The Paradox at the Heart of The Terminator Franchise

The entire Terminator franchise is built around the concept of “the grandfather paradox,” a concept which comes up again and again in time travel stories. We explain why it does (and doesn’t) make sense!

This episode of Does it Fly? is presented by Netflix, the exclusive home of Terminator Zero, starring Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sonoya Mizuno, André Holland, and Ann Dowd. Terminator Zero is now streaming only on Netflix.

“Come with me if you want to learn.”

OK, fine, that’s not what anyone says pretty much anywhere in the Terminator franchise. But haven’t you ever wondered just how some of the time travel concepts that set up one of the most successful and beloved sci-fi movie and TV franchises of all time work?

This episode is really only dealing with the “grandfather paradox” as it relates to The Terminator (1984), James Cameron’s original sci-fi horror masterpiece that pretty much strapped a stardom rocket to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s back and helped redefine the boundaries of sci-fi and action storytelling on screen. It also kicked off one of the most sprawling and beloved science fiction franchises of a generation. 

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SUGGESTED VIEWING 

While we’re pretty much only focused on that first film for this episode, if you want to expand your Terminator knowledge, it can feel like a lot. When in doubt when you’re navigating a big franchise that occupies different places on its own timeline, we always advise you not overthink it and just watch in release order. So we’ll give you that along with some suggestions to make this as fun and painless as possible.

The Terminator (1984)

If you want a sci-fi action movie that’s filmed with the pacing and sense of dread of a horror movie, you can’t go wrong with the original. A legitimate classic of 1980s genre cinema, it has endured for a reason. If you only watch one movie in the franchise, this is the one!

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

If you only watch one other Terminator movie, make it 1991’s bigger and more technically groundbreaking sequel. For those of you who want a more summer blockbuster action sensibility as opposed to the first film’s horror undertones, you can just go ahead and watch Judgment Day on its own, as it does an excellent job getting you up to speed even if you haven’t seen the original. Bigger action sequences and some eye-popping special effects make this one essential viewing.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Probably not as bad as you’ve heard, but not exactly essential viewing either. This one builds out the lore of how Skynet rose to power and has a few bonkers battle sequences, but if time is of the essence, stick to the first two movies. It’s also the first entry in the franchise that starts messing with the canon in ways that future installments try to smooth out.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009)

The franchise’s first expansion into TV has a devoted cult following, and with good reason! Still, that’s a lot of viewing hours, and it isn’t strictly faithful to the lore of the series as a whole. This can be viewed as its own self-contained alternate timeline within the Terminator universe.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Terminator Salvation is a direct sequel to the events of Rise of the Machines…and thus a prequel to the first film. And despite starring Christian Bale at the height of his stardom as John Connor, it’s…well, let’s just say it’s not essential viewing. But if you’re keeping track so far, the canonical events of the franchise go from the first three movies to this one…which depicts events prior to the first film. Got it? Good, because it ain’t getting any easier!

Terminator Genisys (2015)

This one is essentially a reboot of the entire franchise and…you know what? You can skip it. Trust us.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Somewhat maligned upon release, but better than you’ve heard! We’re back in alternate timeline territory, though, as this film ignores everything other than the first two movies and instead acts as a direct (if belated) sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Honestly, worth your time, especially if you’re looking to condense the franchise to a more digestible three films (in this case The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Terminator: Dark Fate)

Terminator Zero (2024)

Netflix is the exclusive home of this first animated Terminator outing, made by the same anime studio who brought the classic Ghost in the Shell to screens. Terminator Zero functions both as a self-contained Terminator adventure (meaning you don’t necessarily need knowledge of the rest of the franchise to enjoy and understand it) and also as something that enriches the lore of the films. Lushly animated and boasting a cast that includes Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sonoya Mizuno, André Holland, and Ann Dowd, serious fans won’t want to miss this.

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

Grandfather Paradox

The central concept of this episode and the one we wanted to explore the most! This article has the most succinct explanation of a rather headache-y concept we’ve ever seen. “…the idea that a cause must precede its effect. The paradox suggests that a cause is eliminated by its own effect, thus preventing its own cause and essentially becoming reverse causation.” It goes on to explain some of the other scientific concepts that inform this pretty well. For a little additional context, you can also check out this piece.

The Bootstrap Paradox

The other paradox that informs our discussion (and pops up often in pop culture time travel stories). Our question is…why is Northrop Grumman writing about this. WHAT DO THEY KNOW THAT THEY AREN’T TELLING US?!?

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Hey, remember this one from our episode on the transporter from Star Trek? We don’t think you can do any better for quality book-learnin’ on the subject than this article from CalTech.

Relativity Train

In case our animation illustrating Hakeem’s point about viewing actions in a train traveling at a different speed than the observer, Harvard University made a pretty substantial meal out of the experiment which you can read about (and watch) here.

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

Just a reminder, if you haven’t watched our exploration of Xenomorph biology as it was explored in the first Alien movie (which also happens to be one of our most popular episodes), now’s a good time to get to it!

Check out our episode on the most infamous moment in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary. The movie, not our episode. Oh, you know what we mean!

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