Director: Charles Beeson
Spoilers. "Brothers Of Nablus" is a fine episode of Chronicles that raises plenty of red-hot questions, although it's undermined by some silly moments and a rather straightforward main plot. Otherwise, this is a commendable little jaunt that contains the best work yet from Garret Dillahunt as the sharp-featured Cromartie automaton…The episode opens with a scene of such strangeness you'll be forgiven for thinking it's a dream sequence. At home, Agent Ellison (Richard T. Jones) is confronted by his Terminator doppelgänger, but saved from certain death by the arrival of Cromartie. After disabling the Ellison-skinned cyborg, Cromartie mentions how Skynet does not share his own trust in Ellison, whom he believes will lead him to the Connors. This sequence is clearly a big part of the Chronicles jigsaw (confirming that Skynet does not have full compliance of its cyber-drones in the future), and inspires a plethora of new questions -- to be mulled over later…
Meanwhile, the Connors' home has been burgled, thanks to John (Thomas Dekker) entrusting his girlfriend Riley (Leven Rambin) with their security alarm code, which she failed to activate after leaving the house. Sarah (Lena Headey) and Cameron (Summer Glau) investigate the crime themselves; fearing their fake IDs, credit cards and stash of diamonds will fall into the wrong hands and be used to trace their whereabouts. Their search takes them to an illegal diamond dealer, who took receipt of the Connors' gemstones from the thieves, whose "help" sends them on a wild goose chase…
For me, Chronicles only truly resembles a Terminator spin-off when it echoes the format of James Cameron's films. "Brothers Of Nablus" certainly does; with Cromartie hot on the trail of the Connors, posing as the concerned uncle of Cameron and John. Fortuitously, Cromartie runs into Jody (Leah Pipes) -- the streetwise girl who befriended Cameron in "Allison From Palmdale" -- at a police station, and she agrees to help him find his "family".
Above all, this episode is a magnificent showcase for Dillahunt, who has managed to create a distinct Terminator persona. His skill rests in borrowing from Robert Patrick's T-1000 (most notably with his chirpy, rehearsed "thank you for your time" farewells), but adding a tinge of insanity. His emotionless line delivery (usually mistaken for dry humour), crazy smiles, odd phraseology, and social rudeness are all familiar from the other Terminators in this franchise, but he maintains an underlying distinctness.
Derek (Brian Austin Green) joins the action with Sarah and Cameron, but intermittently drops in on Jesse (Stephanie Jacobsen), his ex-girlfriend who has escaped the war-torn future to soak up the L.A sun -- necessitating a scene for Jacobsen to wear a bikini, natch. This subplot is still fresh and finding its feet, so there's plenty of time for it to develop. It doesn't really move here. As the audience, we've previously been made aware Jesse has surveillance photos of the Connors, so she clearly has a secret mission to accomplish. Is she our first example of a human Skynet sympathizer, perhaps?
The most fascinating, slightly perplexing, element of this episode concerned Ellison -- who is arrested for the murder of a man called Peter Myers and taken in for questioning by the L.A.P.D. It would appear that his Terminator clone killed Myers before arriving at his house -- obviously a story the cops won't believe, meaning Ellison faces being jailed for a murder he didn't commit. Luckily, his boss Catherine (Shirley Manson) arrives and secretly uses her shape-shifting abilities to orchestrate the acquittal her employee, once it becomes clear the murder witness' story (involving Ellison appearing naked in an "energy bubble" before snapping Mr. Myers' neck) would be thrown out of court.
Now, this subplot raises all manner of questions: why did Skynet send back a duplicate of Ellison to kill Peter Myers? Who is Peter Myers and why did he have to die? Why was the Ellison-Terminator under orders to kill Ellison next? A few episodes ago we learned that Cameron's appearance was taken from a human resistance fighter called Allison, so does the appearance of an Ellison-Terminator mean Ellison survives Judgment Day to become a template? Why does Cromartie have such faith that Ellison will lead him to the Connors, indirectly or otherwise? Faith is a human trait; so must he simply be relying on a timeline of events proving him right?
Overall, this was a strong and satisfying episode on many levels, even with the increasingly tenuous religious analogies. It's a shame John and Sarah are so stuck in their ways (whiny and controlling, respectively), but the ironically unpredictable nature of the machines counteracts that well. Indeed, a scene where Cameron ruthlessly slaughters three petty criminals in a bowling alley, leading Sarah to secretly spare the life of the fourth in a toilet (a decision that will prove humane, but tactically unsound), is indicative of the surprising shocks Chronicles sometimes offers its audience. It's moments like this that keep the spark alive for me, and make me forgive any lapses -- like Catherine choosing to shape-shift in the middle of a crowded street!
3 November 2008
Fox, 9/8c
Cast: Lena Headey (Sarah), Shirley Manson (Catherine), Thomas Dekker (John), Summer Glau (Cameron), Richard T. Jones (Ellison), Brian Austin Green (Derek), Garret Dillahunt (Cromartie), Leven Ramblin (Riley), Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Jesse), Busy Philipps (Kacy Cotton), Ronnie Connell (Nicholas), Danny Martinez (Dave), Joe Hursley (Tristan DeWitt), Jeanette O'Connor (Donna DeWitt), Leah Pipes (Jody), Jillian Armenante (Rita), Amro Salama (Supervisor), Andrew Abelson (Moishe), Scott Vance (Kaplan), Glenn Taranto (Bardo), Charlene Lovings (Holly), Cornell Womack (Dr. Ostrowski) & James Gleason (Phil DeWitt)
