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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

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    Sarah Jeanette Connor 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1984.jpg
"The hardest thing is deciding what I should tell you and what not to."
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor1991.png
"The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too."
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnor_8.jpg
"Since then, I hunt Terminators, and I drink until I black out. Enough of a résumé for you?"

Played by: Linda Hamilton

Dubbed by: Élisabeth Wiener (European French, The Terminator), Véronique Augereau (European French, Terminator 2, Dark Fate), Rihoko Yoshida (Japanese, Terminator 2), Yolanda Vidal (LatAm Spanish, The Terminator original dub), Mayra Arrellano (LatAm Spanish, The Terminator redub), Laura Torres (LatAm Spanish)

Appears in: The Terminator | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Terminator: Dark Fate

The mother of the future human resistance leader against the Machines, John Connor.


  • '80s Hair: Not quite as much as her friend Ginger, but still definitely qualifies in the first film. Ditches it for a Tomboyish Ponytail in the sequel.
  • Action Mom: In the second film, bordering on Knight Templar Parent.
  • Action Survivor: In the first movie; turning on the hydraulic press that kills the Terminator shows her transition to Action Girl.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys:
    • In the first film she is guilty of this, as she dated a guy that treated her like dirt before she met Kyle. When she does meet Kyle, it's clear that she is unnerved by him, but still likes him, as proven when she tip toes around the question of whether or not he had a girlfriend, seconds before his Anguished Declaration of Love. Lastly, as mentioned in Terminator 2, she started going out with military personnel, mostly to learn things she could teach John, but given her history....
    • She even reflects to herself how the Terminator was, in her opinion, the only suitable father figure while listing off the different ways a parent can abuse or neglect their child (which likely speaks volumes about the other men she met).
  • Anti-Hero: While Sarah was firmly an Action Survivor in the first film, come time for the second one, she's become unhinged suffering a nasty case of PTSD. Sarah attempts to Shoot the Dog and tries to kill Miles Dyson in front of his family.
  • Arms Dealer: In the second film, John mentions she spent a lot of time running guns in Nicaragua.
  • Became Their Own Antithesis: Sarah nearly falls victim to this in Judgement Day when she tries to kill Miles Dyson, almost shooting him in the back and then advancing into his house in a manner disturbingly similar to the Terminators; even when Miles' six year old son is begging Sarah not to kill his daddy, there is a moment where it genuinely seems like Sarah is going to kill a man who not only hasn't done anything yet but never set out to cause any harm in the first place.
  • Big "NO!": Sarah almost makes it out of the asylum, but she sees the T-800 walking out of an elevator. After saying "no" in a low tone of disbelief, it turns into this out of sheer terror.
  • Borrowed Catchphrase: In Dark Fate, she gets to quip "I'll be back" right before blowing up the Rev-9.
  • Broken Bird: Second movie. Her attempts to stop Judgment Day have left her sanity somewhat in tatters and she is in a mental hospital at the beginning of T2. It's even worse in Dark Fate, as John was murdered before her eyes.
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: As of the end of the first Terminator movie, she became an established fighter herself (partially influenced by Kyle Reese), and even in her maddest moments, she's still very caring and considerate.
  • Burger Fool: She used to be a waitress for a restaurant in the first movie until Kyle had to hide her from Skynet.
  • The Bus Came Back: Written off between films after T2 and only appearing in alternate timelines since, the original Sarah finally returns in Dark Fate after a 28-year absence.
  • Cassandra Truth: She's institutionalized for trying to prevent and talking about the future war with the machines. Played with, however, because she's still Ax-Crazy despite being right about that.
  • Character Development: She has two:
    • In the first film, she is a Shrinking Violet with self-doubt until Skynet specifically targets her by sending a T-800 while Kyle Reese is sent to protect her by her future son's orders. Even then, she still has doubts about herself when Kyle tells her about the amazing things John told about her, until Kyle and herself are on the last legs on their life and she manages to crush the T-800. This action allows Sarah to commit herself to raise her only son into the man he was in the future.
    • While she Took a Level in Badass, she clearly did have problems with her communication skills, and often tried to date military personnel so they can teach something useful to John, not giving her son the affection he desperately needed, which was observed by the T-800. While initially distrustful towards the reprogrammed T-800 who is under future John's orders to protect his younger self (and nearly tries to destroy his CPU), she learns to trust the machine when he proves to be a valuable ally and is visibly disheartened when he has to be destroyed to prevent Skynet's creation and Judgment Day while finally hugging her son.
  • Crazy-Prepared:
    • Enrique has been looking after some stuff for her. Said stuff is an utterly ridiculous number of guns, including large amounts of assault rifles, several machine guns, a grenade launcher, and a fucking minigun.
    • By Dark Fate, she still carries heavy weaponry around in her cars and puts a lot of effort into avoiding detection.
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Invoked Trope. Sarah is right about the Killer Robots from the future, but she's still become nuts by the time of Terminator 2.
  • Damsel in Distress: The first film centered around Kyle going back to protect her from the T-800.
  • Dark Action Girl: She can kick a major amount of ass, but it doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring. Her time in a mental hospital did her no favors. Further, Cameron wrote the hospital escape scene to avert the Faux Action Girl trope—if anything, the Terminator's arrival was little more than a Redundant Rescue, as Sarah was home free when he showed up.
  • Determinator: She embraces her inner Determinator in the climax of the first movie, and practically becomes a Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, to the point she's halfway to shooting a defenceless, wounded man in front of his wife and children for something he hasn't actually done yet. Even after that, she's still perfectly capable of firing a 12-gauge shotgun repeatedly after minutes earlier having an inch-thick metal spike rammed straight through her shoulder. In fact, if she hadn't run out of ammo, she would have destroyed the T-1000 herself, without the T-800's help.
  • Fantastic Racism: She develops this in regards to Terminators in general. In the first film, the first T-800 was sent to kill her, and also went out of his way to murder innocent people, including her friends and mother, along the way. After this incident, she immediately freaks out when she sees an identical T-800 - not knowing it was reprogrammed by future John to protect his past self - and was completely distrustful of him, to the point of nearly destroying his CPU. She eventually grew to trust him around John and was hesitant in destroying him to prevent SkyNet for good. Dark Fate unfortunately makes this stick when another T-800 kills John in front of her, and her hatred of "Carl" is very justified.
  • Final Girl: She's the last remaining "Sarah Connor" in Los Angeles by the end of the first movie.
  • Gold Digger: Subverted Trope. In the second film... sort-of. John says Sarah would "shack up with" any guy who looked like he had something worthwhile to teach John so that he'd grow up to be the competent leader she knew he was destined to be. However, he also says that Sarah would usually try and get her new man on board with the whole Screw Destiny plan, only for them to think she's crazy and dump her. So yeah, she used a lot of guys, but under the circumstances, she still tried not to be abusive and wasn't doing it for selfish reasons.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: Played Straight. The director wanted to play with the audience's sympathies for her. Even though they already know that she's right about the Bad Future and the machine uprising, that hasn't made her the most sane person in the last nine years. It doesn't get better for her, even by her twilight years.
  • Good Is Not Nice: From the second film onwards. She can be quite ruthless when she wants to be, but she is fighting to save humanity overall.
  • Hair Color Dissonance: Linda Hamilton's portrayal depicts her having dirty blonde hair, while Emilia Clarke's has dark brown.
  • Her Heart Will Go On: At the end of the first movie, providing a popularizing template for the "left with child" version. It's actually a Foregone Conclusion; before she cuts him off, Kyle Reese tells her that the father of her son and future Rebel Leader John Connor dies, but that she goes on to train John to fight back against the machines. It later turns out that Kyle is John's father; he and Sarah were only together briefly before he's killed protecting her, but she obviously cares deeply for him and she swiftly avenges him by destroying the Terminator herself. The movie ends with a pregnant Sarah debating whether to tell John that Kyle is his father; she knows the future is going to be rough for humanity but also that she can guarantee their victory over Skynet.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: She practically became a Terminator herself, right down to her enemy's musical motif and choice of sunglasses, when she tried to murder Miles Dyson in order to prevent Skynet's creation.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: She's wanted in the United States as a violent anti-technology terrorist, with more than enough crimes on her rap sheet to sentence her to life imprisonment. What almost no one realizes is that Sarah's motives, however insane they may sound, are completely justified.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the second film. While she is prone to angry outbursts and paranoid, she truly does love John, not just because of the role he plays in the future, but also because he's her son.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Decades of fighting Terminators and living as a wanted criminal have taken their toll on Sarah, leaving her a very bitter woman who still fights to protect humanity at any cost. This is on top of her having to grieve for her son John, who was murdered in 1998.
  • Lady Drunk: By the time Dark Fate rolls around, she's turned to copious amounts of drinking in order to deal with her issues.
  • The Load: In the first movie, she starts off as a relatively airheaded fast food waitress. She is forced to overcome this after Kyle is gravely wounded.
  • Logical Weakness: Despite her impressive array of combat skills, she is still only human. By Dark Fate she defaults to providing ranged support for Grace and Carl and only intervening when necessary.
  • Mama Bear: She'll do anything to protect John, almost to the point of being a Knight Templar Parent.
  • Madonna Archetype: With her son being the Messianic Archetype.
  • A Match Made in Stockholm: Averted, but implied that other people believe she's playing the trope straight, particularly Dr. Silberman. Justified in that, after being kidnapped by a "loon" spouting ridiculous stories about killer robots, Sarah herself has become an anti-technology terrorist that blows up places that build advanced computers. Even after the police come to try and get her to make a statement against the Terminator, from their point of view, later that same night, the same guy busts her out of the institution and, days later, she's joined forces with the guy to assault a Cyberdyne building.
  • My God, What Have I Done?:
    • When her best friend/roommate Ginger and her boyfriend were killed by the Terminator in their apartment.
    • Silently after the attempted hit on Dyson. Exacerbated by the fact that not only had she taken on a dimmer view on human life than the Terminator she was traveling with, but had adopted the MO of the Terminator that first tried to kill her. She almost killed a father in front of his wife and kid, something that hits her close to home after losing Reese and almost losing John.
  • Never Mess with Granny: She's well past 60 in Terminator: Dark Fate, and she still packs heavy weapons just in case.
  • Oh, Crap!: Two notable examples in the second film. She gets a very subtle one when she's shown pictures of the new T-800 but she hides her reaction to it from the asylum orderlies. She gets a big one when the T-800 shows up during her escape from the hospital.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Twice in as many movies:
    • Judgement Day solidified her Character Development into a self-sufficient Action Girl who- though somewhat unhinged- is capable of outwitting and overpowering her captors, and is well on her way to making good her escape... Until the sight of a T-800 strolling out of an elevator knocks her off her feet and sends her screaming back in the other direction, no less the helpless girl she was in the previous movie.
    • In Dark Fate she vows never to call Carl, the T-800 that killed John by name, so disgusted is she by his actions. So when she calls out to the badly damaged Carl by name as Rev-9 chokes the life out of Dani, begging him to save her, it's an indication of how things are moments away from going to hell. Again.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: In Dark Fate, she watches "Carl" shoot John dead right in front of her eyes.
  • Parental Abandonment:
    • Has a Disappeared Dad in the first film and her mother was killed by the T-800.
    • She herself is a Missing Mom to John most of his life, with her being locked in a mental asylum and all.
  • Pink Means Feminine: Spends most of the first film wearing pink clothes (both her waitress uniform and her main outfit).
  • The Protagonist: Of the first two films. Kyle and the second T-800 are The Hero of the first and second films respectively, but she has about as much screen time (and certainly more dialogue than the latter), and the story is largely told from her viewpoint.
  • Sanity Slippage: A big part of her character arc in Terminator 2. She's already mentally a mess by the beginning of the second film and progressively gets even worse. The introduction of a new T-800 physically identical to the one that tried to murder her and killed her lover coupled with the realization that Judgment Day is drawing closer cause her to start losing it, culminating in a particularly bad nightmare that causes her to nearly murder Miles Dyson in front of his wife and young son. Fortunately she stops just short of it after realizing what she's doing.
  • Screw Destiny: Is willing to commit cold-blooded murder to protect her son and stop Judgment Day. Bonus points for providing the trope image itself.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: In the second film as a result of having lost her paramour to a cyborg that was hunting her down with the intent to kill her.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: In the original continuity, Sarah Connor died of cancer after the events of the second movie, with her son talking about it. After all but first two movies were made non-canon, Dark Fate killed off John Connor instead with Sarah coming back.
  • Take the Wheel: Is made to do this in both the first and second movie.
  • Tank-Top Tomboy: In the epilogue of the first movie, and then throughout the second movie, after she Takes a Level in Badass.
  • This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: "You're terminated, fucker!" Also a Pre-Mortem One-Liner and Precision F-Strike.
  • Thou Shalt Not Kill: Despite her being a Combat Pragmatist, she's never taken the life of a human being. The one time she becomes a "terminator" to execute someone she thinks is the reason SkyNet exists, she can't bring herself to be an unemotional killer.
  • Time-Travel Romance: One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance.
  • Time-Travel Tense Trouble: Sarah has a problem with Reese telling her of all the things she hasn't done yet.
  • Took a Level in Badass: During the events between the first and second movie. It's deconstructed as it lands her in a mental hospital, and Sarah later admits that she's been a terrible mother to John.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Mentally stable mother-of-the-year she is not. By the time of Dark Fate, she's devoid of any kindness whatsoever and treats even her closest allies like dirt.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: She regains a lot of her humanity by the end of the second film, and becomes a better mother to John in the process.
  • Tsundere: In Judgment Day, while it's clear she deeply cares about John, her parenting skills aren't exactly there. In Dark Fate, she willingly chooses to help Dani because she reminded her of herself in Sarah's early years.
  • Two First Names: Her last name can be traditionally used as a given name.
  • Ungrateful Bitch: Instead of hugging her own son and thanking him, she just checked if John was hurt and scolds him for trying to rescue her.
    Sarah: You cannot risk yourself, even for me. You're too important! Do you understand?
    (John begins to cry. Sarah shakes her head in disappointment.)
    John: I had to get you out of that place. I'm sorry!
    Sarah: I don't need your help. I can take care of myself.
  • Vocal Evolution: Linda Hamilton gives her a softer voice in the first movie displaying her Shrinking Violet innocence. In the sequel, she gives her a more assertive and commanding voice to fit her Action Mom status. By Dark Fate she's developed into a growler.
  • Wrongfully Committed: At the beginning of the second movie, she is introduced being interrogated in a mental ward, having spent years in the mental facility after failing to convince the public of the impending judgement day (from the first movie) and attempting to bomb a computer factory to stop the apocalypse all by herself.
  • You Killed My Father:
    • In the first film the T-800 killed Sarah's mother trying to find Sarah.
    • Then, in a more impactful way for her, another T-800 kills John in Terminator: Dark Fate. Cue I'll Kill You!.

Other Continuities

    Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnorgrave.jpg

John Connor's mother. She died of cancer between Judgment Day and Rise of the Machines, but not without leaving something behind.


  • Call-Back: The phrase on her epitaph: "No fate but what we make".
  • Greater-Scope Paragon: Being John Connor's mother, she was the one who shielded him from Skynet by influencing him to go off-grid.
  • Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Despite only being given six months to live when she was diagnosed with leukemia, Sarah survived longer than expected, just to make sure Judgement Day didn't happen when originally predicted.
    John: The doctors only gave her six months, but she fought for three years. Long enough to make sure.
    Kate: Make sure?
    John: That the world didn't end.
  • Missing Mom: She's dead for a couple of years by the time John is attacked by a new Terminator.
  • More Dakka: Her coffin is full of weapons. She's been secretly cremated, and her ashes have been scattered somewhere in New Mexico.
  • Posthumous Character: She died in 1997, the very year Judgment Day was originally supposed to happen.
  • Properly Paranoid: Despite telling John otherwise, she never truly believed Judgement Day had been stopped, and left behind a weapons cache for John to use in the event her fears proved accurate.
    John: "Every day after this one is a gift" she told me "We made it. We're free." But I never really believed that. [looks at the weapons cache] I guess she didn't either.
  • Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Linda Hamilton refused to come back after reading the script, so Sarah was killed off.

    The Sarah Connor Chronicles 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarah_connor_scc.jpg

Played by: Lena Headey

Aliases: Sarah Reese, Sarah Baum

The mother of John Connor, she was told that he will grow up to be the leader of the resistance against the malevolent A.I. SkyNet. Currently lives with John, Cameron, and Derek in Los Angeles, trying to stop the creation of SkyNet.


  • Action Girl: Knowledge of the coming apocalypse made her Took a Level in Badass, causing her to train in the use of many in the use of military-grade weapons and become an expert at handling survival situations.
    Derek: Remind me again, why are the boys out here and the girls in there?
    John: Because one of the girls is harder than nuclear nails.
    Derek: And the other one's a cyborg.
  • Action Mom: One episode even has Sarah saying to the child she saved that while she's not a spy, she is a mom.
  • Anti-Hero: She can be pretty ruthless when it comes to keeping John safe, which puts them at odds since John has a Chronic Hero Syndrome.
  • Badass Normal: She's a mere human with combat training who regularly is up against Terminators.
  • Cartwright Curse: Like John, everyone who loves Sarah dies. Kyle, her parents and roommate in the first film, and Charley Dixon, Sarah's ex-fiancĂ©.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Sarah keeps concealed weapons scattered around the house, such as a shotgun hidden behind wallpaper, and a huge trunk of rifles and shotguns under everyone's respective beds. And the furniture is lined with kevlar.
  • Drives Like Crazy: Sarah is a terrible driver, because she's usually driving very fast away from a scene, and talking to her passengers. In the season 2 premiere, she's trying to talk to John and crashes the car.
  • Fantastic Racism: Doesn't waste an opportunity to express how much she hates Terminators and spends many a episode saying something hateful towards Cameron.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: She jumps from 1999 to 2007 in the pilot. Being in a world where technology is even more present only makes her even more paranoid.
  • Hopeless with Tech: Justifiable, in that she sees every kind of technology as a path leading to the apocalypse, but she really is hopeless.
    Sarah: [To Andy, when buying a cell phone] When I push these buttons, will someone talk to me?
  • Jerkass Has a Point: While her treatment of Cameron is in no way nice or appreciative, she does have reason to distrust Terminators, especially the new breed who can fake emotions or glitch and try to kill them as Cameron ended up doing.
  • The Leader: Until the day comes that John must fulfill his destiny as the leader of the human resistance, his mom is the one calling the shots.
  • Lethal Chef: Other than pancakes and PB&J, Sarah can't cook.
  • Mama Bear: Anything she does is to ensure John survives.
  • Properly Paranoid: Her paranoia often puts her at odds with her son, but she's proven to be right more often than not.
  • The Protagonist: Her name isn't in the title for nothing. This is her story.
  • Tired of Running: Her utilitarian lifestyle has kept her on the run for her entire life and its clearly taking a toll on her.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Noticeably compared to the Linda Hamilton version when it comes to treating allied Terminators.
  • Screw Destiny: She has already skipped her cancer death, so this becomes her motto.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: When Cameron informs Sarah of the death from cancer she would have faced in the original timeline had they not jumped 8 years through time over her death. This led her to see an oncologist and despite having no current signs of symptoms she adopted a strict regimen of exercise and supplements. But despite her best efforts, her health began to deteriorate slowly through the last half of Season 2.

    Terminator: Genisys 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahconnoremiliaclarke.jpg
"Everyone who loves me dies."

Played by: Emilia Clarke (adult), Willa Taylor (child)

The mother of John Connor, who trained him from birth to fight against the machines. In the new timeline, Skynet tried to assassinate her at age nine, and she was saved by a Terminator she took to calling "Pops." By the time Reese meets her, she is a trained soldier who has been waiting for him her entire life.


  • Action Girl: She can kick a major amount of ass due to her forced upbringing by a killer robot.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: Linda Hamilton's version has dirty-blonde hair, Emilia Clarke has dark brown hair.
  • Adaptational Badass: Thanks to being trained by a Terminator, she becomes much more competent than she was during the events of the first film.
  • Adrenaline Makeover: Unlike her original timeline self, Sarah has a noticeable absence of '80s Hair. In 1984, she's got 21st century type hairstyles.
  • Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Cold, distanced, and seemingly as dark as her hair.
  • Anti-Hero: Her upbringing made her a very unhappy person, and she is very resentful of being "destined" to do certain things.
  • Arranged Marriage: Played straight aside from the marriage. Sarah states that Kyle is "the one [she's] been waiting for all [her] life", giving their relationship sort of an "arranged marriage" vibe. We've never been given any indication that she's tried dating or seeing anyone else in the intervening years. However, the marriage part of it was technically never intended, as Kyle is supposed to sleep with her, father their son, and then die.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Kyle, with the hostility mostly generated on her part since she doesn't want to fall in love with him to then lose him like in the original timeline.
  • Broken Bird: Having your parents killed when you're nine years old to then spend the rest of your life raised by a killer robot who lets you know about your harsh fate doesn't come without a lot of psychological scarring.
    Sarah: Everyone who loves me dies.
  • Cartwright Curse: See the above quote.
  • Cleavage Window: The black jacket over low cut black top kind. Jacketless for the most of the movie, though.
  • Cold Sniper: During the scene where "Pops" confronts the T-800.
  • Come with Me If You Want to Live: How she introduces herself to Kyle.
  • Composite Character: This Sarah integrates aspects of both Connors from Terminator 2: Judgment Day during the timeline of the first film.
  • Daddy's Girl: She's very close to her "Pops", who has raised her and protected her since she lost her family.
  • Damsel out of Distress: Kyle went to the past to protect her, only to find out she needs no protection.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She gradually warms up to Kyle.
  • Deuteragonist: After Kyle, she's the second central character.
  • Feet-First Introduction: The first shots of her are as she runs up a building to get a vantage point to snipe the T-800.
  • Final First Hug: With "Pops" prior to the 2017 travel.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: Once she arrives in 2017.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: Played with. Despite her leather jacket was heavily featured in promo shots, She loses it to acid rather quickly and never got another one.
  • Laser-Guided Tyke-Bomb: Once the Terminator adopts her at the age of 9, she is raised up to be a Lady of War.
  • Mandatory Motherhood: Sarah's main importance, as we all know, is to become the mother of the savior of humanity, John. However, knowing full well that her importance is directly linked to the ultimate destruction of the world as we know it, Sarah wants no part of it. Further, Sarah now no longer has the same chemistry her former counterpart had with Kyle, who fathered John in the first movie. She seems to warm up to him at the end, but things leave off on an ambiguous note.
  • Morality Pet: To "Pops". The way he cares about her shows he's not a mere killer robot.
  • Naked on Arrival: Time travel forces her to do this.
  • The Napoleon: A 5'2" (1.57 m) stature and Sarah's Hair-Trigger Temper combine to create this effect.
  • Parental Abandonment: Her parents were killed by the T-1000 and the "Pops" T-800 serves as her Parental Substitute.
  • Raised by Robots: Sarah was raised by the Terminator sent to protect her after her parents were killed. She calls him "Pops".
  • Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Spending all this time off the grid with only a killer robot as company didn't help her social skills.
  • Screw Destiny: She wants to change the course of the timeline to prevent Judgement Day from ever happening and gain the right to live her life the way she wants.
    Sarah Connor: The story of my life. Look, and it's not just "mating". I'm supposed to fall in love with him!
    Pops: My files do not deal with love.
    Sarah Connor: Shocker there...
    Pops: You're being emotional.
    Sarah Connor: This is my life! I wouldn't mind being consulted once in a while about how it's gonna go!
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps: She loses her jacket after some acid drips on its sleeve, and spends rest of the movie in sleeveless tops.
  • Small Girl, Big Gun: She's 5'2" and she sure loves carrying assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns, grenade launchers...
  • Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Her harsh attitude is her way to keep others from getting close to her, as she doesn't want to lose people she cares about again.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: She knows she's destined to fall in love and conceive a child with Kyle but she knows that he's destined to die so she tries so hard to avert at least the former. Pops being a literal solid Shipper on Deck with a Because Destiny Says So type of programming doesn't help matters. Still, it's obvious that she gradually still becomes attracted to him.
  • Time-Travel Romance: With Kyle. One where the romance has a good deal of plot significance. To the point Sarah knows it will happen and is attempting to avert it.
  • Tsundere: The more she tries to resist being attracted to Kyle, the more she gets closer to him. She even says to Kyle that he shouldn't be too confident only because both embraced without clothes. Justified as she knows he's destined to die protecting her.
  • Two First Names: Her last name can be traditionally used as a given name.
  • UnPerson: When she and Kyle are taken into custody by the SFPD for materializing naked on the freeway and causing an accident as a result, the inspectors who investigate them find Sarah particularly suspicious because they can't find any fingerprint or DNA matches on her, no facial recognition hits on driver's licenses or passports, and no hits on social media accounts, student IDs or credit cards.

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