The Second Season

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' second season consists of twenty-two episodes, which unfortunately, are it. The show was cancelled shortly after the second season completed its run on network television. The worst part is that season two ends with many unanswered questions. Along with the unanswered questions, there was a fantastic buildup and strong storylines. This series combines finely crafted storylines, strong depth in its characters, action, drama, intrigue, and just about every other element required of a solid television series. In short, season two is a worthwhile viewing experience -- despite its cancellation.

In season two, there are a number of great story arcs. At the surface, the big picture is about Sarah, John, Cameron, and Derek stopping Skynet from becoming annihilating the majority of the human race on Judgment Day. They go on missions to stop potential scientific contributions to the development of Skynet, as well as save key individuals who will play critical roles in the resistance. The other story arcs introduced involve Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson) and a hidden agenda behind the development of artificial intelligence, John's new girlfriend Riley Dawson (Leven Rambin) and his attempt to have something normal, and Derek's lover and comrade Jesse Flores (Stephanie Jacobsen) coming from the future.

The season starts with the episode "Samson and Deliah", which is a pretty intense and reveals the strong bond between man and machine. After the season one finale, Cameron was damaged and went back to her old programming to terminate John Connor. Sarah and John go on the run. At the end of the hunt, John's gives Cameron another chance when she begs him to forgive her. She claims that she is fixed and he believes her, despite Sarah and Derek's disbelief. This single act sets the stage for their future, as their bond clearly grows stronger as the season progresses. It is an interesting development between the two characters. Cameron's glitch becomes a focus in later episodes.

Also during the season premiere episode, Catherine Weaver is introduced. Weaver is the CEO of ZeiraCorp. She is an interesting character who is cold and devious. As it turns out, she is not human, but an advanced T-1001. She is a cyborg with the ability to quickly change shapes. While she is a terminator, she has a hidden agenda that is not very clear. She acquires special technologies in order to build her own artificial intelligence. Ellis joins forces with Weaver, although reluctantly. After the season one massacre, the FBI suspended him and he joins Weaver's team with the intent to prevent her artificial intelligence project from turning into something like Skynet.

John takes strides to have a normal life, or at least part of a normal life. He meets a girl named Riley in the season's second episode "Automatic For the People". Riley causes compilations in the eyes of Sarah, Cameron, and Derek. They fear that letting her into John's life will be an unnecessary distraction, as well as open up their operation to the public eye. John repeatedly makes bad decisions with her, which leads to the Connor household being robbed (and consequently putting their identities in jeopardy) and even more so when Riley learns the truth about cyborgs and the impending doom. There are also some other developments involving Riley, which make for an enticing story arc.

Jesse is another new character added this season. She comes from the future and is Derek's former lover. In the future, she is an Australian submariner. She is tough as nails. The character is similar to Jacobsen's role as Kendra Shaw on Battlestar Galactica. Derek is surprised one day when his path crosses with Jesse's. Apparently, she could not take it anymore and came back from the future to get away from it all. Derek is happy to see her, but suspects she has a hidden purpose, which she does. In the second half of the season, her real mission becomes clear and it makes for some intense drama.

As for specific episodes, there are a number of good ones. Some of them include "The Mousetrap", Cromartie kidnaps Charley's wife as a way to get to John, "Goodbye to All That", John and Derek going undercover at a military school to prevent a future resistance member from being killed, "Self Made Man", Cameron uncovers T-888 in the history books with a strong interest in real estate, and "Today is the Day", this two part episode explores Jesse's life as a submariner and the events that led her to the present.

Overall, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles's does well with its second season. This season introduces a few new characters and integrates them into the terminator mythology well by providing many enticing story arcs and plotlines. They are interesting developments about the show's big picture. In addition, the new characters and their backgrounds and relationships with the main cast also gave the season an edge. The Derek-Jesse background story turned out to be intriguing, as well as how their relationship related to the present. In general, season two had some very strong qualities. The only bad part is that the unanswered questions will go unanswered. The early termination of the series ends season two with a cliffhanger and no resolution.

Episode Guide

1. Samson and Deliah: Rocked by the Jeep explosion, Cameron reverts back to her original mission: Terminate John Connor. Will he be able to save himself?
2. Automatic For the People: A new friend infiltrates John's social life while Sarah and Cameron infiltrate a nuclear power plant to find its connection to Skynet.
3. The Mousetrap: It's a slick game of cat-and-mouse when Cromartie kidnaps Charley's wife to isolate John. Can Cameron protect John like he protected her?
4. Allison From Palmdale: Cameron goes missing after her glitch returns, sending a desperate John in search of her and revealing her true origin.
5. Goodbye To All That: Derek leads John on his first mission in defense of a military school cadet with a vital future role in the Resistance.
6. The Tower IS Tall But the Fall Is Short: The weight of their mission takes a toll on the Connors when they infiltrate the office of a family therapist who also has ties to ZeiraCorp.
7. Brothers of Nablus: The Connors' identities are put in jeopardy when their house is robbed. Has Skynet found them already?
8. Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today: John and Riley's getaway to Mexico has unforeseen consequences that bring the entire group south of the border and Sarah face-to-face with Ellison.
9. Complications: Fever dreams convince Sarah that a "three-dot" symbol will lead her to Skynet. Derek wonders if they've changed the future.
10. Strange Things Happen At the One-Two Point: The three-dot symbol leads Sarah to a company with a surprising connection to Andy Goode's Turk. Riley becomes a liability to John.
11. Self Made Man: Cameron never sleeps, so what does she do at night? Chase a T-888 that's been lost in time.
12. Alpine Fields: Sarah and Cameron work to save a family on the list with a connection to Derek and Jesse in the future.
13. Earthlings Welcome Here: At a conference on UFOS, Sarah gets a clue that puts her on the trail of the three dots. Riley has second thoughts about her mission.
14. The Good Wound: Gravely wounded Sarah is guided by the image of John's father, Kyle Reese. Weaver moves to protect John Henry.
15. Desert Cantos: The Connors investigate the company town connected to the destroyed factory and find something startling. Weaver searches for a survivor of the explosion.
16. Some Must Watch, While Some Must Sleep: Night terrors at the sleep clinic: Sarah's disrupted sleep patterns lead to a shocking discovery.
17. Ourselves Alone: Riley's mission is in jeopardy when she fears Cameron has discovered her secret. Cameron confesses to John that her glitch has returned.
18. Today is the Day Part 1: Jesse flashes back to a life-altering mission aboard her submarine, the Jimmy Carter. Sarah and John decide it's time to move.
19. Today is the Day Part 2: Will you join us? Jesse's sub mission in the future takes a fatal turn that has unforeseen effects on John, Sarah and Derek in the present.
20. To The Lighthouse: Fearing for his life, Sarah stashes John in a safe house, away from Derek and Cameron. John Henry realizes he is not alone.
21. Adam Raised A Cain: When John attempts to rescue Kaliba's latest target, he finds himself closing in on Weaver, but at what cost?
22. Born to Run: The Connors come face-to-face with Weaver in a confrontation that shakes John to the core and changes his fate forever.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The quality is good and offers a fairly sharp and clean picture. There is a grain and minor compression artifacts. There are also some hints of edge enhancement, but there is nothing that should interfere with your viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio in this release is given in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. A dubbed track of Portuguese 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound is also included. The audio track sounds very good. Dialogue comes off flat and music is rich and vibrant. It is also dynamic and makes good use of the surround sound capability. The release has subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai.

Extras:

• Audio Commentaries: are included for episodes "Samson and Delilah" with Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Shirley Manson, and Josh Friedman, "Alison From Palmdale" with Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Josh Friedman, James Middleton, and John Wirth, "Adam Raised a Cain" with Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Josh Friedman, James Middleton, and John Wirth, and "Born to Run" with Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Josh Friedman, James Middleton, and John Wirth.
• The Storyboard Process: Cameron Goes Bad (2:53): illustrates how key sequences are mapped from storyboard to production. It includes interviews with Jim Lima, Steve Galich, and Joel Kramer.
• Deleted "Terminated" Scenes: are included for episodes "The Tower Is Tall But the Fall Is Short", "Complications", "Strange Things Happen at the One-Two Point", "Earthlings Welcome Here", "Today is the Day Part 1", "Today is the Day Part 2", "To the Lighthouse", and "Born to Run".
• Cameron vs. Rosie Fight Rehearsal (5:25): is a behind the scenes look at the preparation that goes into putting together a fight scene between two terminators. It stars James Middleton and Joel Kramer. They provide dialogue about putting together this specific fight sequence. There is also footage of the rehearsal, which is shown picture-in-picture with the final production.
• The Continuing Chronicles: Terminator: is an eight-part featurette, which include "Write the Future" (12:39), the writing process, "Conceptualization" (8:17), visual effects challenges, "Blood and Metal" (7:38), a visit to Almost Human Inc., where cybernetic organisms are created, "Designing Destruction" (7:32), combining real-world locations with futuristic sets, "Choreographing Chaos" (7:21), teamwork among the stunt coordinator, second unit director, and special effects supervisor, "War Stories" (9:15), season 2's exciting moments, "Setting the Tempo" (13:15), composer Bear McCreary's music making process, and "Motivations" (9:51), cast and producers analyze their approaches to playing and writing the characters.
• Gag Reel (6:04): is a montage of goofs caught on tape during filming.

Final Thoughts:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles's second season expands beyond its first season by including more depth in its characters and better season story arcs. In particular, this season introduces a few new characters with many hidden agendas. As they interact with John, Sarah, Cameron, and Derek, there are a lot of intriguing developments. At the same time, they protect themselves and critical members of the resistance from being targeted by Skynet. They also investigate and destroy potential technologies that could lead to the development of the robotic entity. As the season progresses, events take a turn for the wild as the mythology is explored even further. Overall, this season is strong, but hurt by its cancellation. For this reason, season two ends with many unanswered questions.