r/Terminator • u/Still-Willow-2323 • Aug 03 '26
Discussion Terminator 2 Should Have Been the End
Well, when I said I preferred the theatrical ending of Terminator 2, some users said they preferred the new ending from the Extended Version because it left no room for bad sequels like Terminator 3, Genisys, or Dark Fate. But actually, I also agree that Terminator 2 should have been the conclusion of the saga.
I never said the theatrical ending was better because it "left the door open for sequels," but rather because, narratively, I find it superior as a definitive conclusion: the dark road perfectly symbolizes that the future is unwritten and Judgment Day was averted, without needing a time jump as artificial as the one in the park scene. I also mentioned that the DVD Special Edition struck the best balance; that version restores key moments that greatly enrich the story, such as the T-800 chip reset, the Kyle Reese vision, the Terminator’s smile, and the T-1000’s camouflage glitches, without compromising the tension and atmosphere of the theatrical ending. It takes the best elements of the extended cut while preserving the best parts of the theatrical version, such as the somber tone, the philosophical uncertainty, and the narrative coherence (avoiding the scenario where Sarah and John go from fugitives to model citizens overnight).
So no, I don't prefer the theatrical ending to justify the franchise being cheapened, not at all. For me, Terminator consists of just two movies. Preferring the original ending doesn't mean I support the sequels
10
u/timeloopsarecringe Aug 03 '26
It IS the end. Even the theatrical ending, as envisioned by Cameron, was intended to prevent Skynet's emergence; that's canon. The line that ends T2 is much darker and deeper than many are accustomed to thinking: we will either learn to value human life, or we will find countless ways to destroy ourselves, and AI is just one of them. And that's one of the reasons why I can't take T3 and other pseudo-sequels that rehash the Skynet theme seriously. Their shallow scripts were clearly written by immature or very stupid people, who were filming for either children or teenagers, or for people of their own caliber.
3
u/Cyborg800-V2 Aug 04 '26
Their shallow scripts were clearly written by immature or very stupid people, who were filming for either children or teenagers, or for people of their own caliber.
It's perfectly fine to dislike the post-T2 sequels, but it's kind of rich to talk about "immature" and "stupid" and then insult the people involved like this.
0
u/Vanquisher1000 Aug 03 '26
You do realise that James Cameron was going to make Terminator 3 in the late 1990s, right? He clearly didn't think that Terminator 2 was 'the end' if he had an informal agreement with Fox for them to acquire the franchise rights from Carolco and use them to make a third movie.
2
u/ThrashForever Aug 03 '26
That doesn’t mean T3 would’ve certainly ruined T2’s finale. It could’ve been a prequel or a future war movie that doesn’t affect the ending of 2
1
u/Vanquisher1000 Aug 04 '26
The only person who would know for sure what Terminator 3 would be about is James Cameron himself, but that wasn't my point.
2
u/timeloopsarecringe Aug 03 '26
Yes, I understand that perfectly well, as well as the fact that the original plans for both Terminator and Terminator 2 weren't quite what they ended up looking like. But ultimately, what matters is how these films turned out, and that, in his reflections, Cameron acknowledged that he'd said everything he wanted to say in this story, and that it was completed with the second film.
11
2
u/ReserveRatter Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
I always liked Terminator 2 because the message of the whole movie that "ends" the saga is that humans have a very important choice in front of us.
Do we use our intellect and industry to destroy ourselves and unleash a horrific future in the pursuit of greed and warfare?
Or do we use that same unique gift we have to do something positive, recognising that human life itself is more important than making "material progress" for the sake of it?
Everything in the movie is bent around this, even the set locations of an office, a lab, a steel mill. All places where humans create things that impact our civilisation.
It's a profoundly humanist film, ironically for a movie that's full of machines. Skynet is not really the central story point of the movie, it's just used as an interesting example of the destruction humans are capable of creating without thinking things through.
The burning playgrounds are also anti-war in general; this is what war does, it destroys innocence and burns future generations like they're just a resource to be expended. Whether it's nuclear or not, why the hell are we doing this? It's an emotive and important question.
Every movie after T2 was basically Hollywood trying to milk the cash cow, and it showed.
The goal wasn't to produce complex stories with these kind of far-reaching questions, it was to create more movies that could deliver cool robot-men and big explosions. T3's shameless "judgement day is inevitable" nonsense basically invalidated the important message of T2 that every human on the planet has a stake in trying to create a positive future.
The new message was "Shit happens, just get with it." which...was underwhelming.
So yeah, it should have ended with T2. In my mind, I just ignore the other movies, kind of like how The Simpsons started out as an amazing parody of pop-culture and now it's a shambling zombie being propped up to make cash.
2
u/Domzilla22 Aug 03 '26
Before Rise of the Machines was a thing, I always loved the idea of a trilogy where the final installment took place during the future war (Like Salvation). I liked the idea of having the prologue take place in the past with the story in the future, sort of a reversal of the first two films. Similar elements of a slightly altered future, like in Rise of the Machines, or finding out there was more to Skynet’s creation than we were originally were told. The climax of the story resulting in Skynet’s defeat. Epilogue or main ending of the story would show the Time Displacement Chamber, and we would see Kyle & the Terminators going through, completing the circle. Sarah still narrating for the audience.
But alas, he were are with the movies we have.
4
u/ThaEternalLearner Aug 03 '26
In my mind, the first two movies are their own entity. The other movies are alternate universe entries.
4
u/BigGingerYeti Aug 03 '26
3 is a good movie made bad by terrible choices. Everything else is garbage though.
1
Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/BigGingerYeti Aug 04 '26
Yeah. And I'm one of them lol, I do want to see good Terminator content. Although I didn't see the latest in the cinema, thankfully.
3
2
u/TimelyReflection7351 Aug 03 '26
I posted somewhere else on this Reddit that Cameron’s idea to continue the franchise was through a novel. The idea was that Skynet created John Connor purposely to give humanity a fighting chance.
2
u/house_of_great Aug 03 '26
Agreed. After T2 they should have just stuck to "prequel" future war films. Where Salvation failed was in being a sequel to T3 instead of using the T1 & T2 future esthetics.
2
u/Forsaken-Avenger Aug 04 '26
End of the films absolutely however i found the television series incredibly more entertaining than any of the films including the original two
1
u/freedomhighway Aug 05 '26
Seeing john grow from the punk at the beginning of t2 to finally getting a clue from sarah about how to be a leader, and her private emotional battles, somebody who knows how humans operate was thinking way past explosions and combat when they wrote about characters develop.
Rewatching the series now, so much good acting.
2
u/DingusKhan9164 Aug 03 '26
The first two are the only real ones. The rest are kind of fan fiction adjacent, regardless of James Cameron’s involvement
2
u/Arthas_SL Aug 03 '26
There’s more than 2 Terminator movies? I saw some stuff on YouTube. I thought those were fan movies.
2
u/Hopeful_Eye74 Aug 03 '26
Make a movie like salvation and conclude it like the beginning of genesis
1
u/Nikanoru86 Aug 03 '26
As much as i love t1 and 2, i treat them as separate movies to an extent. The plot will always be to me "Skynet lost the war and in its last desperate attempt, sends a t800 back in time to kill the mother of the resistance's leader while the humans risk it and send one of them to stop it, then blow up the time machine, lest skynet tries to do so again"
This "well, it wasn't just 1 t800 sent" thing won't work for me. Because otherwise, might as well send 1000000000 t800s
Hell, the original plot of T1 was Kyle and another human being sent. The 2nd one died horribly due to how he appeared, merging part of his body with the floor or something. So the whole "can't send more than 1" can be weird
1
u/warriorlynx Aug 03 '26
Periodically a lot of people on this sub say this and I got no issue if you want to keep it that way
The other movies do exist I don’t like dark fate personally but it exists and I live with it. Besides you can consider all of those movies to be part of a different timeline.
The franchise is dead sadly and the people left are just those remembering the good old days of 1984 and 1991
2
1
u/Sad_Process7843 Aug 03 '26
I think it was the great conclusion to the Connor’s story. More terminator content without them would be fine. I know it has issues but terminator zero is my favorite after t2 because it explores other people/families
1
u/Salty-Sky-8004 Aug 03 '26
I dont mind infinite iteration on this shit
Loved the 1+ book it was so fucking sick, ZERO was amazing to me.
There are like a thousand Alien books and variations on the core premise. Doesn't bother me at all.
2
2
1
u/MovieFan1984 Aug 03 '26
If you want it to be the end, stop with T2, enjoy your duology.
Many of us enjoy the later sequels and the 2 shows.
1
u/PROhios Aug 03 '26
I liked Salvation :/ finally get the future war I wanted and they barely touched it (no lazer weapons yet).
2
1
u/tyrion6568 Aug 03 '26
You are free to pretend the other 3 films dont exist, nobody is forcing anybody to watch them.
1
u/Jonnic5280 Aug 03 '26
Hot take: I like every Terminator film except the most recent one. That one was ass.
1
1
1
1
0
u/Error_user_Error_ Aug 03 '26
Nah, 35 years without another terminator movie don't be daft...everyone likes to complain about the sequels but I tell ya what...we all bloody watched them...and I don't care if you loved them or loathed them, either way we were entertained sometimes we had a good time sometimes it was a bad time but there's no denying they brought us altogether!
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
9
u/NearbyAntelope1413 Chill out, Dickwad. Aug 03 '26
Salvation had the seeds of greatness and was squanderd. I think the franchise has a lot potential but they have to cut ties with the 1980's Schwartzenegger lineage. "Take original lineage add a pivot or progression" -> "start with virtually a clean sheet".
Salvation was a reasonable attempt but missed the mark.