10 Surprising Movie Character Traits Everyone Missed

8. Kyle Reese's Unique Relationship With Dogs - The Terminator

The Dark Knight Rises Bane
Orion Pictures

One of the subtler aspects of the Terminator series' lore is revealed in the very first movie, when Kyle Reese's (Michael Biehn) "flashback" to the future war shows the resistance fighters using dogs to detect Terminators.

Not only do the canines bark when an infiltrator is near, but it's shown that human soldiers got into the habit of offering their hands to the dogs upon returning to base in order to verify their identity.

In a sly callback - or call-forward? - Kyle shows just how deeply entrenched this habit is when he goes to the Tiki Motel with Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) mid-way through the movie.

At the check-in desk, he sees a dog and instinctively offers his hand to it to sniff. Sure, Reese is perhaps just practising good manners with a dog, but knowing the crucial role the animals play in the future war, it's impossible to remove his action from that wider learned context.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.