Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles proved yet again this week why I think it is the best show on television right now. After seeing the first season, I wasn’t sure the show would really develop the way I would like, but I was wrong. Not only does the show never lack in action, but it also has developed a compelling overarching plot that weaves its way through each episode. At the same time, each episode is also its own contained story.

This week’s episode, “Goodby to All That” was an excellent example of how the show has continued to evolve emotionally. The characters, that seemed somewhat wooden in the first season, have shown a wide range of emotional states leading to some rather compelling episodes like tonight’s. Each Cameron, John Conner’s personal Terminator bodyguard, has shown evidence of emotional development and, as much as it is completely counterintuitive, I really like it.

The fifth episode of the seaosn focused primarily on John, Sarah and Reese. Early on, the guys learn that a Terminator has been sent back to kill a teenager that will become one of John’s cohorts in the future. Like the orginal Terminator movie, the machine uses the phone book to systematically kill off all of the males in Los Angeles with same name as John’s friend Martin. The Terminator has already killed one of the three, so John and Reese set off the protect the real Martin, while Sarah and Cameron rescue the other Martin, who is just a child.

Sarah’s time with the child gives her a chance to reflect on her role as a mother. Meanwhile, Reese is forced to relive Martin’s actual death in the future as they ensare and destroy the Terminator at Martin’s military academy. The events of the episode force all of the characters to work through difficult situations and question their destinies.

One thing that I really liked was how they combined the scene of Sarah reading The Wizard of Oz and the battle with the Terminator. It worked really well and poetically symbolized their fight to save mankind. I also thought it was pretty cool that Agent Ellison finally, though inadvertently, discovered that Sarah is alive while investigating the events that went down at the power plant from a couple episodes ago. However, I can’t help but think that the writer’s have set Ellison up for a fall by putting him in the employment of a Terminator.

Overall, the fifth episode was fantastic. It has helped to prove what an original and compelling drama the show can be. But we need your help! The show has not received stellar ratings and is in danger of being pulled from Fox’s lineup. If you are a fan, now is the time to get your friends watching too.