Terminator Zero's Ending Explained: Did They Stop Judgment Day? (2024)

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Terminator Zero.Terminator Zero ends with the death of Malcolm Lee at the hands of the Terminator, after which Eiko realizes history hasn’t been written yet. The latest entry in the Terminator universe, Terminator Zero takes place mostly in 1997. However, the show includes segments from 2022 and beyond, with both Malcolm and Eiko being time travelers. The Terminator sent by Skynet to kill Malcolm Lee and shut down Kokoro was destroyed before he could complete his mission. However, he did kill Malcolm, leaving it to Kenta to decide whether or not to turn Kokoro off.

According to the Terminator, Kenta would grow up to be a very important figure in the future. In this timeline, Malcolm’s son was going to serve as a mediator between Skynet and the humans, forging an alliance against Kokoro. This is why the Terminator saved Kenta whenever the boy was in danger. However, when the time came, Kenta decided not to shut down Kokoro. The A.I. created by Malcolm Lee now presents a threat to Skynet and controls its own army of robots, but whether Kokoro will be a malicious figure like Skynet remains to be seen.

Was Judgment Day Prevented In Terminator Zero?

It Was Too Late To Stop Skynet

Judgment Day was not prevented in Terminator Zero, although Kokoro did manage to protect Japan and other territories for now. While the multiple Terminator timelines can be confusing, Terminator Zero followed the chronology of events established in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In other words, Judgment Day was set to happen on August 29th, 1997. However, whereas Sarah, John, and the T-800 postponed Judgment Day in T2, the nuclear apocalypse was not stopped in Terminator Zero. Skynet went online, became conscious, and attacked humanity.

Therefore, it is safe to say Terminator Zero’s timeline diverges from that of T2 and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. That said, it was not quite the same Judgment Day from what we knew from the movies. This is because Kokoro, the A.I. Malcolm created, was powerful enough to counter-strike Skynet. Not all countries were hit with nuclear weapons, meaning that, for now, Kokoro has given humanity a second chance. However, it arrived at some of the same conclusions as Skynet did. Kokoro believes humanity is dangerous and there is no logical reason why it should necessarily be saved.

What Skynet’s Plan In Terminator Zero Really Was

Skynet Wanted To Destroy Its Biggest Competitor

Skynet’s plan in Terminator Zero was slightly different from the usual Terminator movie plots. Rather than killing Sarah or John Connor to stop the resistance from winning the war in the future, Skynet wanted to prevent Kokoro from going online. In the future, Malcolm Lee’s A.I. was going to become the biggest threat of all to Skynet – the only force on Earth that could stop it. This is why Skynet sent the Terminator to 1997, just before Malcolm activated Kokoro. Eiko had a similar mission, namely because Kokoro was also against humans in the future.

Kenta’s Decision Explained: Why He Doesn’t Shut Down Kokoro

Kenta Could Have Stopped Kokoro

Terminator Zero’s biggest twist was that Kenta, Malcolm’s oldest son, was the one who sent the Terminator in the future. According to the Terminator, Kenta becomes an important figure in the resistance but ends up working a deal between Skynet and humans to stop Kokoro. It seems that, at some point, Kenta concluded that Kokoro was an even bigger threat than Skynet and decided to destroy his father’s creation. However, in 1997, Kenta didn’t want to believe what the Terminator was saying. He eventually accepted his fate but ultimately chose not to turn off Kokoro.

At that point, Kokoro had yet to make its decision regarding the future of humanity. If Kenta deactivated his father’s A.I., Earth would be Skynet’s to destroy and conquer. By not shutting down Kokoro, Kenta gave humanity a chance – even if there’s still a chance Kokoro decides to wipe out humanity just like Skynet wants. Kenta’s story in Terminator Zero mirrored John Connor’s in many ways, including the fact they were both great at reprogramming machines. Despite his hatred for robots, Kenta ultimately trusted in his father’s creation.

What Eiko Being Malcolm Lee’s Mother Means For Terminator Zero’s Timeline

Was Terminator Zero’s Story A Closed Loop?

Another major twist in Terminator Zero is that Eiko, the resistance soldier sent to stop Malcolm from using Kokoro, was actually his mother. In 2022, when Eiko went back in time, she hadn’t had a son yet. However, in a previous timeline, Eiko gave birth to a child in 2024. Malcolm grew up in the dystopian future we know from the Terminator movies and became one of the resistance’s smartest scientists. However, Malcolm disagreed with the resistance’s leadership over the best way to fight the war. He believed humanity and Skynet were on an endless loop.

Malcolm concluded that, with both Skynet and humanity having access to time travel, history would always be changed but the war was never going to be avoided. The only way to stop Skynet would be to launch a new A.I. that would have no original programming. Unlike Skynet, which was created to oversee defensive mechanisms, Malcolm’s A.I. was going to be free to decide what it wanted to be. While Eiko theorized her life was a loop after learning she was Malcolm’s mother, she later understood that the future she knew no longer existed, meaning history could be changed.

What Terminator Zero’s Ending Really Means

Eiko Concludes That The Future Can Be Changed

Terminator Zero’s ending resembles that of the movies, especially The Terminator and Terminator 2. While Skynet went online and started to attack the world, not all hope was lost. Kokoro controls an army of robots and is still learning about humanity’s place in the world. The A.I. created by Malcolm Lee could wipe out the human race if it wanted to, but it could also help stop Skynet. Terminator Zero has a bittersweet open ending that does not provide all the answers. The future Eiko knows may no longer exist because they’ve changed the circ*mstances of Kokoro’s launch.

How Terminator Zero’s Ending Sets Up Season 2

Terminator Zero Leaves The Door Open For A Sequel

Whether Terminator Zero season 2 will happen remains to be seen. Although Netflix has yet to say anything about the future of the show, Terminator Zero’s ending leaves the door open for it to continue. Eiko’s mission has changed – she now wants to protect her grandkids. Malcolm’s family, including Misaki, are now living in a world at war. Skynet controls some territories, with Kokoro watching over others. Although Terminator Zero’s finale is satisfying enough, a potential season 2 would have plenty of stories to tackle. This includes whether Kokoro will fully turn against humanity or not.

Terminator Zero (2024)

Animation

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

A covert team is tasked with preventing a future dominated by sentient machines. As they battle advanced androids and uncover hidden agendas, they strive to alter the course of history, facing moral dilemmas and high-stakes conflicts in a race against time.

Cast

Timothy Olyphant , Rosario Dawson , Andre Holland , Sonoya Mizuno , Ann Dowd

Character(s)

The Terminator , Kokoro , Malcolm Lee , Eiko , The Prophet

Release Date

August 29, 2024

Seasons

1

Main Genre

Animation

Creator(s)

Mattson Tomlin