Terminator Zero knows you can’t really go back to the past. Even with the help of time travel, it’s technically impossible to return to a point of time that previously existed. Unlike other contributions to the Terminator the franchise, Zero doesn’t waste any time justifying loops or paradoxes. When Skynet sends a cyborg assassin back in time, it actually creates a branched timeline, aka a new past. That means that the future truly is not set; that fate doesn’t really exist. That small change untethers the series from any narrative that’s come before it: Not only are its characters free to make new choices, but so is the franchise.
