REVIEW: Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles 2.1 - "Samson and Delilah"

After a wait of four months, we find out if a Terminator can survive a car bomb, and whether an FBI agent finally believes in evil robots from the future.

"Samson and Delilah" opens season two of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. We pick up where season one left off, when Cameron (Summer Glau started Sarah's car and set off a car bomb, put there by someone who claims he has the Turk, a computer that's the prototype for Skynet. Although Cameron survives, she has been damaged. How she heals, and what she does immediately after the accident, will affect her future relationships with John (Thomas Dekker and SarahLena Headey. Fox has run some promos on Fox News Channel where we see Cameron in full-battle mode. This, at least, confirms she has been repaired.

We also see if Agent Ellison (Richard T. Jones) starts to believe in evil robots from the future, even after seeing one up close. This will affect this job, and soon his life.

The big addition, though, is '90s rock star Shirley Manson, as Miss Weaver. She runs a major high-tech firm, and is planning something that will change the world. We'll soon find out if that has some connection with SkyNet.

The family dynamics will also be changing between John and Sarah. While she may have the instincts to protect her son from evil robots, she will also have to learn when to let go. That includes the introduction of a love interest for John.

In it's Monday night time slot, it faces some competition stronger than any Terminator, with Chuck on NBC, Dancing With The Stars on ABC and Gossip Girl on the CW.

I'm deliberately keeping details to a minimum, but I can say that the opener, airing on September 8th has some incredible plot twists, especially one at the end, that will kick off the next stage of the series in a big way.

I give this episode three and a quarter stars out of four.