In Terminator 2, Sarah Connor pulls out her combat knife and carves the words “NO FATE” into a picnic table. These words have come to define the sci-fi series that has spanned four decades, six films and a live-action TV series. Is the future already determined, or can it be changed? Are humans and machines destined to follow their worst instincts, or can they make a different choice?
Between the escapes, gunfights, and split-second decisions, the Terminator films didn’t give us much time to ponder such questions, but spreading James Cameron’s sprawling time-leaping universe across eight episodes offers a lot more room for deep, existential reflection.
Netflix’s Terminator Zero is the franchise’s first big animated project, and it has a big idea at its heart. Mattson Tomlin’s animation is full of intense fights and nail-biting chases, but the show favors brains over brawn. It’s also the first to shift the focus from the Connor family and the United States to Japan. And while there’s a “Come on, if you wanna live” line, there’s hardly a “Goodbye, baby” to be found.
It’s no coincidence that the series premieres on August 29th, the 27th anniversary of Judgement Day, when Cyberdyne Systems’ artificial intelligence, Skynet, became self-aware and sparked a global nuclear war. Terminator Zero’s central storyline takes place on that fateful day in 1997, not in Los Angeles but in Tokyo. Habitually harboring apocalyptic visions similar to those Sarah Connor once saw, Japanese scientist Malcolm Lee (Andre Holland) holed himself up in his lab with Kokoro (Rosario Dawson), an AI designed to go toe-to-toe with Skynet. Before he can bring her online to stop Skynet from setting off the bomb, he must first convince her that humanity is worth saving.
Speaking of anime action, the teaser for Netflix’s Terminator Zero is fine. The Terminator Zero teaser is a good example of how to animate AI warfare.
Meanwhile, in war-torn 2022, the two sworn enemies find themselves transported back in time to a time before Judgment Day. A non-Schwarzenegger Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) assassinates Malcolm, while resistance soldier Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno) protects the scientist and his family. The Lee kids are a formidable bunch: budding robotics genius Kenta (Armani Jackson), Gene Belcher-esque Hiro (Carter Lockwood), and headstrong Reika (Gideon Adlon). Meanwhile, Eiko has a hard time trusting Misaki (Sumalee Montano), the well-meaning housekeeper who watches the kids in Malcolm’s absence.
The stories are intricately interwoven, and only get more so as the series slowly reveals how the present and future are intertwined. It can be hard to follow at times, especially when Malcolm is broodingly explaining things to Kokoro, and the show’s somber, earnest tone can feel oppressive (as befits Mattson, who co-wrote Matt Reeves’s somber Batman screenplay). But the series is saved by its fast-paced action scenes, thoughtful writing, and character emotional dynamics.
Setting the story in Japan sheds an entirely new light on the Terminator universe. For starters, guns are much less available than in the United States, so improvised weaponry is used creatively: cyber crossbows, Molotov cocktails, big trailers, and good ol’ fashioned brawls. But the true innovation of this setting is its historical implications. What does it mean, half a century later, for an American corporation to drop an atomic bomb on Japan again, in the long shadow of World War II? Rather than shying away from these heavy themes, Terminator Zero leans into them to force Malcolm to acknowledge the worst acts of humanity.
And then there’s that animation from legendary Japanese studio Production IG (Ghost in the Shell) under director Masashi Kudo (Bleach). Terminator Zero is graceful in its gore, whether it’s Eiko blowing bad guys to bloody smithereens or the Terminator ripping a forearm out of joint. And that guy is terrifying; with dilated pupils and jerky movements, he looks horrifyingly inhuman, without having to worry about a live-action actor. One creepy scene in an abandoned shopping mall feels like an artsy monster movie.
The series also lavished money on the English voice cast. Moonlighting virtuoso Holland brings soulful sincerity to the potentially cold character, while Dawson as Kokoro hits the perfect tonal balance between robot and human. Olyphant has few lines as the Terminator, but when he does, he makes the most of it. As the ruthless Eiko, Mizuno makes a strong case for House of the Dragon giving the character more to do. Veteran voice actor Montano is at her best as Misaki, who is tormented by the revelation of her true identity.
Terminator Zero succeeds by rooting its epic sci-fi universe in personal experience: like the Conners before it, it’s easy to root for the Lees, but also to question their sometimes-horrifying ethical choices. And no matter how intellectual the show gets, the family drama at its heart keeps it from feeling robotic.
Terminator Zero will premiere on Netflix on August 29th.