My Interpretation of the TSCC StoryLine
It just occurred to me that I’ve never really posted my take on the fantastic Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles mythology. It took me a while to get it too, and I had to read a lot of fan fiction to form anything coherent.
It all depends on exactly how Cameron got sent back. Sarah said that John sent her away from him, but Cameron didn’t actually confirm that. 
Basically the question, “Will You Join Us?” is the key. Future John reached out to the Liquid Metal species and they rejected him, but gaining or losing their loyalty was probably a key turning point in the war.
At some point T1000 Weaver realized that rejecting Connor’s offer was a mistake, so she went back in time to create a counter Skynet AI, which ended up being John 
Henry, to help John win the war, or at least turn the tide. At first I thought John Henry existed in the future, but there was so much about him that Weaver didn’t know, and was constructing on the spot, that it became kind of clear at the end that this was John Henry’s first appearance in the timeline. Weaver wanted peace between Humans and Metal…maybe she came from far enough in the future to see both species destroy each other and most of the planet as well.
Cameron clearly knew the significance of the phrase, “Will You Join Us?” and somehow knew that John Henry needed to get to the future, mobile, in order to help John win the war. That’s one reason why she was in the present and thus gave him her chip.
If she got sent back by Future John, he knew all of that and sent her back both to ensure his own safety, and ultimately to be sure that John Henry was created and made it to the future.
If Cameron sent herself back, it’s entirely possible that she either killed John and was trying to fix it, or John got killed as a result of their unorthodox relationship. The theory that I like the best is that other resistance leaders that thought like Jesse eventually mutinied against Connor to get him out of power, but he ended up being killed…and it was all because of Cameron. She realized then that her presence would lead to John’s death one way or the other, and sent herself back to protect teenage John, launch John Henry, and remove herself from the future equation, thus hoping to prevent Future John’s death. Which she of course would have no way of knowing, but it was a time leap of faith.
So: 
John Henry and his mother, WeaverBot, arrive in the future, with the idea of creating a peaceful coexistence between humans and metal. Cameron’s dechipped body is in the past, thus getting her out of the picture, and allowing John a future without her.
The only wrinkle in that scenario is the fact that teenage John came with Weaver in the time bubble, which effectively changed everything, so I don’t know how that would’ve played out…I know that Josh Friedman or Thomas Dekker have said that John would’ve come back to the present about midway through Season Three, so, there you have it. Check that out here.
Really would’ve been great to see that storyline get its proper conclusion.
HINT: DO A MOVIE LIKE THEY DID WITH FIREFLY/SERENITY DAMMIT!!!
June 23, 2012 at 1:11 PM
So, I know I’m a little late to the party. I just finished TSCC earlier this week, and am trying to make sense of the ‘ending’ of season 2. I knew that the question “Will you join us?” was the key, and that’s the phrase that ultimately brought me to this page. I think you provide great insight on Weaver and her purpose. That being said, I think you may have missed the mark on why Cameron did what she did, and why she was sent back in the first place. She was sent back to protect John, but she ultimately forgoes this mission ang give her chip to John Henry when he asks, “Will you join us?” Cameron knew that in the future the T-1000s would not join John Connor in the fight against skynet. Perhaps when John Henry asks her, she realizes this is a change of heart (lol!) with the possibility of seriously bolstering the Resistance in the future. I feel like that’s a great theory, but there’s still a big problem with it: where was John Henry running from? Was he able to transfer all of the processes to Cromartie’s body in addition to supporting the functions of Cameron’s chip? Also, the “I’m Sorry John” message bothered me. If it was from Cameron, how did it get into the hardware of The Turk, unless there was a fusion of John Henry and Cameron’s code BEFORE the cable to Cromartie’s body was severed. Finally, for what was she apologizing, especially if it was for John’s benefit in the future?
June 23, 2012 at 4:56 PM
Excellent questions, all.
“That being said, I think you may have missed the mark on why Cameron did what she did, and why she was sent back in the first place. She was sent back to protect John, but she ultimately forgoes this mission and gives her chip to John Henry when he asks, “Will you join us?” Cameron knew that in the future the T-1000s would not join John Connor in the fight against skynet. Perhaps when John Henry asks her, she realizes this is a change of heart (lol!) with the possibility of seriously bolstering the Resistance in the future.”
That’s entirely possible, I hadn’t considered that. It seems like a HUGE leap of faith if you will from Cameron, especially since it involved having to leave John.
“I feel like that’s a great theory, but there’s still a big problem with it: where was John Henry running from? Was he able to transfer all of the processes to Cromartie’s body in addition to supporting the functions of Cameron’s chip? Also, the “I’m Sorry John” message bothered me. If it was from Cameron, how did it get into the hardware of The Turk, unless there was a fusion of John Henry and Cameron’s code BEFORE the cable to Cromartie’s body was severed. Finally, for what was she apologizing, especially if it was for John’s benefit in the future?”
Yes, apparently he was able to do all of that once he had Cameron’s chip…yet another writing glitch.
And yes, they would’ve had to have ‘melded’ for her to leave the repeating message.
This last question is the rub…she was apologizing because she knew that John wouldn’t want her to leave him, under any circumstances.
June 26, 2012 at 6:46 PM
I’m so glad you responded. As I said before, you’re blog post was just what my brain needed to think things through and come to a conclusion about the series. Good stuff, thanks.