James Cameron’s Terminator franchise has introduced various cyborg models with different names, but the model numbers of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character have caused some confusion for years, as it’s referred to as both 101 and T-800. The franchise began in 1984 with the film simply titled The Terminator, which introduced two of the main characters of the saga (Sarah Connor and the T-800 cyborg), as well as the basic premise: Skynet, an artificial intelligence system from the future, sends a terminator back in time to avoid John Connor’s existence so he could never become the leader of the human resistance.
Skynet’s target has changed throughout the saga, and in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the target was John Connor himself, and the terminator model that was sent to kill his mother years back was reprogrammed and sent back to protect him, and ended up becoming a friend and the father figure John never had. Both terminator units were played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and while they are essentially the same, there has been some confusion as he has been addressed by different model numbers in both films.
The Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator (longest name ever, but that’s the future) was created by Skynet and was part of a series of machines made with the purpose of infiltration-based assassination missions. These cybernetic organisms consist of living tissue over a robotic endoskeleton, thus giving the appearance of being a regular human being – until they show their murderous skills.
In the first Terminator film, he was mostly called 101, and the model number T-800 was introduced in Terminator 2, but they are actually the same, and without one the other wouldn’t be possible: T-800 is the endoskeleton and 101 is the skin and therefore the physical appearance of the model. In the commentary of Terminator 2, Cameron explained that all model 101 units look like Schwarzenegger, while the 102 is another skin. In fact, the future scene showing a Terminator infiltrating a resistance bunker depicts a 102 model, which is in the likeness of Italian bodybuilder Franco Columbu.
Because this model is the only one with Schwarzenegger’s features, the terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate is a T-800 101 model – how and why it’s still around is yet to be seen. Terminator: Dark Fate is a direct sequel to Terminator 2, essentially rebooting the franchise and treating the other sequels as events that occurred in alternate timelines, so this T-800 model will have a story of its own.
