Sarah Connor in The Terminator: Why is she one of the most memorable characters in cinema?

“Not fate, but what we do.” This phrase was first uttered by Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) in a deleted scene from The Terminator (1984). The latter, which can be seen on YouTube, shows Sarah and Kyle Reese arguing about this concept of fate before starting a discussion.

Heroine distinguished by fate

Sara is heard saying “There is no destiny except what we make for ourselves” About 4 minutes into the video below. Sarah Connor (literally) imprints this expression on people’s minds in the very second part. On a wooden table, he writes “NO FATE” in large letters with a knife.

This phrase will return in other opus of the saga and will become iconic as well as famous “I’ll be back” or “Come with me if you want to live”. For example, in Rise of the Machines, No Fate But What We Make is Sarah Connor’s epigraph plastered on the latter’s grave.

When we talk about this remarkable movie hero, we cannot ignore this motto that characterizes this character so well. Indeed, in the first film, Sarah is an ordinary young woman who is drawn against her will into an extraordinary adventure as the mother of the future savior of mankind.

Seemingly fragile, the latter slowly takes his fate into his own hands and eventually gets rid of the Terminator using a huge hydraulic press. From this moment on, his outlook changes; He truly becomes the master of his destiny, strongly embodying his motto: “There is no fate but what we make”. From a vulnerable young woman in need of Kyle Reese’s protection, she becomes a strong heroine willing to do anything to protect her son.

Avant-garde character

However, Sarah Connor gets her full heroic dimension in the second episode, which is still directed by James Cameron. We first meet her son, John, played by Edward Furlong. The latter was placed in foster care because his mother was locked up in a mental hospital after trying to warn the authorities about the coming “last judgment.”

A certain Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) successor in Alien, Sarah Connor appears fierce and violent, physically sharp as ever, beefing up her muscular escape plan before John and the T-800 arrive. In the 80s and early 90s, strong characters in Hollywood cinema remained rather simplistic and lacked depth. This is no longer the case with Sarah.

Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor thus paved the way for strong female characters, with a fascinating story full of poignant moments that add a strong emotional dimension to these heroines. So, to protect John and save humanity, Sarah is ready to sacrifice everything, including her existence.

He doesn’t just stand behind the Terminator and let him take the bullets; Sarah grabs a gun and isn’t going to stand there without trying to reverse the course of history. Thus, midway through the film, he leaves John and the T-800 with the radical decision to kill Miles Dyson, the original inventor of the microprocessor that would lead to the development of Skynet. John eventually catches up to her and saves her from going to such an end.

Nothing works without Sarah!

At the time of Terminator 2’s release, action movies were almost completely dominated by male characters. That’s why Sarah Connor is radically opposed to everything we’re used to seeing. It’s all the more spectacular because he has to collaborate with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the world’s most famous and bankable action star.

Being on an equal footing with an actress of Schwarz’s caliber, she becomes a true pioneer, a standard bearer of female heroism. Slowly, the big guns are dwindling, from Stallone to Schwarzenegger, including Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Muscles are becoming less and less popular in a society that prefers more physically conventional heroes like John McClane (Bruce Willis) in the Die Hard saga or Neo (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix.

Sarah Connor stepped in and allowed these characters to emerge and develop.

Sarah Connor, mother of all heroes and heroines?

The character created by James Cameron not only paved the way for strong heroines (Buffy, Lara Croft, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Black Widow or Furiosa), but also paved the way for the appearance of psychologically deep male characters who were ready to overcome themselves. Their fate, without mountains of muscles.

These heroes and heroines manage to overcome their physical weaknesses in front of the big guns and become true leaders and thereby win challenges together, enhancing team spirit, cunning and intelligence.

Ultimately, Sarah Connor is a great heroine because of her complexity and revolutionary role in action cinema. He embodies strength, determination and humanity, making him an unforgettable, memorable and immortal character.

Let us leave him with these last words, on a note of hope in these troubled times: “If a machine, the Terminator, can understand the value of a human life, maybe we can too”– he says at the end of the second part, after the sacrifice of the T-800.