Terminator Zero began streaming on Netflix on Thursday, August 29, and the viewers are wondering how it ends and what happens to Malcolm Lee. The plot of the anime series is split into two time periods. In 1997, Malcolm developed an AI system that he named Kokoro in Japan to compete with the US-based Skynet. However, a T-800 Terminator and a solider from 2022 soon show up, looking for him, his children, and his creation.
Here is everything that happens at the end of Terminator Zero.
What happens at the end of Terminator Zero?
The future depicted in Terminator Zero is distinctively different from that of the main timeline of the franchise.
In this reality, Skynet is locked in a war with Kokoro. Although it initially seems that the Terminator has been sent to the past to kill Malcolm and stop him from making Kokoro fully functional, it is eventually revealed that Malcolm’s eldest son Kenta sent the Terminator to the past. In that reality, an adult Kenta has succeeded in establishing a tentative peace between humanity and Skynet. However, Kokoro still existed and needed to be neutralized, so Kenta sent the Terminator to the past to ensure that Kokoro never gained complete consciousness.
However, the younger Kenta, who is yet to experience the horrors of the apocalyptic world after Judgment Day, decides not to deactivate Kokoro, hoping that his father’s creation will materialize his dreams for the future.
Eiko, the human soldier sent to the past, eventually turns out to be Malcolm’s mother. Malcolm himself came from the future. His reality is closer to the one in the main franchise, and Skynet didn’t have an AI rival there. He came to the past seeking to protect humanity and created Kokoro.
Is Malcolm Lee dead or alive in Terminator Zero?
Malcolm is dead at the end of Terminator Zero. He sacrifices himself to demonstrate to Kokoro that humanity is worth saving.
The AI adheres to its creator’s wishes and protects the people in Japan from Skynet on Judgment Day. However, Kokoro also establishes itself as the overlord by using all the robots and brutally snuffing out any voices of dissent. As the series ends, Kokoro retrieves Malcolm’s body and the Termintor’s head. It is implied that Malcolm may return as a cybernetic organism after receiving life from the very entity he once created.
