Season 2 Episode 8 - Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today

Sarah's Story
Sarah builds something while John walks Riley out. Sarah expresses her concern over his relationship with Riley, but as per usual, doesn't get through to him. Meanwhile, Cameron tells Sarah she'll talk to John.

Sarah's finished constructing the safe. Cameron leaves to restock the ammunition supply. She tells Sarah that John won't be seeing Riley anymore -- John's not stupid. Sarah doesn't like the way he responds to Cameron, but she got what she wanted.

Cameron drives off and Sarah looks up to find -- Cromartie! Right smack in front of her. He tosses her across the room, pulls her upstairs to John's room. He kicks down the door and they both realize John's not there! Where did he go?

Cameron's Story
We're back earlier as John walks Riley out -- only this time we see that Cameron's watching them from the porch above.

Surprisingly, Cameron sheds some clothes before entering John's room, clearly aware of John's weakness for her. Jumping in bed with him, Cameron and John talk about Riley. She reiterates that he brings danger into Riley's life, but also that she understands that being John Connor can be lonely. It's an intimate moment, one where she gets him to agree that it isn't a good idea for him to see Riley anymore...

Cameron tells Sarah that John won't be seeing Riley anymore and exits. Cameron finds the lock open on the storage unit with the ammunition. Inside? Derek. It's his drop point. When Derek's phone rings, Cameron glances the number and calls it from her own phone; someone speaking Spanish answers. Derek tells her that it's an alarm code from John, he's in trouble.

John's Story
We're back with John and Cameron in bed. He agrees with her that it isn't a good idea for him to see Riley anymore and Cameron exits. "Yeah right." John was only playing along with Cameron to get her off his back -- he didn't actually mean it! He grabs a bag, calls Riley, and sneaks out of the house...

John and Riley are en route to Mexico, a town that he lived in when he was a kid. In Dejalo, they wander through the village amidst the people dressed up for Dia De Los Muertos -- the Mexican Day of the Dead. Inside their hotel suite, Riley presses John for details on his childhood but he squirms out of the conversation.

When they hit up a local cantina, a local man takes their photo and even recognizes John as John Connor. He blackmails him for everything he's got, but a fight breaks out when Riley tries to rescue them from the situation and they run to escape-- but the Mexican Cops grab them before they can get away! Uh-oh, no bueno.

The police question John In the Mexican station, but the Chief tells him he'll let them go if John's mother or uncle comes to pick him up. Call them. He dials Derek and leaves the emergency code. But when he dials Sarah and enters the code, he doesn't get it back -- because it's NOT SARAH! Fear flushes over his face as he realizes what's going on...

John's sent to join Riley in holding as they run his name through Interpol -- both names, actually.

After a night in the slammer, Riley gets a guard's attention and tells him that she needs to be moved -- John's crazy and has been threatening her safety. Gaining the guard's trust, she gets him to unlock the cell and John knocks him out! But bullets fly out in the police station as John and Riley run for daylight in an escape...

Sarah's Story
Tied up in the back of Cromartie's car as he drives towards Mexico, Sarah notices a photo of Cameron. "She hasn't been careful, she's made mistakes." He knows that Cameron has damage to her chip. Sarah learns that the boy she let go from the bowling alley told Cromartie where to find the Connors -- she should have killed him.

Sarah gets herself untied and manages to throw herself out of the car, but Cromartie picks her back up and shoves her in the trunk. We stay with her in the trunk as Sarah twists a soda can to cut herself free and we hear the familiar sounds of the Mexican village followed by gunshots. Sarah calls out for help and as the car takes off she accidently cuts her hand. She kicks at the backseat to call attention to herself. Finally, the trunk opens -- it's James Ellison. Followed by John, right behind him. What the...?

Ellison's Story
Out running, Ellison gets a call from an old pier at the FBI -- seems that a kid named "John Connor" popped up in the system after being arrested in Mexico. Since it was the same name as the kid in Ellison's cold case, he figured he'd want to know.

It's later and Ellison uses his old badge to talk to the Dejalo Police Chief about his prisoner John Connor. The Chief is familiar with the cold case -- Ellison's just looking for closure. The Chief exits and Ellison watches as Cromartie brutally murders everyone in the station! Ellison braces for cover before spotting John and Riley. He grabs John and tells him he's there to help him.

Outside the station Riley runs for her life. John calls out for her to jump in the (Cromartie's) car and Ellison speeds the three of them away, Cromartie in hot pursuit, firing away...

They drive away while John searches for ammunition for Cromartie's gun left in the car. When Riley feels a kick coming from the trunk, they pull over and open it up to find Sarah. Methodically, Cromartie approaches in a stolen cop car as Sarah grabs the three of them and takes off.

Sarah pulls the metal from the soda can out of her hand as she converses with Ellison. "Why you here?" John was flagged by the FBI. He came to help. He admits that Cromartie's been watching him. "And you still came to Mexico?" Sarah asks. But she led Cromartie to John this time. Though Sarah has a hard time believing that Ellison's just there to help, he reminds her that he owes her one for saving his life at Silberman's cabin.

John tells Riley that she has to go. He promises to call her and explain things when they get back to LA. Sarah gives her directions to the bus -- "get her out of here" -- and calls Derek and Cameron for help. Derek tells her that they're there already, they're at the jail...

Derek's Story
Derek and Cameron survey the aftermath of Cromartie's carnage, aware that the machine's also in Mexico. They enter the police station, searching for John. Sarah calls.

Cromartie's Story
We're back with Cromartie when he enters the Mexican jail. "I'm going to need to see John Connor" as he shoots up the place. Cops fight back, but he's too much for them. Cromartie learns that John's already gone and makes it outside just in time to see them pulling away in his car. He chases after them, firing away...

Cromartie paces through the village and spots a familiar face -- James Ellison. Our T-888 follows Ellison into a local church. "Have you come to repent?" Ellison asks Cromartie. "I'm looking for John Connor." Quickly we realize it's a trap; Sarah and Derek are perched at windows above. Ellison has indeed fulfilled his destiny and led Cromartie to the Connors - just not in the way Cromartie anticipated.

They fire at him from both directions, blowing holes into his endoskeleton frame, spread in all directions like Jesus on the cross. Cameron enters from behind and shoots into his skull, knocking him down. From Cromartie's T-Vision, the group gathers above him as John Connor delivers the final blow -- rendering this killing machine useless.

Finally, after so long, they have stopped Cromartie.

Cromartie is tossed into a pit and covered with dirt until they can return soon to destroy it. Ellison asks Sarah what's next but she has no intention of including him in their mission to stop Skynet; it's too dangerous. Ellison confesses that he wants to know his role in all this. What else is there to know?

"This is it. There's nothing else behind the curtain. This is what I do, it's all I do. You already know why I do it."

And as Ellison comes to the grim realization that they can't help him get back everything he's lost in the journey, Sarah savagely destroys Cromartie's chip. John takes Sarah into his arms, distraught like he's never seen her. Ellison walks away, briefly turning back...

Even with this small victory against Skynet, it's not over. It'll never be over. And they all know it.