- "Yeah... Cameron. What a joke. Walking around with a name. Like it's person. It's not a person. It's not something you should be trusting".
- - Derek Reese.
Cameron and Derek's relationship stretches across time. They are among the few characters in the Terminator franchise that have interacted in both the present and the future.
Future War[]
Derek harbors a deep distrust of Cameron after a strange event in 2027 where it is implied that Cameron (model: TOK715) tortured him. After the interrogation in "Dungeons & Dragons", he returns to base to find his bunker in flames. Later, in "To the Lighthouse", Cameron claims that Derek has previously given in to interrogation and revealed John Connor's location.
When Derek sees Cameron at Serrano Point, he immediately draws a gun on her and has to be restrained by General Perry.
Season One[]
Derek continuously accuses Cameron of being a liar and refuses to believe that she will ever be a force for good, despite all evidence to the contrary. In "The Demon Hand" he warns her that she doesn't fool him and strongly advises Sarah to get rid of her. He does not feel safe with Cameron around and sleeps with a gun nearby, just in case.
In "Episode 106: Dungeons & Dragons", Sarah catches Cameron staring at a sleeping Derek. For a moment it looks as if Cameron had intended to asphyxiate him with a pillow, but then she places it under his head.
When Derek sees Cameron during his liberation from the prison van in "Queen's Gambit", he immediately draws a gun on her.
Derek searches Cameron's room in "Vick's Chip" and promptly discovers Vick's chip, yet fails to find the Coltan bar that Cameron took out of the shipment that the Connors stole in "Heavy Metal". Either this indicates that Cameron hid the Coltan bar some place else or Derek does not know the strategic worth or significance of the metal. (Side Note: This particular Coltan bar is never seen again in any of the follow on episodes.)
Season Two[]
Derek wants to be "especially" sure when burning Cameron in "Samson & Delilah".
Ironically, Derek's suspicions prove correct when Cameron goes on a rampage. Though he tries to convince John to destroy Cameron, Derek is uncharacteristically unmotivated, perhaps for fear of causing John even more stress.
Derek still remains distrustful of Cameron and speculates that it is only a matter of time before she turns on them again. Judging by her strange behavior in "Automatic For The People", his suspicions may prove to be valid. Derek remains cautious of Cameron, but by "Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today" he has started to accept her usefulness and is a lot more tolerant of her presence, even teaming up with her to save John in Mexico.
Prior to his death in "Adam Raised a Cain" Derek had started to develop a form of mutual respect with Cameron, valuing her contribution to the team while Sarah remained suspicious and cold towards the machine. This was additionally strengthened after Cameron revealed his fathering of Jesse's miscarried child in the future, for which he was thankful she'd told him.
Quotes[]
Notes[]
- Derek watches Cameron perform ballet in her room to the music of Chopin. He is brought to tears by what he sees. The same music plays in the basement where Derek is presumably tortured during "Dungeons & Dragons" by Cameron. In the Season 1 documentary "Creating the Chronicles: The Demon Hand", actor Brian Austin Green comments on the ballet scene and Derek's strong dislike for Cameron that he "knows Cameron, he's experienced her before. Not a model like her. Her."
- In "Allison From Palmdale" it was revealed that the terminator Cameron was modeled after a human Resistance fighter named Allison Young, whom Derek presumably knew.
- Derek is surprised when Cameron demonstrates concern for John beyond what is necessary for her mission.
- In addition to behaving differently around others, Cameron appears to have developed a demeanour specific to dealing with Derek. She speaks to him curtly and with a hint of exasperation, mimicking his own treatment of her, with amusing results.
- Wouldn't Derek be furious if he found out that his resistance members were led downstairs in the mansion (Allison from Palmdale), only to have blood taken for testing. Cameron was having her living tissue grown using their contributions. Moreso, whilst Chopin C was playing, in another room Allison was being interrogated for a while before she was flown to the aircraft carrier.