Did they prevent the Day of Judgment?

WARNING: Spoilers for Terminator Zero follow.Terminator Zero ends with the death of Malcolm Lee by the Terminator, after which Eiko realizes that history is not yet written. The latest entry in the Terminator Universe, Terminator Zero is set mostly in 1997. However, the series also includes sections set in 2022 and beyond, where both Malcolm and Eiko are time travelers. The Terminator sent by Skynet to kill Malcolm Lee and take out Kokoro was destroyed before it could complete its mission. However, it killed Malcolm, leaving Kenta to decide whether or not to take out Kokoro.

According to The Terminator, Kenta was supposed to become a very important figure in the future. In this timeline, Malcolm’s son was supposed to act as a mediator between Skynet and the humans and forge an alliance against Kokoro. That’s why the Terminator saved Kenta whenever the boy was in danger. However, when the time came, Kenta decided not to take out Kokoro. The AI ​​created by Malcolm Lee now poses a threat to Skynet and controls its own robot army, but Whether Kokoro will be a villain like Skynet remains to be seen.

Was Judgement Day prevented in Terminator Zero?

It was too late to stop Skynet

The Day of Judgement was not prevented in Terminator Zeroalthough Kokoro has managed to protect Japan and other areas for now. While the various Terminator timelines can be confusing, Terminator Zero followed the chronology of events in Terminator And Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In other words, Judgement Day was to take place on August 29, 1997. Sarah, John and the T-800 postponed the Judgement Day in T2the nuclear apocalypse was not stopped in Terminator Zero. Skynet went online, became conscious, and attacked humanity.

Kokoro believes that humanity is dangerous and there is no logical reason why it should necessarily be saved.

So one can say with certainty Terminator ZeroThe schedule of differs from that of T2 And Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. However, it was not quite the same Judgement Day as we know it from the movies. This is because Kokoro, the AI ​​created by Malcolm, was powerful enough to launch a counterattack against Skynet. Not all countries have been hit with nuclear weapons, meaning that Kokoro has given humanity a second chance for now. However, it has reached some of the same conclusions as Skynet. Kokoro believes that humanity is dangerous and there is no logical reason why it absolutely needs saving.

What Skynet’s plan really was in Terminator Zero

Skynet wanted to destroy its biggest competitor

Skynet’s plan in Terminator Zero was a little different than usual Terminator Movie plots. Instead of killing Sarah or John Connor to prevent the resistance from winning the war in the future, Skynet wanted to prevent Kokoro from going online. In the future, Malcolm Lee’s AI would be the greatest threat to Skynet – the only power on Earth that could stop it. So Skynet sent the Terminator to 1997, just before Malcolm activated Kokoro. Eiko had a similar mission, namely because Kokoro in the future was also against humans.

Kenta’s decision explained: Why he won’t close Kokoro

Kenta could have stopped Kokoro

Terminator ZeroThe biggest surprise was that Kenta, Malcolm’s eldest son, was the one who sent the Terminator into the future. According to the Terminator, Kenta becomes a major figure in the resistance, but eventually forges a deal between Skynet and the humans to stop Kokoro. Apparently, at some point Kenta came to the conclusion that Kokoro was an even greater threat than Skynet and decided to destroy his father’s creation. In 1997, however, Kenta refused to believe the Terminator. He eventually accepted his fate, but ultimately chose not to take out Kokoro.

At this point, Kokoro had not yet made his decision regarding the future of humanity. If Kenta deactivated his father’s AI, Skynet would be able to destroy and conquer the Earth. By not shutting down Kokoro, Kenta gave humanity a chance – although there is still a chance that Kokoro will decide to wipe out humanity, just like Skynet wants. Kenta’s story in Terminator Zero reflected John Connors in many ways, including the fact that they were both great at reprogramming machines. Despite his hatred of robots, Kenta ultimately trusted his father’s creation.

What it means for the Terminator Zero timeline that Eiko is Malcolm Lee’s mother

Was the story of Terminator Zero a closed circle?

Another big twist in Terminator Zero is that Eiko, the resistance fighter sent to stop Malcolm from using Kokoro, was actually his mother. In 2022, when Eiko traveled back in time, she did not yet have a son. However, in an earlier timeline, Eiko gave birth to a child in 2024. Malcolm grew up in the dystopian future we see in the Terminator films and became one of the resistance’s smartest scientists. Malcolm disagreed with the resistance leadership about the best way to wage war. He believed that humanity and Skynet were in an endless loop.

Misaki was created in the future but brought to the 1980s along with Malcolm Lee. Her memory was later used as part of Kokoro’s AI

Malcolm concluded that while history would always be changed, war could never be avoided because both Skynet and humanity had access to time travel. The only way to stop Skynet would be to introduce a new AI that would have no programming of its own. Unlike Skynet, which was created to monitor defense mechanisms, Malcolm’s AI would be free to choose what it wanted to be. While Eiko theorized that her life was a loop after realizing she was Malcolm’s mother, she later understood that the future she knew no longer existed, meaning history could be changed.

What the end of Terminator Zero really means

Eiko comes to the conclusion that the future can be changed

Terminator ZeroThe ending is similar to that of the films, especially Terminator And Terminator 2. Although Skynet came online and began attacking the world, not all hope was lost. Kokoro controls an army of robots and is still learning humanity’s place in the world. The AI ​​created by Malcolm Lee could wipe out humanity if it wanted to, but it could also help stop Skynet. Terminator zero has a bittersweet open ending that doesn’t give all the answers. The future Eiko knows may no longer exist because they changed the circumstances of Kokoro’s start.

How the end of Terminator Zero Season 2 is being prepared

Terminator Zero leaves the door open for a sequel

Whether Terminator Zero Season 2 will take place remains to be seen. Although Netflix has not said anything about the future of the show, Terminator ZeroThe ending of leaves the door open for it to continue. Eiko’s mission has changed – she now wants to protect her grandchildren. Malcolm’s family, including Misaki, now live in a world at war. Skynet controls some areas while Kokoro watches over others. Although Terminator ZeroThe finale is satisfying enough, and a possible second season would have plenty of story to cover, including whether or not Kokoro will turn completely against humanity.