Question: This has always been a question between my friend and I. Why does the T-800 take the sunglasses in the movie?In the first movie it made sense, to hide the glowing eye. Here it appears to serve no purpose beyond appearance. Is there any other reason beyond this?
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11th Dec 2019
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Answer: By best guess, I believe it is because of the glow in the eyes. The mechanical eyes, as seen when the skin is gone, are glowing red lights and they aren't exactly dim. This could potentially shine through skin, or eye tissue, like when you hold a flashlight against your hand. In a dim lighting, like at night, it could be possible to see the glow of these mechanical parts behind the already thin tissue of the organic parts of the eye, and thus give him away.
That would make them very poor infiltration units, wouldn't it?
8th Oct 2019
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Question: 1. Why was Dyson holding the detonator in that way where dropping his hand would set off the bomb? Did he willingly set it off, or was he stuck in a position where he couldn't avoid it? 2. Was there any reason only one terminator was sent back to kill John? Wouldn't multiple terminators increase the chance of success, considering the last one failed to kill Sarah?
Answer: For your first question. Dyson was dying, no way to stop that. He was holding the detonator like that as a literal "dead man's switch". He needed the swat team to get close enough before he would die and drop his arm or warn them to get away, showing the urgency of the situation. One look at him and the lead guy knew they had to run, allowing the others more time to get away. He sacrificed himself to buy more time. For Question 2. It's been stated several times that the terminator was sent back in both T1 and T2 as the last resort as Skynet was being destroyed and taken over. The Humans were at the gate and the time machine was still experimental and new. Had Skynet had more time to do it, sure, they would likely have sent an army back. However only one could go in at a time and the Humans got there just in time to stop Skynet and send one of their own back in time after the single terminator.
Answer: 1) Dyson's plan was to blow up the Cyberdyne office, but didn't want to cause any casualties in the SWAT team. He held an object above the detonator as to allow them time to escape, so that when he died he would drop it onto the detonator, the office would get blown up but no innocent people got hurt. He likely knew he wasn't going to get out alive, but made sure none of the data in the office was going to stay behind. 2) One of the most important things for a Terminator to do is to blend in with the public to prevent any suspicion from being drawn to it and prevent people from finding out about Skynet's existence. Had Skynet sent back multiple Terminators all trying to kill John Connor at once, far more suspicion would be drawn to them. It'd be much easier for them to send back one Terminator because that would be a better way of blending in with its surroundings.
9th Aug 2018
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Question: Why did the T-1000 kill the officer in the beginning and steal his clothes? Later we see the uniform heal so we know he can create clothing.
Answer: He didn't steal his clothes, but copied them. He can only copy things that he physically touches. He had to touch the cop to take on his look. Also since the cop was a witness to this ruthless killing machine, it needed to kill him to protect itself from being discovered too soon. The Terminator is an infiltration unit on an assassination mission to kill John Connor. As advanced as it is, it needs as little attention drawn to it as possible. Having the entire police force chasing him down would not be ideal for his goal to get Connor and would inevitably slow him down and risk allowing Connor a better chance of escape. The T 1000 also is an emotionless machine programmed by other machines that are intent on killing off all humans in the future. It doesn't value human life, and if anything has been programmed to regard them as a pest to be dealt with. The cop was a means to an ends and an obstacle to take out. As well, the cop did also posses a weapon, and was the T-1000's quickest way to get his hands on a gun.
Answer: While the T-1000 did kill the officer at the beginning (which is pretty much standard behavior for Terminators), it didn't steal the officer's clothes. It merely sampled the officer's appearance as soon as it touched him. However, it did steal the officer's firearm, because the T-1000 could not mimic complex mechanical objects or weapons (it could only mimic stabbing and cutting weapons).
7th Jul 2013
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Question: Something I've always wondered about T2 since I was a child, why does the T-1000 stick to the appearance of the first person that he killed throughout the whole movie? Any time he kills and takes the form of a person he always changes back to the first policeman he killed, why?
Chosen answer: Robert Patrick is not actually the first guy he killed. That is his default form that he came back through time as. He does kill a cop moments after time travel and dons his uniform. That is what you see him revert to, clothing wise, presumably because appearing to be a police officer has more advantages than regular civilians.
Those are fine answers since they fit the scenario, but the real answer is because the filmmakers know that if the T-1000 keeps changing appearance they could confuse some of the audience which would decrease the movie's appeal. A consistent form lets people immediately identify him.
Answer: Because there are lots of things a cop can do and places they can go that others can't, so it's an ideal form to keep. For example, nobody questions why a cop is carrying a gun in public.
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Answer: The real life answer is because the sunglasses are part of the Terminator's signature look. The in universe answer is because they are a clothing item that will augment his appearance. He also takes a leather jacket he doesn't need. He would look perfectly normal with just the gray T-shirt but since the biker was also wearing the jacket, he took that as well.
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