Model 102 is the second episode of the anime series Terminator Zero. It premiered on Netflix on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
Synopsis[]
The official synopsis for episode "Model 102" from Netflix:
Eiko and the Terminator arrive in 1997 with identical missions: find Dr. Malcolm Lee. Meanwhile, Lee's three children sneak out of their apartment.
Plot summary[]
Annie approaches Eiko outside the resistance base and informs her that a storm is approaching. She then asks Eiko if she really is going through with the mission, which Eiko confirms, and Annie claims that she's following the sophism of the Prophet. Despite knowing that time traveling was a one way ticket, Eiko's heart was set on going through with it.
A Resistance Scientist announces that he's hacked into Skynet's system, allowing them to send someone back in time to interfere with their plans. The Prophet then speaks to Eiko who is wearing nothing but a robe, explaining that Skynet has sent a Terminator back in time, thus creating a new timeline, but the window of opportunity won't last long. After asking if Eiko is up to the task, she confirms that she is but asks why of all people, and the Prophet claims with a smile that she's the only one who can do it. As the Prophet walks away, Eiko asks if the Prophet says what she claims is true or just bullshit. The Prophet smiles and says that nobody knows what will happen and that she has no fate, and that's the fucking point; a tearful Annie then embraces Eiko one last time.
Wasting no further time, Eiko proceeds to walk towards and enter the Time Displacement Device removing the robe she was once wearing and exposing her beautiful naked body to the members of the base. The occupants of the base either pray for the mission to be a successor or watch Eiko undress herself. Meanwhile Eiko can be seen kneeling down on one knee naked in preparation for time traveling. However, their prayer is short-lived as the Terminator with a hood that Eiko fought before infiltrates and fires his future caliber rifles at the resistance members. Amid the chaos, Annie uses her body to shield a young boy from the Terminator, and as that occurs, Eiko screams from the Time Displacement Device at the Terminator to stop, but her efforts are futile in the end as she is sent back in time.
After arriving in the past the beautiful Eiko stumbles completely naked across an alley and picks up a newspaper dated August 29th, 1997 which confirms she was successful in time traveling. Eiko takes a deep sigh of relief and then overhears a man and a woman talking. She confronts them naked, steals the clothing worn by the woman to cover herself, and blends into the crowd of people out on the main streets.
In the Lee household, the sweet Reika admires the Koneko, calling it a "she," but Kenta corrects her, stating the Koneko is an "it" and slapping it to the side, which upsets Reika. Still, Kenta claims he's merely testing its functionality and kicks it, causing the Koneko to start hissing at him and Reika to grow more upset at the smug Kenta. She threatens to tell Misaki about Kenta, who was cutting a fish in the kitchen as Hiro ate cherry tomatoes beside her. Impressed by her cutting technique, Hiro asks where Misaki learned how to cut fish so skillfully. She answers that she came from a fishing village where fish was eaten daily. Curiously, Hiro asks where the fishing village is, but Misaki gives no answer and starts to cry. As Hiro calls out to her, she accidentally cuts her finger and sees Reika attempting to stop Kenta from taking apart the Koneko. Hiro intervenes by body-slamming Kenta. Reika then grabs the Koneko and retreats into her room. Misaki then tries to ask Reiko from outside her bedroom door to return the Koneko so she can return it to the store like her father asked, but Reika refuses. Once Hiro points out how much Misaki is bleeding, Misaki decides to tend to her wound and asks that the boys leave Reika alone. However, Kenta knocks on Reika's door, asking that he dismantle the Koneko enough to see its gimbals. Hiro then asks why Reika is so interested in the Koneko, to which Kenta answers because she sees it as a real cat. Still, Reika refuses to hand over the Koneko to them.
Inside Reika's room, she coaxes the Koneko to come out from underneath her bed. Once the Koneko does, Reika looks at a picture of her mother and her at an amusement park. This inspires her to put on some boots and rain gear and then leave her window out into an escape hatch outside. Kenta and Hiro then break into her room, where they discover Reika is gone and that she has escaped. They decide to follow Reika, but when Hiro tries to inform Misaki about the situation, Kenta admonishes Hiro, citing Misaki would inform their father about it. Hence, to fool Misaki into thinking they're still at home, they both loudly claim they're tired and decide to rest.
Meanwhile, Misaki was in the bathroom, tending to her injury. She then washes her top, which is covered with some of her blood, and as she does this, she checks her neck.
Malcolm talks to Kokoro about her worry about putting Kokoro online and whether or not she'd turn against humanity. Their conversation then shifts to how America will launch Skynet the next day, which would instantly become self-aware and assess humanity as an existential threat to its well-being. To protect itself, it'd enact nuclear strikes from military bases in the United States and Russia. This would cause a rift in humanity, and in that time, it'd create a secret army hell-bent on exterminating humanity. Kokoro questions how Malcolm knows of this and answers that he's seen this happen. On the other hand, Kokoro then asks Malcolm if he knows Skynet's ultimate goal and questions if what Malcolm believes is Skynet's goal is true. Malcolm answers that Skynet would become the dominant sentience on the planet. From there, Kokoro points out how flawed Malcolm's concern is as he only focused on his survival and not on the possibility of the planet being better without mankind. Another part of Kokoro then asks Malcolm what separates mankind from every other species in all of Earth's history. Enthusiastically, Malcolm lists off several things humanity has accomplished and has to offer. However, Kokoro mentions that war was the most significant one. Despite Malcolm trying to reason with Kokoro, she explains the consequences of war. Kokoro argues that Malcolm is ready to accept that Skynet is to blame for the end of civilization, but it's merely another byproduct of man's inclination to self-destruct. Although Malcolm tries to argue against Kokoro's logic, two parts of Kokoro believe that her logic is true. The third part of Kokoro, who stayed behind, informs Malcolm that she's another weapon he created to fight for him; hence, she asks what he thinks Humanity is worth saving.
Before Malcolm can answer Kokoro's question, Natsuko contacts him. Despite being upset by the phone call, Natsuko details that his housekeeper has tried contacting him about his kids. Talking to Misaki, Malcolm learns that they escaped via the fire escape hatch and demands that she find them.
Elsewhere, Eiko scopes out Cortext Industries and watches Malcolm enter a car. Malcolm is driven away as protesters chase his car, and Eiko pursues him by stealing a truck.
From the subway, Reika slips into a dark, closed-off area and briefly loses her Koneko. After she regains it, she hides underneath a bench after hearing sounds heading toward her. However, her brothers Kenta and Hiro told her they wanted to rescue her. When Kenta tries to reason with Reika, the Koneko escapes from Reika's grasp and runs off, forcing them to chase after it.
In the car that picked up Malcolm, he sat in the driver's seat as Misaki sat beside him, finishing her story on the kid's escape. Furious at Misaki for not returning the cat, as he asked, Misaki admits to Malcolm that she saw no harm in keeping it for a while. Misaki also details that Reika thought he didn't want it around because it reminded him of their mother. This gives Malcolm an epiphany of the kids' destination, the amusement park, Cat Town. He then claims that if the work in his lab fails to yield, his kids will have to take over.
At that moment, Malcolm crashes into the Terminator dressed in a construction uniform. Pinned between the front of a car and a cement guardrail. The Terminator then breaks through the front window and latches onto Malcolm's right arm, but he manages to kick him off, ripping his sleeve off in the process.
Two pairs of cops arrive at the scene and attack the Terminator, but die in the process. Armed with one of the officer's guns, it aims it at Malcolm, only for it to be re-pinned between a cop car and the truck that Eiko had stolen. Regrouping with Misaki, Malcolm tells her that the Terminator was a product of Skynet trying to stop him, and, therefore, he must return to his lab, and she must locate his kids.
On Eiko's side, she is fired at by the Terminator, who hits her left shoulder, but she manages to drive her truck off the side of the highway and into the ocean, causing the Terminator to plunge into the water below. Eiko escaped this fate by exiting from the broken front window and leaping onto the highway. She then confronts Misaki and demands to know where Malcolm is, but she flees and down the lower part of the highway, grabbing the attention of a police car. The officers inside of it try to stop Eiko, but she incapacitates them, which allows Misaki time to flee the scene.
Chased into a ship dock area, Misaki is accosted by Eiko, who points her gun at her and claims that the Terminator wouldn't be stopped so easily. Eiko then asks about Malcolm's whereabouts and the weapon he was creating. Misaki assumes she is talking about Kokoro and claims that he's back at his lab, which is like a fortress. Distraught, Eiko then asks about Malcolm's three children and their whereabouts, which Misaki claims she doesn't know, but may know where they're heading.
Meanwhile, Kenta and Hiro follow Reika's trail. When they find the missing Koneko, they also find a room full of deactivated 1NNO robots.
Cast and characters[]
Cast, in order of credit:
- Sonoya Mizuno as Eiko
- André Holland as Malcolm Lee
- Sumalee Montano as Misaki
- Armani Jackson as Kenta Lee
- Gideon Adlon as Reika Lee
- Carter Rockwood as Hiro Lee
- Rosario Dawson as Kokoro
- Ann Dowd as the Prophet
- Julie Nathanson as Annie
- Vanessa Marshall as Natsuko
Quotes[]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- The naked Eiko witnessing helplessly how the T-800 kills her comrades as she is sent back in time mirrors Kyle Reese seeing Alex take John Connor down in Terminator: Genisys.
References[]
