Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles/Characters

Protagonists

Sarah Connor

Aliases: Sarah Reese, Sarah Baum. Mother of John, she was told in the first film that he grows up to be the leader of the resistance against SkyNet. Currently, lives with him, Cameron, and Derek in Los Angeles, trying to stop the creation of SkyNet. Might have or will have cancer - it was what she died of in an alternate timeline.

• Action Girl
• Action Mom
• Mama Bear
• Screw Destiny
• Shares qualities with The Hero and The Chick

John Connor

Aliases: John Reese, John Baum. Sarah's son, the future leader of the resistance. Not quite a leader yet. Currently, neither his mother nor Cameron entirely trust him because he reactivated Cameron after she tried to kill him.

• Berserk Button (his mother being in danger)
• Big Good: In the future.
• Broken Ace: Future John is a charismatic leader, a powerful fighter and a masterful strategist but no one knows about the awful things he went through to be what he is or the questionable decisions he made in the past to ensure the victory of the human race.
• The Chosen One
• Doom Magnet
• Emo Teen
• Growing Up Sucks
• Heroic BSOD
• Important Haircut: The start of Season Two.
• There Are No Therapists: Explored in one episode.
• Took a Level in Badass: And about time! Season Two was all about this, but it came with knowing what terrifying sacrifices were made for him and by him.

Cameron

"Thank you for explaining".

Aliases: Cameron Phillips, Cameron Baum, Allison Young. The reprogrammed Terminator (rumored to be TOK715) sent back by future John. The most advanced infiltrating unit seen so far - unlike other Terminators, she can eat food and can cry. Acts as John Connor's advisor in the future, much to the chagrin of the other resistance fighters.

• Absentee Actor: Averted. Summer Glau was the only cast member to appear on every episode.
• Action Girl
• Actor Allusion: Her ballet scenes in one episode.
• A Day in the Limelight: "Allison From Palmdale" (Cameron's origin) and "Self Made Man" (Cameron's night time activities)
• Badass
  • Badass Adorable
  • Badass Automaton
• Becoming the Mask
• Berserk Button: Do not lie to her.
  • And DO NOT wear her favorite leather jacket. She will kill you.
• The Big Guy
• Blue and Orange Morality: Cameron's concept of caring, concern, affection, and morality begins and ends with John Connor.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer
• Came Back Wrong: She survived a car bomb but was accidentally reprogrammed. She even told Sarah not to let John bring her back if it happens again.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Comes off as one even before her chip was damaged.
• The Comically Serious
• Creepy Monotone
• Cute Bruiser
• Determinator
• Does Not Understand Sarcasm
• Emotionless Girl
• Fetish Fuel Station Attendant
• Implacable Man: In this case girl, but she's still a terminator.
• Lady of War
• Little Miss Badass
• Magical Girlfriend: Deconstructed. She's an unearthly beautiful girl devoted to John but she also lacks empathy towards anyone else and is willing to protect John by any means at her disposal.
• Manipulative....er, Robot: Cameron is very good at getting the reaction she wants out of people.
• Ms. Fanservice (to which no one is complaining.)
• No Sense of Personal Space: She stands too close to people and stares when she evaluates their threat level.
• Omniglot
• Pet the Dog: All the time with John, from reassuring him of his value to acting as a semi love interest. Also towards a researcher who helps her, from helping him move about in his wheelchair to letting him fire her gun. Then she lets slip that he's had a relapse of cancer he thought he had finally gotten cured, causing him to possibly be Driven to Suicide.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: "Born To Run." That is all that needs to be said.
• Robot Girl
• Shout-Out: Cameron is named after Franchise creator James Cameron.
• Sugar and Ice Girl
• Unitard Of Power: She wears a dark red unitard when going undercover as a ballet student.
• Waif Fu
• Weak but Skilled: At least in relation to other Terminators. She doesn't have their raw strength and often can't beat bigger Terminators in a straight up fight - which is why she cheats.
• Yandere - Very loosely but there are shades of this in some episodes. She'll protect John, no matter the cost.
• Younger Than They Look: Cameron's exact age is never specified, but she is almost certainly younger than her human appearance makes her seem.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In "The Demon Hand" to the Russians, after getting what she needed from them. Note in this case she doesn't actually kill them, but simply ignores them once she has what she needs, allowing them to be killed because their survival was then irrelevant to her overall mission.

Charley Dixon

"He was a scary robot but you, you're a really scary robot."

Sarah's former fiance, he's since married someone else until she dies by Cromartie's hands. Eventually dies protecting John Connor.

• Heroic BSOD: Not exactly the hero of the series, but has one nonetheless after his wife dies.
• Heroic Sacrifice
• Hollywood Atheist
• The Medic

James Ellison

"These are more than machine but I will never make the mistake of thinking them human".

An agent of the FBI, he started out trying to stop the Connors...until he started believing them.

• As the Good Book Says...
• Bald of Awesome
• Inspector Javert
• Shout-Out: His name is a dual reference to James Cameron (Original writer) and Harlan Ellison (Who claims to have written it first)
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Avoids ever being an outright villain due to the fact that he had good reason to believe Sarah was seriously dangerous. He was just an officer who ended up in really deep stuff.

Derek Reese

"We can go back. We can fix all the mistakes".

John's uncle from the future, he came back to get a chess playing computer named the Turk and kill its creator, Andy Goode. Eventually is shot in the head by a Skynet Terminator. And now alive again in an alternate future timeline.

• Anti-Hero
• Badass
• Mr. Fanservice
• Put Down Your Gun and Step Away: Subverted in a most spectacular way.
• Sixth Ranger

Antagonists

Cromartie

"Thank you for your time."

The Terminator sent after John at the same time Cameron was. His chip is eventually destroyed, but his body ends up being used as the "face" of the Turk/John Henry supercomputer.

• Badass: Not even having his head cut off will stop him.
• Determinator
• Implacable Man
• Losing Your Head
• Magic Plastic Surgery: Justified in that he's a robot and once he got new flesh put back on his body, he forced a plastic surgeon to make him look like a failed actor (in a procedure that would normally kill a human being).
• The Nth Doctor: Played by Owain Yeoman in the pilot before he gets blown up, Garret Dillahunt in the main seasons after he gets a new flesh covering, and an uncredited stuntman in the interim stages.
• The Un-Smile
• Xanatos Gambit

Civilians

Kacey

The Connor's new and very pregnant neighbor.

• Hot Mom
• Wacky Cravings

Riley

"I'm a crazy, badass ninja!"

John's new friend at school. Not very well liked by the audience. Actually working with Jessie to manipulate John Connor.

• The Mole
• Sacrificial Lamb

Morris

John's other friend at school. Asked Cameron to the prom. Not seen since the first season.

• Brother Chuck: Possibly, along with the other high school storylines of season one.

Other

Catherine Weaver

"The project's name is Babylon. It's from The Bible."

CEO of Ziera Corp. She had the Turk stolen and set a group of people to work with it on "Project Babylon." Also, is a liquid metal T-1001 Terminator.

• Bond One-Liner

"Sorry I piss you off, Mr. Tuck. The feeling's mutual."
"I bet that's never happened before either."

• Bullet-Proof Fashion Plate: Although it's easier when your clothes and hair are part of your shapeshifting body.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Subverted.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Catherine Weaver is played by Shirley Manson of Garbage fame, but Savannah notes that she can't sing.
• Light Is Not Good: She wears a lot of white.
  • Possible subversion: She's technically an Anti-hero, as it is implied that she did consider allying with the resistance to take down Skynet, but turned down the offer in part due to Jessie, and that Project Babylon was also implied to be a means to counteract Skynet.
• Sociopathic Hero: (Possibly. Just how benevolent or self-serving her actual motivations weren't revealed before the show was cancelled.)
• Unflinching Walk: After she killed the people at the "air conditioning factory". And then Out of the Inferno as well.
• The Un-Smile
• Xanatos Gambit: And how.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She had killed everyone involved with Project Babylon and was planning to kill Ellison.

Savannah Weaver

"I want my old mommy back."

Daughter of Catherine Weaver. She becomes best friends with John Henry.

• Damsel in Distress
• Disappeared Dad: We know in one episode her parents are technically dead, but...
• Token Mini-Moe

John Henry

"Why is a math book so sad?"

The AI built and developed from Andy Goode's Turk supercomputer, using Cromartie's body as a means to communicate with others and manipulate its environment. Extremely intelligent, but almost childlike.

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted. Weaver specifically enlisted Ellision to teach John Henry morality and ethics so he develops properly.
• Basement Dweller: It's not like he has any choice on the matter since his body is permanently hooked up to the computer that's used to run his AI.
• Cain and Abel: John Henry asks which "brother" he is. Weaver's response is he might be neither, and may in fact be God.

Dr. Boyd Sherman

"Because it has so many problems".

A child therapist whose name was found on the blood-stained basement. Weaver hires him as a consultant to help her understand the strange behavior of her AI.

• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Died of heat stroke after the AI rerouted the power from the air-conditioning to continue powering itself.
• Token Minority: The only other Negro character in the show aside from Ellison.

Jesse

"Sunset's at 5:47. I'm not gonna miss that sucker."

Resistance fighter who traveled back in time to escape the hell of the future. Has an intimate relationship with Derek Reese. Actually traveled back in time on her own with Riley to try and separate John and Cameron, and is also implied to be an alternate counterpart to Jesse from Derek's timeline.

• A Day in the Limelight: "The Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter".
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Revealed herself as this the moment she slapped Riley, and right after Riley admitted to screwing up, was not in good shape and was asking to stay with Jesse for a while.
• Manipulative Bitch
• Ms. Fanservice
• Xanatos Gambit: Get Riley to threaten Cameron enough to kill her so John would be alienated from Cameron in the first place. If that doesn't work, kill Riley yourself, then pin the blame on Cameron. Unfortunately for her John figured it out before he terminated Cameron.
• Wham! Line: gets one by Derek before we see the last of her. We don't know if he shot her or not.

" You're not my Jesse."

Allison Young

"I live in a tunnel. I eat garbage for dinner"

Resistance fighter in the future. Captured by Skynet, and who Cameron's physical features are based on. Later killed by Cameron for lying to her. Implied to know John Connor personally. And now, most likely alive again in the alternate future timeline.

• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Brutally averted; her face is marked by a lot of open cuts and scratches.
• Determinator: She is going to escape, or die trying. Barring that, she's not going to do anything to compromise John Connor's safety.
• I'm Not Hungry

Jodie

"I got this necklace at this awesome thrift store in Echo Park."

A runaway Cameron befriended in "Allison in Palmdale".

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing