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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr

enik1138
at popapostle dot-com
Terminator: Ourselves Alone "Ourselves Alone"
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
TV episode
Written by Toni Graphia & Daniel T. Thomsen
Directed by Jeff Woolnough
Original air date: March 6, 2009

 

Cameron begins to suffer breakdowns; Riley confronts Jesse about her real mission.

 

Read the story summary at the Terminator Wiki

 

Didja Know?

 

The title of this episode is probably in reference to an English translation of the Irish sinn féin, a political slogan used by Irish nationalists against British rule since the late 1900s.

 

Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode

 

Cameron

Sarah Connor

Riley Dawson

John Connor

Derek Reese

Jesse Flores (also as alias Ms. Wilson)

Skynet (mentioned only)

Aaron (Riley's foster father)

Kay (Riley's foster mother, mentioned only)

Molly Malloy 

 

Didja Notice?

 

At 0:34 on the Blu-ray, some books are seen on the Connors' bookshelf as the errant bird flitters about the room: Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind, a 1901 book by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke; Regions of Opportunity, a 1986 real estate book by Jack Lessinger; The Case for Christ, a 1998 book by Lee Strobel; Blatant Raw Foodist Propaganda by Joe Alexander (previously seen on the shelf in "Goodbye to All That"); The Healing Power of Chlorophyll from Plant Life (1973) by Bernard Jensen and Leslie Goldman; and The Cosmic Power Within You (1973) by Joseph Murphy. The Connors (or the people who rented the house before them) had some eclectic reading tastes!

 

That errant bird that has flown into the Connor house and is killed by Cameron appears to be the same pigeon that appeared in "Automatic for the People", living in the Connors' chimney.

 

At 2:08 on the Blu-ray, Sarah cleans the blood stain off the bathroom floor with Nova Brite cleanser. This appears to be a fictitious product, probably meant to suggest the real world Comet cleanser brand. The blood stain is from Riley having slit her wrists in the Connor bathroom in "Earthlings Welcome Here".
Nova Brite cleanser Comet cleanser

 

Derek again remarks on the date of his timeline's Judgment Day, April 21, 2011 (as he did in "What He Beheld") to Jesse. Jesse declines to state the date of Judgment Day in her timeline.

 

    At 6:43 on the Blu-ray, Sarah is reading articles in a newspaper with the titles of "Gov Approves Technology Bill" and "Fire Destroys Heating and Air Conditioning Co." The first headline hints at technology that may lead to Skynet, the second is a reference to the events of "The Good Wound" in which Catherine Weaver killed the employees of Desert Canyon Heat and Air and burned down the facility. The text of the articles is only partially readable and seems to have nothing to do with the headlines.

    Another, unrelated, article in the newspaper is titled "Auction of Homes Could Set a Record".

 

Sarah carries her Glock 17 pistol throughout the episode.

 

At 9:33 on the Blu-ray, a quart of Castrol GTX motor oil is seen on the shelf in the Connor garage.

 

At 11:58 on the Blu-ray, Jesse drives up to meet Riley in a Chrysler Sebring with CA license plate 2SAQ321. The license plate has appeared in several previous episodes of the series on different cars!

 

Sarah visits Riley's foster home to get her more information about her and meets with the foster father, Aaron. This seems to indicate that Riley's original foster family accepted her back into the house, despite Riley telling Jesse that they had kicked her out (for hitting her foster mom, Kay) in "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point".

 

Jesse, as guidance counselor Ms. Wilson, tells Sarah that Riley's parents died in a fire in a meth lab in Riverside. "Meth" refers to the drug methamphetamine, often produced illegally for sale as a recreational drug by criminal elements in society. Possibly, this is a reference to the AMC TV series Breaking Bad, about a high school chemistry teacher who begins producing and selling the drug to provide money for his family after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer; the series was originally scripted to be set in Riverside, CA, but was changed to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

    When social worker Molly Malloy from the Department of Child and Family Services challenges the Connors' gun ownership over the fact that they do not appear to have a concealed weapons permit in the state (California), John tells her to check the state of New Mexico and that they have 60 days to file an ownership report with the DOJ. But it seems clear that the Connors (alias Baum) have been living in California for more than 60 days already since the beginning of the series!

    DOJ stands for (United States) Department of Justice.

 

During the confrontation between Cameron and Riley, Cameron tells her she's a threat to John and asks, "What am I going to do with you?" This is the same question she asked of the pigeon at the beginning of the episode just before she killed it.

 

John asks Riley if there's anything she wants to tell him, adding, "Because today is the day." The next, two-part, episode is titled "Today is the Day".

 

The car Derek observes at 36:04 on the Blu-ray is a 2006 Volkswagen New Beetle.

 

At 38:32 on the Blu-ray, a lamp next to a chair is knocked down and broken in the fight between Jesse and Riley. This may be why Jesse (and later a maid) are seen adjusting the lamp repeatedly in "Today is the Day" Parts 1 and 2. It's not revealed how Jesse explained the damage to her hotel room to the management! I suppose she just used her Resistance financial resources (whatever those are) to pay for the damages. However, at 39:12, Jesse hits a hidden button on an end table in the room to reveal a hidden compartment storing a pistol; obviously, a hotel would not have its own furniture featuring hidden compartments! I suppose a long-term guest, as Jesse has been seen to be, might bring in a piece of furniture on their own, but it's a bit conspicuous. While the table is smashed here, in the following episode, "Today is the Day" Part 1, the table is intact again, but it's not revealed whether it, too, has a hidden compartment.

 

Two of the three cars seen at 40:11 on the Blu-ray are a 2007 Cadillac Escalade and a Cadillac DTS.

 

Cameron tells John she's not capable of self-termination. The protector T-800 said the same thing at the end of Judgment Day.

 

The dead bird John sees lying on the ground at the end of the episode appears to be a common house sparrow. The implication of it being dead is that Cameron killed another bird, without reason.

 

Memorable Dialog

 

it's in the past.mp3

waste apples.mp3

you were distracted.mp3

to know something future John doesn't know.mp3

John's girlfriend.mp3

self-termination.mp3 

 

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