by Jenny Gibbons

Created on: May 13, 2009   Last Updated: May 14, 2009

Like so many other shows today, "Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles" faces likely cancellation despite being one of the best TV shows on air. The writing, score, cast, editing and special effects are supreme. Other than a few filler episodes in the middle of season two, the story flows strongly from one episode to the next, always building or making interesting turns.

Meanwhile, the coming-of-age story of John Connor (Thomas Dekker) might be the most solid example of character development in a serial TV show I've ever seen. John Connor begins as one of the least sympathetic characters on the show. Yes, we all know he'll save the world one day, but until then he spends most of his time pining about the restrictions his mother Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) forces on him. The restrictions are there to keep him alive, however, and whenever he breaks them, he almost gets himself and his loved ones killed.

Sarah Connor, meanwhile, earns her place at the show's spotlight by being the strongest mother figure you've probably ever seen. She gives up everything for her son, and the audience is the only one to feel sorry for her, because hell if she's ever going to stop for a moment and feel sorry for herself. In the pilot she gives up a rare chance at love and stability with Charley Dixon (Dean Winters) by leaving him behind and jumping several years into the future. She'll get into shootouts and car chases to protect her son or take down Skynet, while sometimes she has to be a normal mom, too. She has to figure out when to be delicate and when to be cold, even if the son she's sacrificing her life for sometimes resents her for it.

In the beginning of the second season, John stops complaining and begins to discover his independence and leadership skills. He realizes what's at stake whenever he takes a risk, and sometimes he does it anyway, because he's fighting to maintain his sanity as a growing teenager. Cameron (Summer Glau), the robot who protects him through all of season one, malfunctions in the second season premiere and John is faced with a chance to destroy her. Sarah and his uncle Derek (Brian Austin Green) have no doubts that destroying Cameron is the right thing to do. But John goes so far as to put them at gunpoint in order to reinsert Cameron's brain chip. Turns out he's right, and sure enough, Cameron lives on to protect them and save their lives more often than not. This is the turning point for John's character, and as the show continues he slowly puts

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