Terminator Zero takes place in at least three timelines, all of which are ramifications of the Terminator movie timelines. Terminator’s time travel rules can be very confusing, especially because most of the movies after Terminator 2: Judgment Day tried to do their own thing instead of being a direct sequel to their predecessor. Netflix’s Terminator anime is the franchise’s second TV show, but unlike The Sarah Connor Chronicles, it focused on original characters rather than the iconic heroes from the films.

The Terminator movies and shows happen in several timelines, to the point it can be incredibly difficult to track where everything starts. The Terminator was paradoxical by default, with Kyle Reese being John Connor’s father all along. Fortunately, not only does Terminator Zero try to explain how the franchise’s time travel works, but it also has a very consistent story that avoids major plot holes. In Terminator Zero, we see characters and events from more than one timeline, but they all get intertwined at some point.

Terminator Zero’s Original Timeline

The Timeline Where Skynet Is The Only Threat

 

August 4, 1997: Skynet goes online.
August 29, 1997: Judgment Day happens.
2024: Eiko gives birth to Malcolm.
2045: Malcom finishes building Misaki in 2045.
2045: Malcom and Misaki go back in time.

Terminator Zero’s original timeline is the one where Eiko gave birth to Malcolm in 2024, here a doomed future where Skynet was winning the war against what was left of humankind. This version of 2022 is virtually the same as the post-apocalyptic future shown in most of the Terminator movies, with Skynet hunting down the remaining humans. Not much is shown from how the Resistance operates, and we never get to see John Connor. That said, Malcolm mentions how Skynet kept sending Terminators back in time to eliminate potential saviors.

This strongly suggested that Terminator Zero’s first timeline – the one before Malcolm went back in time to launch Kokoro in the 1990s – was already a ramification of the movies’ timelines. Terminator Zero suggests that there are countless timelines born from the events of the movies, as the Prophet says that, every time someone is sent to the past, a new ramification is created. Regardless, for practical purposes, Terminator Zero’s story chronologically begins in a future that isn’t much different from what we saw in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The only difference is that Malcolm is aware of Skynet’s time-travel missions.

Judgment Day Dates In The Terminator Franchise
Movie/Show

August 29, 1997
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator Zero

2003~2004
Terminator: Salvation

July 25, 2004
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

April 21, 2011
The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2017
Terminator Genisys

2020s
Terminator: Dark Fate

Malcolm Lee does not agree with the Resistance’s leaders and believes that humanity and Skynet are stuck on an endless cycle. He believes that the only thing that could stop, or at least could have stopped, Skynet is an artificial intelligence that is just as powerful. However, to avoid another A.I. going rogue and mimicking humanity’s worst destructive traits, Malcom created a robot that wouldn’t have a particular mission. This robot named themselves Misaki and served as the basis for Malcolm’s Kokoro project. After the Resistance found out what Malcolm Lee was doing, they tried to shut down the project.

Malcolm killed the Resistance’s leaders and went back in time with Misaki to 1983. This is when Terminator Zero’s original timeline deviates for the first time. As a time traveler born in 2024, Malcolm’s very presence in 1983 was enough to change history. He planned to continue developing Kokoro in Japan, where he would have enough resources and time to launch his A.I. just before Judgment Day. It’s important to note that, in Malcolm’s original timeline, Judgment Day happened on August 29, 1997, similar to what was supposed to happen in T2.

Terminator Zero’s Post-Kokoro Timeline

Malcolm’s A.I. Becomes A Threat As Big As Skynet

 

August 4, 1997: Skynet goes online.
August 29, 1997: Judgment Day happens.
Kokoro goes online around the same time as Judgment Day.
Kokoro takes over part of the world and rivals Skynet.
Eiko is sent from 2022 to 1997 to stop Kokoro from being activated.
Kenta makes a deal with Skynet and sends a Terminator to 1997 to destroy Kokoro.

There is a very important timeline in Terminator Zero of which we don’t see much – the one where Kokoro was activated normally and eventually became as much of a threat to the world as Skynet. This is the timeline in which Eiko was sent from 2022 to 1997 to prevent Kokoro from ever being activated. In this timeline, Eiko does not become a mother, or at least not yet. She is chosen by the Resistance to be sent to 1997, similar to how Kyle Reese was picked to go back and protect Sarah Connor.

We can only assume that the Terminator and Eiko were sent from the same timeline since they arrived in the “same 1997.”

In this timeline, humanity had two faces not only Skynet but also Kokoro. Eiko had a brief conversation with the Prophet about how time travel works before entering the time machine. While a Terminator was sent to prevent her from doing so, Eiko was able to enter the machine and go back in time. However, she was not the only agent sent from this timeline to 1997. We discover at the end of Terminator Zero that an adult version of Kenta, Malcolm’s son, made a deal with Skynet and sent a Terminator to 1997 to stop Kokoro from being activated.

Terminator Zero’s Rewritten Timeline

Eiko And The Terminator Changed The Past

 

August 4, 1997: Skynet goes online.
August 29, 1997: Judgment Day happens.
Kokoro goes online around the same time as Judgment Day.
Malcolm Lee is killed by the Terminator.
Kokoro protects Japan and will now ponder about what the fate of humanity should be.

Terminator Zero’s final timeline is the one created as soon as Eiko and the Terminator arrived in 1997. Their respective missions to stop Malcolm Lee from launching Kokoro may have failed, but just the fact they interfered with the process was enough to change everything. Malcolm’s encounter with Eiko and the Terminator led him to reconsider things, although he still chose to activate Kokoro. However, unlike whatever happened in the first timeline where Kokoro was activated, Malcolm’s A.I. did not turn against humanity immediately. Kokoro is not sure about whether humans should be saved, but it protected Japan from Skynet’s attack.

Eiko and the Terminator made some big changes to the timeline, including but not limited to interacting with Malcolm’s family and revealing they are from the future. Malcolm meeting an alternate version of his mother was not necessarily a paradox since this Eiko comes from a future where Malcolm had not been born yet. Regardless, Terminator Zero ends with Kenta deciding not to turn off Kokoro, even though his future version sent the Terminator to do so. With Malcolm dead, Kenta decided to trust his father’s creation and gave Kokoro a chance.

Terminator Zero has an open ending and sets up a potential season 2.

Judgment Day still happened in this timeline on August 29, 1997. This is another confirmation that Terminator Zero takes place in different continuities from the movies, especially T2 and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In those films, Judgment Day was postponed from 1997 to 2004. Whether Kokoro will eventually try to destroy humanity like what happened in the previous timeline remains to be seen. Terminator Zero has an open ending and sets up a potential season 2. Kokoro, Misaki, and Malcolm’s kids are now living in a post-Judgment Day world.