Several of the stars of the big Fox SF series “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” have been promising fans and viewers alike that there would be some big changes in store for the second season of the show.

One of those changes is a real welcome and sigh of relief. John Connor has finally grown a pair and is growing up. Fans are finally seeing a glint of the inner strength and resolve that will be needed if he is to fulfill his destiny as the future leader of the resistence and savior of humankind.

One of the worst things about season one was just how whimpy and needy John was. All the strength in the Connor family was to be found only in the person of his mother, Sarah Connor. With the onset of season two, fans can already see much of that strength from his mother being transferred to John, while Sarah now seems to be weakening a bit in her own resolve, especially with her preoccupation with the possibility of her impending cancer.

While we hate to see the lessening of Sarah, or watch her begin a decline, the writers are smart in raising the bar for John. If he is to be humankind’s hope for any kind of a future, then it is time for his to step up and it is a good thing that the writers of the series are aware of that too.

Now, all we need to see is for John to fully come into his own and kick some Terminator butt. Besides, he still needs that scar down the right side of his face to make his look complete.

Season two has a few more radical changes from its first. The cast has indicated that there will be the tragic loss of a main character, the liquid-metal Terminator model introduced in the film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (Robert Patrick) has surfaced in the guise of the startling red-headed actress Shirley Manson, and Thomas Dekker (John Connor) promises that the circumstances surrounding the running and fugitive status of the Connor family will increase dramatically before the second season comes to a close.

“It gets worse, way worse,” Dekker said. “By the time of the fourth [episode] — and especially the fifth one, which is where he goes off with Uncle Derek–you really see, ‘Holy s–t, this is the new John!’ It’s the next few episodes.”