Terminator Zero 

‘Model 108‘ Recap

Terminator Zero Model 108 drops us into the cat amusement park where Eiko, Misaki, Reika and Hiro are approached by an 1NNO puppeteered by Kokoro. It confirms that Kenta is already on his way to their father.

At Cortex, Malcolm is in Kokoro’s dome while the Terminator outside threatens him with Kenta’s life. Malcolm chooses to protect his work rather than save Kenta. But he struggles to listen to his son’s cries and unseals the door anyway, telling the Terminator that it’s too late, Kokoro has already been released.

When Eiko and the rest reach Malcolm, the Terminator grabs Kenta and escapes into the inner workings of the building. In a shower of gunshots and punches, Eiko and Misaki fight to rescue Kenta, but it’s the Terminator who saves him from falling debris.

As the fighting continues, Malcolm takes the younger kids back to Kokoro’s dome and shows it what he’d been promising – the reason Kokoro should save humans. Back into the fray, Malcolm tries to defend a beaten Eiko from the Terminator but takes an arrow in the chest. He’s too injured to stop the Terminator from dragging Kenta away again.

Kokoro watches everything – Misaki defending the family, the family defending her and caring for each other. Heading toward the EMT, the Terminator prepares to shut down Kokoro and all the 1NNOs. It tells Kenta that his family has abandoned him and that he has another future.

In his last few moments, Malcolm refers to Eiko his mother and gives her the task of looking after her grandchildren. He insists that there is no such thing as fate, then asks Misaki to take the children to another future. With his last breath, he insists to Kokoro that his family will fight for peace.

At the EMT, the Terminator asks Kenta to turn on the machine, telling him that it’s he who sent him back in time, 25 years in the future. As the Terminator can’t self-terminate, it’s down to Kenta to fulfill the mission. Because, in the future, Kenta is able to broker a deal with Skynet to save humanity. The Terminator locks Kenta in to defend their position from outside the door, fighting endless 1NNOs until they crush him.

Now facing the 1NNOs alone, Kenta listens to Kokoro who says that, because of Malcolm, it would protect and save humanity. It tells him his father died and his family awaits him – and commits to protecting them all from Skynet. Pushed to make his own choice, Kenta aborts the EMT and rejoins his family but still carries a pocket of anger.

They head out to the streets to hide from Skynet but Kenta is still resistant until Misaki convinces him that his siblings need him. Eiko, now in a completely new present, knows only one thing: that things will get worse before they get better.

Ending Explained

Why is Kenta angry?

There’s a feeling of abandonment as Kenta is continually separated from his family. When Malcolm chooses to protect Kokoro over saving his son, it reinforces Kenta’s anger. And even though Malcolm isn’t able to let the Terminator hurt Kenta, it takes too long for him to get there. The Terminator plays on this, relying on the feelings of the Kenta of the future even though the Kenta of the present isn’t quite as angry this time around.

Why does Malcolm choose Kokoro over Kenta?

Malcolm is a man with a mission. Here’s here to save humanity with his big idea – Kokoro. He admits that it had been a mistake to fall in love and have children but also something he couldn’t have helped. Now he’s starting to believe his children will play a role in the future, taking over where he leaves off. Even so, he believes he has to get Kokoro online so they have a future.

Why does Kokoro decide to save humanity from Skynet?

Malcolm proves that not all humans despise machines and want to eliminate them. There’s a clear case made for machines being on the wrong side of humans and a growing dislike and distrust between them. But the children’s relationship with Misaki proves that not all human/machine relationships are like that. There is hope. And what’s The Terminator if it’s not about hope?

Why does Malcolm believe there is no fate?

Now that they’ve changed the future and staved off the nuclear apocalypse of his dreams, he knows that there is an opportunity to continue differently than in the past. The proof is in his differently occuring death. With that, they’ve already changed history by bringing Kokoro online and convincing it that not all humans are after destruction.

Why does Eiko accept Misaki?

Eiko runs out of options and takes in the trust the younger children put in Misaki. She needs help to save them all so works with her with a tentative trust, ready to kill her if necessary. As they fight together, it becomes clear that Misaki will do anything to protect the children.

What is Eiko’s mission?

She has a dual mission of convincing Malcolm to shut down Kokoro and saving his children.

Why does Eiko want to shut down Kokoro?

She believes that Kokoro will be just as dangerous to humans as Skynet.

Why does Misaki not know her past or how she was created?

As part of her plan with Malcolm, her CPU was removed and used to bring Kokoro to life. In giving up her ‘brain’ and it’s information, she lost her memories.

Who is the Prophet?

Aaahh, such a good question. I’m not sure. I was thinking it could be Reika, but the timeline doesn’t support that if Eiko is Malcolm’s mother. How about Sarah Connor? With all the time travel, it’s a possibility. I guess we’ll have to wait to find out… but I’d love to hear your guesses. Whatcha got?

The Episode Review

Well, that’s a safe bet as they are not out of the woods yet. Terminator Zero is certainly as dark as creator/ producer Mattson Tomlin promised – see the full quote in our Watch Order story. Yet even with the way things have been left, there’s still reason to hope. After all the fighting and destruction, the future has already been changed from what Eiko had experienced. Kokoro was brought online but convinced to safeguard humanity against Skynet rather than join the party. So now, humans have an equivalent-ish ally.

Additionally, Kenta’s future has been changed as he rejoins his family. Just like Eiko, the Terminator was sent back to stop Kokoro but by Kenta of the future. Unless something changes its mind (so to speak), Kokoro is in a different place. So too is Kenta, as instead of being ripped from his family, he rejoins his loving siblings – and now – has a grandmother. They’ll eventually soften him up, no? 

I’d love to hear your take – carve it into the comments below, preferably with a hot metal rod.

This is a Finale Review and Ending Explained of the 2024 Terminator Zero anime. If you’d like to see episode-by-episode reviews, let us know in the comments below. We’ll need a few positive responses to get us going, so don’t hesitate if you’re keen.

READ MORE: Anime reviews, our Terminator Watch Order story or Terminator Zero Ep 1 Review