LogFAQs > #961176366

Zareth posted...

Yeah. The sequels completely shat all over the "no fate but what we make" by saying that Skynet always destroys the world.

To be fair, that concept itself only exists because the second movie shat all over the theme of the first movie - which is that you can't change the past, only create closed loops that lead to the same future.

Skynet's attempt to kill John Connor before he was born is the only reason he was born in the first place. Kyle was always destined to be sent back in time to save him, thus creating him, because the past is fixed and the future is inevitable.

The second movie even starts with the same idea (Skynet is only created because it sent a Terminator back to kill Sarah Connor, thus allowing a scientist to study the wreckage and create Skynet based on its designs) before completely derailing it.

Which is a shame, because having both Skynet and its greatest nemesis created by a closed loop in time is kind of an interesting concept. Especially since it calls into question whether or not Skynet was actually sending the first Terminator back in time to kill Sarah Connor at all, or was simply doing it to ensure its own creation (in the same way that John had to ensure his own birth). Both sides of the conflict become self-created entities in that scenario, forever destined to be opposed because time itself can never be changed. Their creation becomes a loop without beginning or end.

The only reason more people didn't complain about the second movie changing that idea is because the second movie was kind of awesome in its own right. So people overlooked the change. Plus, it allowed for a happier ending, and American movie audiences love their happy endings.