Tonight the second episode of Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, entitled “Automatic for the People,” was aired on Fox. The episode was pretty good overall, but didn’t live up to the action-packed season premiere.

The prevailing tone of tonight’s episode was definitely moodiness. John got to act the part of the troubled, angry teen. Sarah got to be the concerned mother. Even Cameron, John’s Terminator bodyguard, was moody. That’s right, even the robot seemed to have a lot to think about. So there was definitely this consistent theme of emotional confusion amongst the major characters.

The episode also saw the introduction of a new character, Riley. Riley is a girl from John’s school that he begins to connect with, possibly because she actually noticed him or possibly because she gives him someone to talk to about things other than Judgement Day. I don’t think John has really been able to truly talk to someone his own age in a long time.

I’m not sold on Riley as a character though. Aside from interesting personality traits, I’m not sure what benefit she can really bring to the show (or maybe I should say John). I suppose she will act as an element of emotional support for John, but she may also become a distraction. If John becomes attached, then things may get messy and not necessarily just emotionally. John puts her at risk just be associating himself with her. So I guess she could add an element of emotional tension to the show, if somehow there is a deficit.

Overall, the episode was pretty good. It definitely helped to advance the overarching plot, but also played out a self-contained story within the episode. One thing it lacked though was action (although Sarah did have this really sweet roll). I guess from time to time, there will be lulls in the fighting in order to develop the characters and advance the story. However, one thing that I kind of like about Terminator is that you don’t always have to think about it. Sometimes it is just nice to sit back and enjoy the ride.