Blood...

[ffutures]

Just finished watching S1 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I enjoyed the show, but why is it I can suspend disbelief for time travel, AIs, killer androids etc. but totally lose it when they say something really stupid about blood groups?

NB - comments contain spoilers

Comments

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

"and there is absolutely no doubt that he is her son"

Why do you believe that?

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Because of the whole causation paradox associated with his conception.

Of course he could have been swapped at birth or something, but there is no canon evidence other than the blood groups to suggest it, and doing so opens up a huge can of worms that invalidates a lot of the plot of the films, TV series, etc.

Actually, I really must post this to Twisting the Hellmouth as a challenge idea - a John Connor's Real Mother thing...

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

"Because of the whole causation paradox associated with his conception."

That implies A John Connor. That doesn't necessarily imply that this John Connor is that John Connor.

"Of course he could have been swapped at birth or something, but there is no canon evidence other than the blood groups to suggest it, and doing so opens up a huge can of worms that invalidates a lot of the plot of the films, TV series, etc."

Unlike the third movie. Or the fourth one. Or the series we're talking about. And I'd suggest it doesn't: we know a John Connor leads humanity, and that he believes that Sarah Connor is his mother. Neither of those things would be invalidated if TV Series John wasn't really Future John.

I'm not saying it wasn't a mistake they made to show John was related to another guy from the future. That's plausible: TV shows are written under enormous time pressure, and they make mistakes. But (IIRC) they said in the episode that Sarah didn't know John's blood type and they had to test him. Wouldn't someone in a survivalist mindset want to know her own son's blood type? Again, possibly an error, or it could be a clue to something else.

If you know killer robots from the future seem to keep coming after you in waves, wouldn't swapping him out be the best way? After all, the future of humanity is at stake.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I agree that she might have tried to save her own child by swapping him for another (and that's pretty much the challenge I posted), but whoever she claims as her child has to be kept alive and believe that she is his mother or the future is doomed; if she abandons her child there is no guarantee that he or she won't die in the initial salvo. She might as well look after her own child.

Of course all this assumes that there is a child - maybe the real child died in infancy, and she stole another baby to give the future its saviour. The trouble with that is that both she and John have been through the legal system etc., and at some point they would have done basic tests to make sure he is her son, since she seems to be completely insane...