A man (David Cheaney), grilling in his backyard, is confronted by a huge man (Patrick Killpatrick), who asks him if he is Martin Bedell. Sadly, he is. Derek (Brian Austin Green) shows Sarah (Lena Headey) and John (Thomas Dekker) a newspaper article about a murdered man with the same name as one of John Connor’s best soldiers in the future—Martin Bedell. There are two others left in Los Angeles and one is at Presidio Alto Military Prep School. Derek and John go there to stop the Terminator.
Agent Ellison (Richard T. Jones) is assigned to research the nuclear power plant incident for Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson). She shows him the eye of a T-888. At Presidio, Derek remembers the future, particularly Martin Bedell (Will Rothhaar). He enrolls John at the school and, as a veteran, he is offered a job there. Another Martin Bedell—a child--is nearly killed by the Terminator. But Sarah grabs him and drives him off in the Jeep. The Terminator jumps on the roof and peels it off. Sarah shoots him off, but he continues in pursuit. Agent Ellison speaks to Mister Nelson (Dean Norris) at the power plant, who shows him the valve that was ripped right off. They expect the plant to come back on, fully automated now.
At Presidio, Derek discovers tar-pits in the woods while John is on the firing range. John meets Martin Bedell, and they go running together. They bump into Derek, who recognizes him from the future. Sarah and Cameron (Summer Glau) hide young Marty Bedell (William Brent, also called Billy Unger) at the Connor house. He notices she’s not a normal kind of mother and Cameron is weird. Derek addresses the students at Presidio. In the future, Bedell explains a mission. Now, Derek watches John and Bedell becoming friends in the cafeteria. Derek briefs John that the T-888 will be after Bedell in the woods. Ellison visits the bar at the plant, asking about Greenway, and sees Sarah in a picture. Derek and John set up an ambush in the woods. Ellison tells Weaver there were two Terminators at the plant.
At the bar, Nelson meets a woman who seduces and then eviscerates him with a metal tongue. She morphs into Catherine Weaver. Cameron tells Sarah that the FBI have moved Marty’s parents to a safe house. Sarah tells Derek the machine is headed his way and Cameron is coming. Sarah helps Marty with his book report, and he thanks her for saving his life, which doesn’t often happen to her. Derek plans to defend Bedell in the woods. Derek shoots the T-888 and blinds one eye. John alerts the Terminator to his presence to draw him away from Bedell.
John runs, the T-888 in pursuit. He lures him across the tar-pit and Derek shoots him. He sinks into the pit. They finish him off with a thermite charge as Cameron is watching from a distance. Sarah says good-bye to Marty and sends him off on the bus. John and Derek plan to leave as Bedell wonders what to do, now that he knows the future. Derek tells John that in the future Bedell saves Kyle, his father, with a suicide mission, making it possible for John to be born. With Derek, he rescued forty prisoners, including John.
The Wizard of Oz was John’s favorite book as a child, which is why Sarah picks it for Marty. The new 888 uses the same .45 AMT Hardballer Longslide gun from the original Terminator movie. The Spanish word for tar is La Brea. When Sarah discusses the differences between the Oz book and the famous movie, she is thorough and accurate. The episode did not get the best reviews, mostly because Cameron had little to do.