The Terminator Franchise’s Most Confusing Moments Explained – Looper

One of the recurring themes in the “Terminator” franchise is the idea of fate. In the first “Terminator,” Kyle relays a message to Sarah Connor from her future son, a message that includes the line, “There is no fate.” This line is expanded in “Terminator 2” as “There is no fate but what we make for ourselves,” which is echoed in just about every “Terminator” film, series, video game, or comic book following. This idea that the timeline can be changed, that destiny can be averted, is what leads Skynet and the Resistance to send fighters into the past to change the future.

Except, despite the attempts to change the world, nearly every “Terminator” film also confirms the idea that fate is very real. While John and Sarah change the future in “T2,” it only delays the inevitable. In “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” and “Terminator: Dark Fate,” which all follow the events of “T2,” destiny hasn’t been changed or thwarted, it’s only been postponed. Judgment Day still happens, humanity is still nearly wiped out, and Terminators still travel back in time to wipe out the future leader of the human Resistance.

While the “Terminator” franchise proves that the future is fluid and can change, it also proves that destiny will be fulfilled. Even “Terminator Genisys,” which ends with Sarah, Kyle, and a new T-800 accomplishing their mission, ends with Skynet’s survival too.