Terminator : John Connor Doesn't Exist (400 words)
Hello.
The famous paradox of Terminator 1 “John sends his dad in the past to have sex with a woman so that he can be born” is not.
In Terminator 1, Kyle Reese is Sarah Connor’s son. John Connor doesn’t exist.
Kyle comes back to 1984 because humanity lost the war against the machines. Warning Sarah Connor that she should prepare her son to become the leader of the resistance is an attempt at pre-empting the eradication of humanity.
Kyle doesn’t tell Sarah that he is her son because he is ashamed and feels undeserving of her love because he thinks that by losing the war, he failed her.
So instead of telling her the sinister truth, Kyle invents John Connor the leader he would have wanted to be. He tells Sarah that her son will be the saviour of humanity, but if it already happened, why should she need to prepare her son to become so ? Why should she take initiatives when everything worked out without her being warned ? Because nothing worked out.
Kyle’s flashbacks from the future show us the defeat of humanity. His girlfriend is killed, then he himself is vanquished and when he eventually finds a way to safety in a bunker, the place is attacked by a T800. Where’s the victory ? And where’s John Connor ? These flashbacks necessarily take place after Kyle met the hero as he already owns Sarah’s picture but the leader is nowhere to be seen and neither is the victory. Also, why would John give Kyle a picture of his mother ?
There is no John Connor, Kyle is Sarah’s son. When he tells her that he loves her and always have, he is not talking about some sort of romantic (weird and fascinated) love, but about the more understandable feelings of a son for his mother... which is why he regrets saying it as soon as he did because Sarah takes it as an invitation for love making.
By having sex with her he erases himself because she gets pregnant and doesn’t need to have the child she was supposed to have with another man anymore. The child was Kyle Reese and now he will never be born. Kyle Reese the disappointing child commits suicide and gives birth to the fantazy of an incestuous mother: the perfect asexual little messiah, saviour of humanity: J.C. Jesus Connor.
If it sounds far-fetched, remember that the official interpretation is that John Connor triggers his own origin by sending his dad to the past so that he can have sex with his mother who will give life to him, so that he can send his dad to the past, so that he can have sex with his mother who will give life to him, so that he can send his dad to the past...
Ciao.
If this article interested you and you want more here's the real deal.