It's definitely supposed to be ambiguous -- when and if Cameron flipped the "good" switch during that time or if she was just cleverly faking. We-the-audience are in the exact same situation as the Connors -- did she really change? How stupid was John being to try resetting her chip? (Plenty, I'd say.)
'The Message'
Boxed Set, Vol. V: Just a Hint of Denial and a Dash of Retcon
A topic for the discussion of Doctor Who, Arrow, and The Flash. Beware possible invasions of iZombie, Sleepy Hollow, or pretty much any other "genre" (read: sci fi, superhero, or fantasy) show that captures our fancy. Expect adult content and discussion of the Big Gay Sex.
Marvel superheroes are discussed over at the MCU thread.
Whitefont all unaired in the U.S. ep discussion, identifying it as such, and including the show and ep title in blackfont.
Blackfont is allowed after the show has aired on the east coast.
This is NOT a general TV discussion thread.
I, personally, don't think she was good at any point before John took the chip out. i think she made a decision to override the termination program once he reloaded the chip and she went live. the question definitely becomes why and will it last.
Josh Friedman has stated he has no intention of exploring Cameron's "humanity" and wants to concentrate on how a machine would adapt to our world. so i don't think she's grown affectionate for John. she may just be biding her time...
I enjoyed the Cameron, John, Sarah storyline. Manson, NSM, though she definitely has the right look. She's always been a little creepy looking (IMO) but she is getting more odd-looking with age.
Josh Friedman has stated he has no intention of exploring Cameron's "humanity"
Well, Joss Whedon never had any intention of exploring (unsouled) vampires' "humanity" either (or so I swear I remember reading back in the day), but it happened anyway.
i think she made a decision to override the termination program once he reloaded the chip and she went live.
I don't think there was any "decision" about it - John reprogrammed the chip to override her default orders. If he'd done it wrong, she would have killed him the moment she woke up.
But apparently terminators are not pure emotionless machines. Cameron told Sarah "not to let him do that again if she ever turned bad again". And Shirley Manson seemed angry.
Emotion would definitely seem to be behind Manson killing that mouthy subordinate. If she thought he was going to become a problem for her plans, terminating him in the corporate sense would have resulted in a lot less police attention than an employee going missing or turning up dead in the men's room.
I think the former could be part of the programming John did to the chip (either then or in the future). The latter definitely seemed to indicate a personality and intent, as opposed to programming.
Ew. Does FOX's marketing department recruit from sex offender registries? Because, ew.