Kari Farrell Escapes, Revealed As TOK Series Terminator

Kari Farrell, recently taken into custody, has broken out of the Philadelphia jail that held her. According to several witnesses, she punched through a wall with her bare fists and tossed aside guards “like they were made of paper mache.” Photos from bystanders also reveal that in the melee, part of Farrell’s face was blown off, revealing an adamantine endoskeleton.

This is really interesting, for several reasons.

This might not be Kari at all. As we’ve seen in the recently-cancelled TV show, TOK series Terminators are often modeled on specific humans. This unit might have already killed Kari and assumed her identity. If that’s the case, then who knows how long the world lost the “real” Kari?

Many people from Kari’s past (including myself) have noted a profound difference in her attitude towards other people between then and now. What happened? Well, maybe it’s because she’s been replaced by a cybernetic killing machine from the future.

Being a product of Cyberdyne systems would explain quite a bit in terms of Kari’s oddly off-color jokes and awkward sexual double entendres. “Go speluking in my vagina,” “throw a hot dog down my hallway,” and “give a handjob with my mouth” are all metaphors that don’t quite work. It’s as if these jokes have been constructed by some kind of semi-sentient creature that has been given a template for humor, but lacks the human perspective to bring real meaning to it. This quasi-humor is a staple of science fiction in terms of defining the personality of android characters. For instance, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Otrageous Okana,” Data gets comic training from a holographic projection of Joe Piscopo, and hilarity ensues.

Why would the computer oligarchy of the near-future choose Kari as a suitable cover? Was she working on something that would have led to Skynet? That seems unlikely, since her last job seems to have been as an administrative assistant for Vice Magazine. But get this. Kari has left a trail of alternate identities and semi-overlapping cover stories behind her, sucking everyone who cared about her into a wake of destruction that even she seemed unable to control. She worked a series of low-level jobs, intriguing and confusing her co-workers with her strange references and lack of respect for authority. Remind you of anyone? That’s right: Sarah Connor. Kari Farrell is (or was) clearly a member of the resistance. Kari, wherever you really are, if you’re still alive: I’m proud of you. Even if no one else is.

Finally and most importantly, what does this mean for the future of the Terminator franchise? Will Kari be referenced in the upcoming film? And how will the evolving metaphor of the Terminator intersect with the character arc of Kari Farrell, the anti-hero? Back in the first movie, Sarah started out fun-loving and oblivious, and the Terminator was a metaphor for mortality that she didn’t want to face. Suddenly, with the TV series, being a metal killing machine was a metaphor for the power of feminine sexuality. What now? Will Kari go the way of Cameron and sacrifice her newfound freedom for the greater good, removing her own chip and leaving her voluptuous tattoo-covered body with no guidance at all? Will Fox use Kari’s newly revealed identity as a cyborg to close up any of the loops left open at the end of season two?

Note to Vice: Just give her the $200. Seriously.