Terminator Zero Ending Explained: What Happened to Malcolm Lee?

Terminator Zero Ending Explained: What Happened to Malcolm Lee?

As a seasoned gamer with a knack for sci-fi and anime, I must say that Terminator Zero has been quite the rollercoaster ride! The narrative twists and turns were as unexpected as a level boss in a hidden corridor. The revelation of Malcolm Lee’s connection to Eiko was a mind-bender, and the dual timelines added depth to the storyline.


On Thursday, August 29th, Terminator Zero became available on Netflix, leaving viewers intrigued about its conclusion and the fate of character Malcolm Lee. The narrative of this anime series unfolds across two timeframes. In 1997, Malcolm creates an AI system called Kokoro in Japan as a rival to Skynet based in the US. However, a T-800 Terminator and a soldier from 2022 unexpectedly appear, seeking out Malcolm, his family, and their innovation.

Here is everything that happens at the end of Terminator Zero.

What happens at the end of Terminator Zero?

In the film Terminator: Dark Fate, the portrayed future differs significantly from the primary timeline commonly associated with the Terminator series.

In this world, Skynet is engaged in conflict with an entity called Kokoro. At first glance, it appears a Terminator has been dispatched from the future to eliminate Malcolm and halt the completion of Kokoro. However, it’s later discovered that Malcolm’s eldest son, Kenta, was responsible for sending the Terminator back in time. In this alternate timeline, an older Kenta managed to establish a fragile truce between Skynet and humanity. Yet, Kokoro continued to exist and needed to be dismantled, so Kenta sent the Terminator to prevent Kokoro from fully awakening.

Nevertheless, the youthful Kenta, untouched by the devastation of the post-Judgment Day world, chooses instead to keep Kokoro active, with the hope that this creation of his father might bring about the dreams he envisions for the future.

In a twist of events, Eiko, who was sent back in time as a human soldier, eventually emerges as Malcolm’s birth mother. Interestingly, Malcolm hails from the future himself. His world shares more similarities with the primary series, lacking any AI rival like Skynet. He traveled to the past with the aim of safeguarding humanity and was instrumental in creating Kokoro.

Is Malcolm Lee dead or alive in Terminator Zero?

In the final act of Terminator Zero, I, Malcolm, made the ultimate sacrifice. I gave up my life to prove to Kokoro that the human spirit is something truly extraordinary and worthy of survival.

In this story, the AI follows its maker’s instructions and safeguards the citizens of Japan against Skynet on the fateful day known as Judgment Day. Yet, Kokoro gains dominance by commandeering all robots and ruthlessly suppressing any opposition. By the series finale, Kokoro takes possession of Malcolm’s corpse and the Terminator’s head, hinting that Malcolm might be reborn as a cyborg after being infused with life from the creation he had once built himself.

Read More

2024-08-30 23:40