s a writer for you !
What you said about Charley was so sweet.
I only get upset because it seems lately that every character I care about is killed off and after a while you stop caring about any characters because you feel like they will just die and then you lose any connection to the show. It just becomes a bunch of “crewman 7s” You want your favorite’s to rise above and succed. Sometimes that’s why you watch a show to see them win not die heoically.
But I love hearing your reasons it always makes it better when you know it was for a real purpose not just to show a moment.
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Thanks for the show!
The perfect eulogy for our heroes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jnTX_zFVKM
What you wrote is frakkin’ beautiful.
Love this show!
this show is one of the highlights of my week–ok maybe i don’t have much going on. i don’t care…i want it to come back. every episode has gotten better and better and you just upped the ante ……………i root for you………good luck..come back next season…please what a show!
“If John could carry the girl, Cameron could have carried the meat and bones, why leave evidence.”
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I totally agree on that point.
I love your show and you are very talented writers. TSCC gives viewers something unique from the glut of mindless reality tv shows out there. I like that your show is thought-provoking and intense. I like how the camera pauses on the characters’ faces to let you feel the graveness of their situation. The haunting theme song that accompanies those moments is so perfect. The season finale was so incredible it was spine-tingling. Catherine Weaver’s character acted the opposite of what I expected, so that was really exciting. Loved the showdown between her and attackers. Shirley Manson plays that role to a tee and I’m a big fan of her band “Garbage.” I really like Lena, Thomas, Brian, Richard and Dillahunt’s John Henry. I hope to see them all in the 3rd season. Fight for your show and try to get it moved to a different night. The target audience goes out Friday nights. Also, Heroes was given another chance via marathon reruns so people could catch up and new fans could form. Why couldn’t Fox do that ? Also, shows like Heroes and Survivor (the 2 other shows I watch) show previews of the next week’s episodes and announce important things like: when the show will be back on air, season finale, moved to a different night, etc. The buzz created from the new movie should create buzz from the show. I really hope Fox brings what I think is the best show out there back for another season. Kudos to you all for all your effort!
The source about not knowing a character’s story until you tell his death is probably from the conversation between Solon and Croesus in book 1 of Herodotus’s Histories. Just in case that was haunting you.
truthful written… it hurts reading this as it hurted watching the characters die.
Thank you for an amazing show!.
All my hopes for you and multiple SCC seasons in the future.
Thank you.