Monday’s episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles affirmed one of the more difficult TV-blogging-related decisions I’ve ever had to make.

Confronted with two intense, hour-long sci fi shows to watch and blog about every Monday night was more than I knew I could do justice. Throw in a third show I love and can’t miss but don’t have to blog about, and I was slated to kick off the week in frenzied fashion.

With much soul-searching, I turned over Heroes to uber-blogger and fellow Access’ory Amy Vernon. She will keep you in the know with regard to one of the most complicated and scrutinized shows on TV. But I still didn’t feel good about surrendering responsibility a show I’ve followed since its premiere.

That is, until Monday night. Terminator’s second week rewarded my leap of faith that this is not only a show I’m going to keep watching but one that will continue to deliver suspense, intrigue and action. It is not flawless, but the good so far outweighs the bad that I’m hooked.

Here’s the condensed version from Fox. More reaction after the jump…

Flash video

The basic premise, that a nuclear power plant would be integral to the resistance’s survival, was interesting. It played on fears of atomic power while casting it as mankind’s best hope. That ought to tick off just about everyone with an opinion on the subject. The future glance of battle scenes against the backdrop of the cooling towers makes me think plant security takes a nosedive after Judgment Day.

Sarah does a credible job buddying up to Greenwell. He’s a complicated and interesting guy. And so it was pretty jarring that he’s suddenly found hanging in his study. The storyline there felt truncated.

What jarred me most, though, was Sarah’s ongoing fear of the cancer she knows she’ll one day succumb to. Couldn’t you feel her trepidation as she entered that contaminated storage room, only to be told on leaving she’d gotten “crapped up?” What a term. That plant operator was a bad guy, getting her scrubbed for nothing. But then, he got his, didn’t he?

Cameron still isn’t right. Also, she’s the jealous type. The way she glared at John’s new pal Riley (my dog’s name, by the way), I half expected her to dispatch her with extreme prejudice.

Pretty cool to see Busy Phillips—looking genuinely about to give birth—as the Connor’s new landlord. Wonder if she’d be considered a freak or a geek on this show.

John’s brooding, emo ways have become far more tolerable since his haircut. You can’t blame a kid for wanting to bring a girl home, but maybe they should have hung out at her house instead. How about the way he barked orders at her, like the date code for calling him, and she just accepted it? He’s a born leader. Or a misogynist.

Too bad Charley’s life is falling apart because of the whole “terminators want to kill us all” thing. Surprising he kept if from his wife as long as he did. She did not take it well, not as well as he took her right hook. I don’t know where they’re going to go, but it was good of Ellis to warn them.

That T-1001 gets around, huh? One day she’s Catherine Weaver, tech firm CEO. The next she’s changed both her race and gender and becomes the head of a power conglomerate. More frightful is the idea that nuclear plant control rooms will become automated and networked.

Seems to me the whole plot line, in which it seemed whatever they did the plant would be lost to SkyNet, was a waste. That’s what happened anyway. At least we got a great terminator fight scene between Cameron and the evil Greenwell. Why’d she pause when Sarah told her to go after him, though?

So many questions. So many complications. I’m in this one for the long haul, though. The acting is improving, and the storytelling is still compelling enough. They’ll have to continue to balance the episodic stories with the overarching tale, though. I want to know what Cameron’s thinking and what her history with John is. And I also want to see some cool weekly conflicts that don’t feel like filler between now and Judgment Day. Sacrifice the micro for the macro or vice versa and I could lose interest fast.

By the way, Shirley Manson, who plays Weaver, talked to TVGuide.com about playing a cyborg, keeping her musical day job and living up to a classic early 90s villain. Here’s a sample…

Um, why pose as a urinal?
“Why not?” Manson retorts. Asked by TVGuide.com if perhaps it was some sort of “inside joke,” she says, “I don’t think it is…. I think [series creator Josh Friedman] liked the idea of a woman… being able to infiltrate somewhere where a man felt he was very safe…. That was a true terror.”