I love you John, I always have
T2’s finale echoes T1’s showdown, which connects to the playground metaphor at the start of the film. The locations are similar in their appearance, but the context behind each visit is profoundly different. This is demonstrated when comparing the two showdowns.
The contrasting methodologies create subtext in each scene - machine like, methodical pursuit versus frantic human resistance. While T1’s final battle is more straightforward, the finale of T2 contains much more gravitas due to the culmination of events, and the expanded human element.
When the T1000 reappears after defeating the T800, Sarah must believe that it has been destroyed. Therefore, at this point she is the only barrier between John and termination. Rather than trying to escape with her son, Sarah decides to stand and fight, knowing full well that bullets have little effect. This is reminiscent of Reese’s defiant last stand, reduced to a using a metal bar against an invulnerable machine. In both instances, we see the same action – human defenders using obsolete methods against a technologically superior adversary. The reactions of the antagonists are the same each time: after absorbing the full impact, there is a slow, focused return to the target. This displays both the inevitability of the terminators’ approach and a cold curiosity to a human characteristic –fighting back despite overwhelming odds.
It’s a complete reversal of Sarah’s role from T1. Alongside her emulation of Reese’s role, we also see her gritty determination – evidenced by how she handles a second shrapnel wound to her leg. Instead of crying in pain and crawling to escape, we see something in Sarah that twists our expectations – compartmentalizing her pain in order to complete her mission. This reflects a characteristic that is present in both the terminator and Reese – in metaphorical and literal senses respectively:
Kyle Reese: “Pain can be disconnected”
The Terminator: “I sense injuries, the data could be called pain.”
This merging of human and machine is then heightened in one of the film’s most memorable and thematically profound scenes:
As the T1000 pierces Sarah’s shoulder, it instructs her to call to John. The T1000’s monotone delivery is in direct contrast to Sarah’s rage-fueled defiance:
T1000: “…Call to John now. I know this hurts.”
Sarah: “Fuck you.”
These opposing methodologies connect to an earlier discussion between the T800 and John on the topic of death:
John Connor: “You’re never afraid?”
T800: “No.”
John Connor: “Not even of dying?”
T800: “No.”
Sarah’s guttural “fuck you” despite being tortured, shows her level of determination. As the T800 stated, the T1000 “knows what I know” in this case, “detailed files on the human anatomy”, therefore it understands Sarah’s pain; and the scene then takes on a deeper meaning. To understand this, we need to review the T1000’s behavior in two earlier scenes which echo the current one – the murder of Todd and Janelle Voight, and the murder of the security guard at Pescadero Mental Hospital.