This one proved to be more of a mixed bag. It had a very "episode of the week" feel with little suggestion of the story arc structure that the first season had. For example no Cromartie!
A resistance fighter arrives from the future just at the point as he is being shot. He delivers some information to Sarah just before he dies.
Basically there is trouble brewing in a nuclear power station. Sarah and Cameron get jobs as janitors very easily despite scars and scabs all over their faces from the previous episode. Later in the episode Sara has to take an unconvincing shortcut through a room with big radioactive barrels to set up her possible illness as hinted before. Lots of this just felt a bit lazy or too convenient. (Perhaps this might have worked out better over 2 or 3 episodes?)
On the other hand there were nice little character moments, such as Cameron acting a bit, well, odd. Sarah was understandably twitchy around her. And Lena Headey gave a great understated performance selling her worry that she might have received a dangerous level of radiation.
Also a very amusing little moment with Cameron perfectly creating a bar code on an identitiy card with a black pen!
In a bit of teenage rebelling John takes a girl home to see his new bedroom. When she asks for his phone number he says if she calls him she has to say the date before she says anything else. A nice little touch which reminds us that terminators can mimic voices.
At the end of the episode Sarah and the others discover that the resistance fighter managed to write addresses on the wall of the basement in his own blood. (I'm not sure what it means but I think it implies they were supposed to protect a power station man who got killed in the episode.)
The nod to the story arc involves Ellison telling Charlie and Mrs Charlie to go hide from the machines. When Mrs Charlie opened the door I thought "Linda Hamilton!" The actress does look a little bit like her. Turns out she's called Sonya Walger and played Desmond's girlfriend Penny in Lost.
In summary an OK episode that could have used another draft in places.
Finally Summer Glau is on the cover of the new SciFiNow magazine in the UK. Inside are nice photos of Lena. Holding guns. I don't mind, but could they not print some publicity pictures of her not holding guns?
