Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
John Connor
The Sarah Connor Chronicles character
First appearance "Pilot"
(episode 1.01)
Last appearance "Born to Run"
(episode 2.22)
Created by James Cameron
Josh Friedman
Portrayed by Thomas Dekker
Information
Aliases John Reese
John Baum
Gender Male
Occupation High school student
Family Kyle Reese
(father)
Sarah Connor
(mother)
Derek Reese
(paternal uncle)
Cameron
(android,guardian,confidant)
Thomas Dekker portrays John Connor in the parallel universe television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. John is Sarah's son and the future leader of the human resistance. He is only 15 years old at the beginning of the show, turning sixteen in the season one finale. As the series progresses, John struggles with his feelings for Cameron, who is a Terminator.
Casting and production background
Dekker was cast after Headey secured the role of Sarah Connor.[5] Regarding the Terminator films, Dekker says "They are like my favorite films when I was younger. So it's very ironic that I'm getting to do this. And I know for the younger generation and for myself, John was equally important to me as Sarah was, and I know a lot of the people that I hear from really, really care about John".[6] Dekker describes his character as "a continuation of Eddie Furlong's character" but "he's in a darker, more mature place now".
The show tells the story of the Connors before Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.[3] It branches off from the shared back story of Terminator 2, and according to consulting producer James Middleton "is [a new] version of T3."[7]
Premise
At the beginning of the series in 1999, John and Sarah try to settle down to normal lives after the events of T2, but they are in fear of being captured for blowing up Cyberdyne during the events of the second film. While at school, John is attacked by a Terminator posing as a teacher, and is protected by a reprogrammed Terminator named "Cameron". John learns that Judgment Day has not been prevented, only postponed to April 21, 2011. John does not want to run anymore and asks Sarah to stop Skynet from being created. Cameron uses time dilation technology (built by "The Engineer" from the future) to send all three of them to 2007, just before Skynet is created, so that they can stop it.
Settling down in 2007, John enrolls in Campo de Cahuenga High School under the name of John Baum, after author L. Frank Baum who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book that Sarah says was John's favorite when he was younger, where he is friends with his fellow students Morris and Riley Dawson. He becomes acquainted with his father's older brother, Derek Reese, who is also a resistance fighter sent back in time to help them. This version of John is shown to be a highly skilled computer hacker (a nod from Terminator 2), even being able to hack into a Terminator's CPU in order to read the information it contains, as well as easily hacking into the LAPD database. He claims that he could hack a computer system 'in (his) sleep'. He is also proficient in chess, lock-picking, self-defense, and weaponry, all of which were part of his training during his childhood. The relationship dynamic between John and Cameron is different than with the "Uncle Bob" T-800 by virtue of her size/gender, with some degree of sexual tension. He also develops a relationship with Riley, a high school classmate, who, unknown to him, is also from the future and working with Jesse Flores, a resistance fighter and lover of Derek Reese. Jesse's plan was for John to become infatuated with Riley, making her a threat to John's security. This would force Cameron to kill Riley, thereby alienating John from her. Apparently, after Judgment Day, rumors abound of an unnatural relationship between the two that affects John's tactical decision making, and some are unsettled that he has appointed a Terminator as one of his lieutenants.
