What happens in the future, stays in the future.

Okay, thus far I've been on board with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Some eps have been better than others, but basically, I find the cast appealing, I was a fan of the movies and I've been able to overlook some of the inherent and obvious flaws (like why could Cameron act like a typical teen in the pilot, then suddenly resort to "robot behavior" immediately after with no idea how to relate to human beings? Or how does whipped up in a bathtub skin heal in a day or two, after being completely surgically sculpted to look like Garrett Dillahunt? Or does no one ever check the dogged and deadpan FBI agent's "to do list" while he's off pursuing a presumably off book and dead end case? Or how does a metal head travel through a time bubble when one of the Terminator rules is that nothing, unless completely encased in flesh, can make it through? And don't even get me started on the paradoxes associated with time travel storytelling). So those nitpicks aside, I've enjoyed my hour of Terminaty escape each Monday and played along.

However, last night, I watched Monday's ep and just scribbled down on a notepad "what the fuck?" Yeah, there were a few good moments. Yes, it was nice to get glimpses of the post-apocalyptic future. But:

• I couldn't tell who the hell was who in the future. The actors weren't different enough in look, dress and speech patterns to distinguish individually.
• What the hell was going on in the basement? There was some soothing music, and early 800 model terminators were dragging our resistance fighters down there, then bringing them back up. Were they being interrogated? Gang raped by models like Cameron? Forced to waltz with robots and compete in a horrific future version of Dancing With The Terminators? There wasn't enough set up on the front end, nor follow up on the back end, of the visits inside the room to create any suspense. Just a confused feeling of what the hell was that, and why are we wasting time on it?
• Why did Kyle Reese have the poorly photoshopped picture of Sarah and her dog BEFORE the resistance captured the station with the time machine? This is where paradoxes start to cause migraines. And even if the paradox doesn't come into play, why give it to him before he's been assigned and able to go back to meeting his baby's momma?
• Were we supposed to NOT know that Brian Austin Green shot Andy Goode? I mean, it was fairly obvious that he did last time, so why the big "reveal" at the end of the episode?
• And speaking of Andy Goode, what the fuck? So he's in the future with Reese, chained to a floor, and apologizing for causing judgment day? Not looking any older than he does in the "present" when he was trying to get in Sarah's pants (and then shot by Reese)? How did he cause judgment day, and go from chess playing robot inventing dork now, to captured and apologizing resistance fighter in the future? And then BACK AGAIN?

These aren't Lost-like questions that make the mind wonder and send you dashing off to wikipedia to look up philosophers and mythological references. Or pique your curiosity within the framework of what you already know or surmise could be possible. These are just "what the fuck?" questions that make you aghast at the plotting and execution.

Of course, I could have more faith in the producers and determine that these poorly played out scenarios will have a payoff that will be satisfying. But for a show that I like and watch, not love and obsess over, we can't have too many more of these bizarro plot points.