Mr Ferguson Is Ill Today (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode)
"Mr Ferguson Is Ill Today" is the eighth episode of the second series of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Sarah, Cameron, Derek, and Ellison work together while Cromartie gets closer to John and Riley in Mexico.
The episode is shot from te perspective of each of the main characters in the story: Sarah, Cromartie, Cameron, John and Agent Ellison. Many of the scenes overlap, eventually building up to a climactic shoot-out in Mexico.
Plot
Sarah and Cameron have their reservations over John's relationship with Riley. While Sarah installs a floor safe in the house to protect their belongings, Cameron goes upstairs to talk to John. Disturbingly, she removes her jacket before going into the room, then lies down on the bed beside him. She tells him that dating Riley is not a good idea, but recognizes that his life is lonely and that he and Cameron have talked about this in the future. John seems to become uncomfortable with her and asks her to leave so he can go to sleep.
After Cameron leaves the room, John grabs a bag and takes off with Riley. They take the bus to Mexico, to the town of Dehalo where John grew up. They stay in the honeymoon suite of a local hotel, and go out for dinner that night. In the restaurant, a local man takes their picture and asks John to pay for a copy. However, he recognizes John as Sarah Connor's son, and tries to extort money from him to delete the pictures. Riley tries to snatch the camera, and the two try to run, but end up in the local prison.
John is given the opportunity to call home and get picked up. He sends an emergency code to Derek and Sarah's phones. Derek receives the message while with Cameron and they head for Mexico to find him.
Sarah is kidnapped at home by Cromartie and taken to Mexico to find John. Cromartie has surmised that Cameron's chip is faulty. Sarah tries to escape from the car, but Cromartie catches her and locks her in the trunk.
Ellison is contacted by a former colleague to say that John Connor has been discovered in Mexico. He travels to Mexico to verify this, but while he is talking to the arresting officer, Cromartie enters the building and begins shooting the place up. Ellison, seeing the terminator, hides until the Cromartie is out of the way and follows John and Riley out of the building. He helps them escape in Cromartie's car.
Riley notices a thumping in the trunk and they discover Sarah locked inside. The four of them flee, with Cromartie in hot pursuit. They hide out briefly in a building, with Ellison explaining that the terminator has been watching his activities. Sarah calls Derek, who has just arrived at the jail with Cameron.
Cromartie catches up with Ellison and follows him back from his car to the church. He follows Ellison inside the building, but it is a trap, and they lock the machine inside while shooting at him through the narrow windows. Once they kill Cromartie, they remove his chip and bury the body until they can come back and destroy it properly. Ellison parts company with the group, with Sarah offering little in the way of sympathy for the things he lost since discovering the truth about the future.
