As far as science fiction franchises go, there are few quite as beloved as The Terminator. James Cameron's original pair of movies were a pop culture phenomenon, and it's never been truly far from theaters since. Overall there have been a whopping six Terminator movies, including Tim Miller's most recent outing Dark Fate. The blockbuster saw the return of Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor, and the iconic actress recently defended the movie's big John twist.
Terminator: Dark Fate opened with a bang, with a flashback to Sarah and John in 1998, just a few years after the events of Terminator 2. A T-800 appears and takes John out, sent from a future that never happened. Linda Hamilton recently spoke to that sequence, and the handling of John's story (or lack thereof). As she put it,
I don’t think Sarah and John would be there at all if they were still fine and strong. I thought it was a great leaping-off point for my character. To create a new fuel and fire for Sarah Connor, I thought it was a very good story point. I’m not one that clings to past ideas. Judgment Day is about John, but John wouldn’t exist without Sarah. Then, something else will happen, and Sarah will have to die. That is kind of the nature of life, and I would like that to be the nature of franchises where it’s not just the same story retold each time. I just think it’s much more interesting to launch from a new place.
Well, that's really does make sense. If John was alive, Sarah probably never would have joined the conflict in Terminator: Dark Fate. The two would be living away from danger, after surviving their ordeal and avoiding Judgement Day.
Linda Hamilton's comments to THR show how much the actress knows and cares about Sarah Connor. It's no doubt her most iconic role, and she's always been vocal about Sarah's journey throughout the years. Ultimately John's death is the catalyst that set Sarah's story forward, and began her decades of isolation and hunting Terminators.
Sarah was unable to save John during the opening sequence of Terminator: Dark Fate. She let her guard down, as they assumed they were safe after stopping Judgement Day from becoming a reality. But Skynet had sent more than on T-800 back to get the job. Finding and killing them became Sarah's sole purpose, at least until Dark Fate happened and forced her to reconcile with Carl.
Terminator: Dark Fate is available On Demand and on DVD/Blu-ray. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
