The Terminator Perseverance

Although we don't know his goal at this point, Reese's perseverance is already clearly established. After being spit out by a temporal light hole, he manages to out-maneuver and outsmart the police to escape without any loss of life. He even wears a homeless man's pants without any underwear. Clearly this man is determined.

Sarah's perseverance is present but subtle in this scene. After Sarah's date cancels, Ginger has a mild meltdown, but Sarah decides to not let the no-show ruin her evening. She goes out alone for a slice and a movie.

Although his screen time is short, Traxler is also a model of human perseverance. He is unwilling to give up protecting the next Sarah Connor on the killer's list, and he even devises a plan to use the news media to help. Using the news media to inform someone about important information? What a novel concept.

The Terminator's perseverance is perfectly described here. Unlike the human characters, who have other needs and emotions to contend with—pity, remorse, fear, etc.—the Terminator is programmed to persevere, regardless. Add to that more lives than one of the Mario Brothers, and you've got a seriously difficult antagonist to deal with.

In this scene, Sarah realizes the difficulty of persevering against the Terminator. This won't be some fly-by-night operation: she'll need to be in it for the long haul, perhaps for the rest of her life. And even then, she may not succeed.

Reese's wounds push him to the edge, but Sarah finds her reserve of perseverance and pushes her man on. We don't know where she found that voice, but we know it is not a voice you ignore, gunshot or no.

At the film's conclusion, we find that Sarah has chosen to fight for the future and prepare her son for the battles to come. Her perseverance will ultimately give John the strength to persevere, which will in turn give humanity the strength to do so.