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Chuck Rundown: Episode 22, "Chuck vs. The Ring"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:30:29 -0700

And that's how you do a finale. This season's last episode of Chuck has it all: romance, drama, fight scenes, Jeffster!, intrigue, nostalgia, and a good deal of promise for - please, oh please - a third season. And despite warnings from the show's creators, I'm not exactly burning my living room over it; I'm just excited that I got to see one darn fine hour of television. Ready to talk about it? Just read more.

Chuck knows kung fu! He knows kung fu and heaven knows what else, because he puts the Intersect back into his brain, and it turns out to be more powerful than anyone knew. It may be too powerful, as his dad suggests - and, if we're lucky, we'll get to find out. But for the moment, all we need to know is: Chuck voluntarily downloaded the Intersect, and he's not only a hero for it but potentially an action superstar.

And I suppose he'll be needing those powers to take on The Ring - if, indeed, that's what they're called. There's something big and bad beyond Fulcrum, some organization of spies that's never been defeated (except, apparently, by Chuck's magic martial arts skills). Their mission and motives seem shadowy so far: they shoot Roark, let Casey live, and kill Bryce Larkin (I assume, this time, for good). What do they want? How do they fit in? Will we ever get to find out? NBC, call me!

And I've only talked about the last 10 minutes! Honestly, "Chuck vs. The Ring" is exhausting: it's a big cycle of happiness followed by disaster, rinse, repeat. Chuck and Casey quit their Buy More jobs, but then Chuck learns Sarah is heading on a mission with Bryce. Chuck's ready to get his sister married, but then Ted Roark shows up. Casey manages to immediately make good on a promise and parachute in to take Roark down, but then Ellie's perfect wedding is reduced to a pile of torn silk and melted ice sculpture. The happiest moments in the episode, as it turns out, come smack in the middle, when Chuck realizes he can still give Ellie her dream wedding, thanks to a fat government check and a team of the most detail-oriented wedding planners around. The next time you need a secluded beach location, nonclashing bunting, and begonias on short notice, just give the NSA a call.

Maybe my sense of happiness is screwed up, but I find a lot of joy in this episode, even when bad things are about to happen. Take, for example, Jeffster!'s vocorder-laden rendition of "Mr. Roboto," which ends up becoming the score to one of the greatest throwdowns in Chuck history. Or Sarah telling Bryce that she won't be going away with him after all. Or Chuck's dad clocking Ted Roark. At the 40-minute mark, when Awesome and Ellie walked down the makeshift aisle to Chuck's whoops and cheers, I thought Chuck had already delivered one of the most fabulous finales I've ever seen. And that's even before the new Intersect came along to change everything.

Some other thoughts:

Nice that Sarah's bridesmaid's dress apparently came ready for action. Also a good thing that knives are a fairly traditional wedding gift.
"Why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian ruin your wedding?"
Chuck's dad has an Intersect, too! Not entirely surprising, at this point, but I was pretty excited to see him flash.
One of my favorite sequences involves the wedding fight, Honey Woodcombe taking a swig out of a flask, and Ellie meditating cross-legged in her wedding dress.
Yeah, I totally still don't get all of what the Orion wristband does.
So if Morgan, Chuck, and Casey are all gone from the Buy More, is there even a Buy More if there's a season three?
One more time, for posterity: Chuck knows kung fu!

So now we wait. May 4 - that's when NBC has to announce its Fall schedule. I just hope that when the news comes, it'll be that we get to see how Chuck uses his new powers, rather than just imagining scenes like that closing kung fu one over and over. In the meantime, let's chat about Chuck's new powers and everything else that went down in this finale!

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: The Chuck Season Finale

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Peanuts saved Jericho. Can Subway's $5 Footlong save Chuck?

I certainly hope it can - or, at least that the sandwiches, the Twitter campaign, the blog pleas and open letters, and the general outpourings of Internet love will be enough to convince NBC that Chuck deserves another season. The show has grown so much in its second season - and so consistently delivered a blend of humor, suspense, and romance that no other current show quite has - that it would be a shame to see it go away now.

One thing's certain: The early buzz on tonight's finale is - to borrow a very Chuck word - awesome. We've seen Chuck's family in danger before, but not quite the way they'll be at Devon and Ellie's wedding. It's been touted as a game-changer, and since last week's episode was pretty game-changing itself, I'm eager to see what that means. And I'll be finding out with a sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwich in hand. To check out a promo for tonight's episode - plus, if you dare, seven minutes of scenes from the finale - just read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 21, "Chuck vs. the Colonel"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:30:34 -0700

How many kinds of awesome (and Awesome) can you cram into one episode of Chuck? I think we found out this week, as "Chuck vs. the Colonel" finds Chuck running off with Sarah, Casey assigned to find them, Fulcrum hot on their tail, and some serious drama going down at the Buy More. The episode left me wondering: how could the finale - supposedly so good that we'll want to burn our living rooms if the show doesn't get renewed - possibly top this? To chat about it, just read more.

Let us now praise Captain Awesome. Ever since Devon caught that glimpse of General Beckman on Chuck's computer screen, I'd been wondering how long it would take him to find out about Chuck's spy life. It starts out as concern (Chuck hasn't been coming home) and grows into suspicion (why, that John Casey seems downright obsessed with Chuck!). Jeff and Lester give Devon the rundown on Casey's stalker-like behavior - which even an accomplished stalker like Jeff thinks is sick - and before long, Devon's trapped behind gates in Casey's apartment. There's no explaining that away, really, so Chuck confesses: he's a government asset, Chuck and Sarah are his handlers, and right now, he needs Devon to be, you know, Awesome. Devon accepts his mission with a jaunty salute, but he can barely get words out when Ellie confronts him. Good thing he's got prewedding jitters to blame.

Speaking of which: Chuck returns with Ellie's "wedding present," one Stephen Bartowski. But that doesn't come without a fight - one complete with government bombers. Fulcrum's had Chuck's dad locked up underground working on the new Intersect; little does anyone - including Chuck - know that he's actually building a program to get the Intersect out of Chuck's brain. The scene at the drive-in had so many wonderful moments: Roark taking his Steve Jobs-esque keynoting to the big screen; the identical agents in their identical cars; Stephen telling Chuck it's OK for him to open his eyes ("It's all for you"). I love the scene of them driving away as the theater behind them goes up in a wave of flames and the small smile on Chuck's face when his dad tells him he's really free.

Meanwhile, Emmett's fully installed in Big Mike's old job at the Buy More, even arranging for marlin removal. He tries to woo the now-friendless Morgan to the dark side (love the callback to the "ass man" gag), and it takes Anna's urging to get Morgan to admit he has dreams beyond the Buy More: being a Benihana chef in Hawaii ("I'm way past my prime, I'm not Asian, and I don't even know where to get the knives!"). Ultimately, he falls on his sword, takes off his shirt(s), and walks out in a blaze of glory to a slow clap. Dude.

Some other thoughts:

Chuck and Sarah make out! For real! And they'd totally have done more if not for Morgan swiping Chuck's wallet condom some indeterminate amount of time ago.
That's the best part of the hotel scenes, but there's also Casey getting chained to the radiator, then pulling the radiator out of the wall to get free, and then using the radiator as a weapon/shield. ("You can't kill me with that radiator. It is far too confined in this car for you to get the appropriate torque.")
Aww, all Casey wanted was to be invited to the mission!
So does Casey still get to be a colonel? It was sweet of him to praise (and protect) Sarah, but I hope he still gets his promotion! And will he ever kill that guy who keeps coming back?
Not only did Sarah and Casey get some good "stay in the car, Chuck" moments, but Chuck got one of his own, telling Sarah to stay put in the motel and then having her disappear out the bathroom window.
Really, the power goes out and all the holding cells in the Castle open?

Argh, you guys! One more week! I can't take it - what if it's the last Chuck ever?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 20, "Chuck vs. The First Kill"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:30:39 -0700

I wish I'd kept track of how many times someone said the word "trust" on this week's episode of Chuck, but suffice to say it was a lot. "Trust me," "I can't trust her," "Can you trust them?" - pretty much every variation imaginable popped up in "Chuck vs. The First Kill." So who can Chuck trust? To chat about it, just read more.

OK, if I were Chuck Bartowski, I'd be feeling awfully paranoid right now. With the exceptions of Ellie, Awesome, and Morgan, everyone in Chuck's life has ended up somehow connected to the spy world or to Fulcrum or to the Intersect in his brain. His dad's captured, his ex was even more evil than he imagined, and Sarah and Casey are increasingly at odds with the government on how to handle his secret. So yeah, trust is probably pretty top-of-mind for him these days. But what good does that do if the answer is that Chuck can't trust anyone?

Well, he can trust Sarah. We think. So far. And that's the big twist at the end of this episode: Chuck and Sarah are on the run, disobeying orders, ditching Chuck's tracking watch in a shopping basket at the Buy More (pity the poor shopper who picks it up . . . ). Beckman wants the mission shut down; keeping track of the increasingly squirrelly Chuck has become too dangerous, and Sarah's supposed to use Chuck's overwhelming trust of her to lure him into the Castle, where he'll be tranq-darted courtesy of Casey and shipped off to DC. But it turns out the government shouldn't have trusted Sarah so easily; she tells Chuck it's all a lie. Good thing for Chuck, and for us, that Sarah managed to keep her job a few episodes back, huh? Had the new handler been in charge, Chuck would probably be in an underground holding cell by now. Beckman has a point, though: Chuck's still pretty naive, even after all he's been through, and his trust of Jill means another Fulcrum agent is running free. But Chuck was right on that one; Jill did actually help, and it looks like instead of heading back to Fulcrum, she's just going to disappear for a while - maybe to Helsinki?

Speaking of which - this episode had a lot of laughs despite the dramatic finish, including the bittersweet awkwardness of Chuck and Jill's faux-engagement party and Chuck's first two kills, both at the hands of The Morgan. I love Chuck pointing out that he really is too nice a guy to let the Fulcrum agent drop 15 floors to his death, right before some faulty suit stitching wrecks all of Chuck's best intentions. The Buy More crew is also on fire as they first make a mess of the store to try to get Emmett kicked out, then suddenly put on their best behavior (and suits! even Jeff!) to get Millbarge promoted out of Burbank. Oh, little did they know, the first plan would have been better: Now it looks like they're stuck with Emmett for good, and poor, trusting Morgan is cast out.

Some other thoughts:

I'm surprised the government ponied up for a real engagement ring. Cubic zirconia probably would have been sufficient.
Love Casey trying to cheat off Chuck on the Fulcrum test - and Chuck positioning his elbow over his answers, grade school-style.
Ha: "Permission to drop the twerp into a deep, dark hole, General?" "Granted."
Also awesome: Casey blasting through the window with his gun, all "Looks like I passed that test."
The Fulcrum recruitment video was kind of crazy - a mix of American-as-apple-pie heartwarming images and horrible bloody things.

Chuck and Sarah are on the run, Chuck's dad is back near Barstow, and Fulcrum can't be far from learning Chuck's secret. These next two episodes better not be the last - save Chuck!

Photos courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 19, "Chuck vs. the Dream Job"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:30:54 -0700

This week's Chuck begins 100 miles east of Barstow at Chuck's father's trailer. It ends with some revelations - some surprising, some maybe less so by now - about Chuck's family history and his future as the Intersect. Also, it makes pancakes seem like the saddest food ever. Ready to chat about it? Just read more.

So, talk about daddy issues: Chuck's father - aka Orion! - created the Intersect. He left his family because he wanted to keep them as far away from his technology as possible. And now the Intersect's in Chuck's brain, and his dad is captured again because of it; he's agreed to create a new, functional Intersect in exchange for Chuck's life. I'm not sure, but having your dad get kidnapped by a rogue arm of the government in order to save you might be even worse than thinking your dad just walked out on you one night while making pancakes. It's hard to tell.

I'd suspected that Chuck's dad would have something to do with Chuck's current situation, but I pegged him for a spy, not the creator of the Intersect (well, the cool parts of it, anyway - heh). He sure took his sweet time telling Chuck (I assume because of surveillance issues), luring him to Roark in the middle of the night before confessing his true identity. I enjoyed watching Scott Bakula play the daffy, not-entirely-there version of Chuck's dad, but it's also cool to see him snap into action as Orion, whipping out the magical wristband and very nearly getting the Intersect out of Chuck's brain. Well, maybe: even in the best case, Orion figured he could overwrite Chuck's brain with, um, I guess a normal brain sans government images.

The episode really picks up once Chuck cracks Orion's map code and decides he has to go to Roark. First of all, Zachary Levi looks rather dashing in his riot gear, no? Second, it's awesome to watch him take matters into his own hands, to the point of tranq darting Casey. (Also, it takes three tranq darts to knock John Casey down!) And third, how sad is the look on Chuck's face when Sarah and Casey drag him away from his dad and the army of Roark employees/Fulcrum agents? Plus, now instead of doing something nice for Ellie, he's made her life even tougher: her dad's left again, and while Chuck could explain why, he has to keep it a secret.

Some more thoughts:

After the bachelor party disaster, it's nice to see Awesome get a chance to be a good guy - but I did hope, even though I knew it wasn't logical, that Orion would be the one making pancakes in that last scene in the Bartowski house.
It's interesting to see how Ellie reacted to seeing her dad again - even though it's something she thought she wanted. Chuck might have been ready to forgive him, even before learning he was Orion, but seeing him took Ellie right back to being abandoned.
Speaking of not logical, how on earth does Chuck end up back at the Buy More after interrupting Roark's software launch? I'd figure they'd throw him in jail for that.
Roark Industries is a pretty hilarious representation of a software giant, right down to the silver bouncy balls everyone apparently uses in lieu of chairs.
Very little Buy More in this episode, but I did like Morgan's stunned reaction to Chuck's betrayal. I wonder if he was more upset about Chuck landing the dream job or not telling him first; I suspect the latter.
Sarah and Casey's nerd outfits - pastel plaid shirts, glasses - were pretty hysterical; I wish Chuck would have schooled them on true geek apparel.

Were you surprised at Chuck's dad's true identity? And was the Intersect ending up in Chuck's brain really a coincidence, or is there some greater CIA plan happening here?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 18, "Chuck vs. The Broken Heart"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:30:23 -0700

Being in love with his handler has often made things a little more difficult for Chuck Bartowski - but what if she were to be taken away for good? That's the question in this week's episode of Chuck, which finds Sarah being replaced by a new agent (Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer). It turns out to be a particularly bad time for that, though, as the mission of the week comes dangerously close to Chuck's family. Also, there are strippers. To chat about this episode, just read more.

I'm not sure I totally buy the logic of the government bringing in Alex Forrest and immediately having her step into Sarah's role. Wouldn't Beckman have wanted her to observe Sarah for a while? Furthermore, wouldn't they already have all the evidence they need to have Sarah reassigned just from those schmoopy videos? Nevertheless, it's interesting to see how having Forrest around changes Chuck's life immediately. She doesn't care about Chuck or his family; she'll do whatever it takes to complete the mission, even if it's seducing Chuck's soon-to-be brother-in-law and then shooting him with a tranq dart. Sure, Sarah's feelings for Chuck have made her do things that are against protocol; we know there are shots she didn't take and moments when she's hesitated. But she's kept Chuck alive - and with less disruption to his personal life than what Forrest causes in just one mission. I wouldn't have minded seeing this plot go on a bit longer, as it seemed obvious that Forrest would be out and Sarah in by the end of the episode. But it's good to have a reminder that as bad as things are for Chuck, they could be much worse.

I'd be remiss to go further without talking about the last few moments of the episode. Thinking she's off the case, Sarah runs Chuck's father's name through the government computer system. And that's how the two of them find themselves in the middle of a field, staring at an airstream trailer. The last things we hear are the sounds of Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" and Chuck's semisurprised "Dad?" I can't wait to see them together next week.

Meanwhile, poor Captain Awesome, dragged into Chuck's secret spy life at his own bachelor party! It's nice to have confirmation that Devon is a good guy after all, and it's such a shame that nobody sets Ellie straight. I mean, Awesome doesn't look like he's enjoying himself in the stripper pictures; he barely looks conscious. Really, nobody could have said, " Devon wasn't into it, but they took some pictures anyway?" I don't care what kind of bro code you have; one of its tenets should be "Don't let the fiance believe you got it on with a stripper if you actually did not." That aside, watching Jeff and Lester be lecherous is pretty amusing.

Some other thoughts:

OK, I know we accept a certain amount of sexism in this show - Sarah's skimpy outfits, etc. - but the guys making poo faces at the plus-sized strippers bugged me. Cheap shot.
Of all the things Chuck's been asked to do in service of the government, he's extraordinarily bad at pretending to be a doctor.
Loved watching Forrest and Casey flirt in their hardcore-spy kind of way. As Chuck said: "Wow. You two are a match made in a very frightening part of heaven."
For a while there, I thought there might have been laughing gas in my living room, too. "Ladybugs can't all be ladies" isn't even that funny, and yet, I was in stitches.
There's really no government surveillance at Sarah's place?
Also, Beckman being piped into Chuck's bedroom seems like a recipe for blowing his cover.

Ready to meet Chuck's dad? Wish you could have seen Sarah and Chuck try to be 100 percent professional for a little longer?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 17, "Chuck vs. The Predator"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:30:42 -0700

Well, not only is our Chuck Bartowski becoming something of a spy, he's apparently also going rogue. That's what we learn on this week's installment of Chuck, which reveals that not only has Chuck been keeping a chart, he's also created a super-powered computer search for Orion, the only person who could possibly get the Intersect out of his head. Meanwhile, the Buy More crew faces some stiff competition from the besweatered legion of well-groomed nerds from Beverly Hills. Ready to chat about it? Just read more.

Chuck being handy with a computer has come up from time to time, but I'm not sure if he's ever done anything so advanced as track down a highly secret operative. But when this episode begins, Orion is reaching out to Chuck, talking to him through his computer - many computers, actually - and trying to arrange for them to meet. The General is less than thrilled that Chuck's set up a rogue search, and even Sarah gets angry, one of the few times we've seen her really upset with him. And for good reason: Chuck ends up held at gunpoint twice in the Buy More by the same Fulcrum agent (even though the baddie supposedly ate a suicide capsule in between) and - maybe worse - delivers Orion into the hands of Fulcrum.

Orion knows what he's doing: He's able to redirect a missile so it blows up his helicopter, presumably killing him and all of his Intersect secrets. But that's not good news for Chuck, who's watching his last attempt at a normal life drift away. In fact, now the government doesn't just have to put up with Chuck - the General wants him around. She comes all the way to Burbank to say so (in one of the first scenes where we've ever seen what she looks like from the elbows down, heh), telling Chuck it's time for him to become a spy. Now not only do all of the nation's secrets live in his brain, but the outcome of the government's war with a rogue faction rests squarely on his shoulders. But there might still be an out: Chuck discovers a package from Orion that contains diagrams of the Intersect. Maybe he can still save himself, but he'll be doing it in secret and against the government's wishes. For now, though, that looks like a risk he wants to take.

Meanwhile, the Buy More plot fits in seamlessly: Just as Chuck, Sarah, and Casey are trying to keep Orion's computer out of Fulcrum's hands, the Buy More crew is trying to protect the same computer (which they think is for gaming) away from their slick counterparts at the fancy Beverly Hills Buy More. I loved the reveal of Jeff's office (inside an unusually large, out-of-order bathroom stall) and the entire sequence with everyone wearing ski masks and freaking out Emmett, but two moments stand out: first, Emmett scaring off the "robbers" (actually Jeff and Lester) with his pepper spray, only to get clubbed in the head by Casey; second, Emmett taking a little swing with a baseball bat that sends the entire Beverly Hills store into disarray.

Some other thoughts:

I'm totally digging the production design of Orion, whose face appears to Chuck as nothing but a constantly changing series of letters and numbers.
Love Jeff's disappointment with the "video game" that's actually a few seconds away from sending a missile straight into the store. "First impression: boredom. It feels like we're flying an actual Predator."
How spooky was that shadowy Fulcrum panel? I want to see more of that!
A+ for Jeff's pathetic attempt at throwing his voice.
Agent Casey: "I always have a gun."
The General, upon discovering Casey's Reagan picture: "Wake up, Casey. The '80s are over."

In the end, Chuck's ordered to stop his search, keep the Intersect, and become a real spy - but possibly not with Sarah, as the General's now suspicious of her relationship with Chuck. How's Bartowski getting out of this one?

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV Tonight: Chuck

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:30:12 -0700

Remember how awesome the most recent episode of Chuck was? Chuck briefly met the man responsible for designing the Intersect, got treated like a real spy, and asserted himself with Sarah. And, best of all, he revealed that all along, he's been keeping close tabs on the information he's learned from his spy missions, inching closer to finding a way back to his normal life.

And then the next week was a repeat. Way to kill the momentum.

But Chuck is back tonight, and while the Mondays-at-8 hour has become one of the toughest of the whole week, I'm making a plea for watching the Bartowskis and Nerd Herders tonight. Even as Chuck's gotten better in recent weeks, its ratings have been dropping lower, and since it hasn't been renewed for a third season yet, it could use all the help it can get.

This week's episode is called "Chuck vs. The Predator," and it finds Chuck getting a message from a person with knowledge that could help rid Chuck of the Intersect for good. Meanwhile, there's a Buy More plotline I've been looking forward to for a while: Turns out, the Burbank store isn't particularly well-respected, as a visit to the much swankier Beverly Hills Buy More proves. It's just the first in an awesome-sounding string of episodes, which in the coming weeks will feature Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer, Chevy Chase, and Scott Bakula in guest-starring roles. To check out a promo, just read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 16, "Chuck vs. The Lethal Weapon"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:30:53 -0700

Wow, this week's Chuck is jam-packed with action and revelations, including a few moments that may forever change the way we look at Chuck Bartowski. Ever since he became the Intersect, Chuck's been serving on missions at the government's request - but now he's got some more personal matters to attend to, so to chat about the goings-on, just read more.

The scene I can't get out of my head is Chuck staring at his giant chart on the back of his Tron poster, trying to piece together the connections between Fulcrum and the government and the computer in his brain. Our Bartowski isn't just a hapless nerd, after all! This whole time, he's been mapping out cases and missions and code names, hoping something would help him get his normal life back. That Tron poster's been the subject of enough jokes and commentary (including in this episode, when we learn it was a gift from Chuck's dad) that I should have realized there was more to it than just a silly ad for an '80s movie. So this is Chuck's real mission: Using what he's learning with the Intersect in his brain, he wants to get the Intersect out.

And once it's out, he hopes, he'll be with Sarah. He won't move in with her; he couldn't take spending all day, every day, around a woman he's crazy for but can't touch. But then . . . well, might as well let Chuck's own words speak for themselves:

Just so you know, I am going to get this thing out of my head one day. I will. And when I do, I'm going to live the life that I want with the girl that I love. Because I'm not going to let this thing rob me of that. I won't.

Aw, Bartowski. Why you gotta make me feel like that?

This episode really shows how far Chuck's come - and not just because we learn about his secret map. With Cole, he's treated like a real spy. Granted, he can't shoot a gun and manages to maybe break his ankle getting it caught in a window frame, but he's on nearly equal footing. And coming from a man who's singlehandedly taken out nine guys (well, 12, but who wants to brag?), that's saying something. As funny as it is to see Chuck hobbling after the also-hobbling doctor, that slow-moving Chase gives Chuck a real sense of purpose: Maybe Chuck could be a hero to his country and get his old brain back.

Some other thoughts:

Another stellar episode from Jeff and Lester, who launch Operation Repulsion to convince Anna it's not such a good idea to move in with Morgan. Highlights: a very sweaty game of Wii Tennis (in '70s athletic gear); a "Morganuptial" agreement limiting Anna to only string cheese in the house (gouda on weekends); and something involving peanut oil, bubble wrap, "and as much yarn as you can find." Somehow, though, I'm not surprised that Anna is unrepulsible.
The scenes of Chuck and Sarah's first morning in the Bartowski house are awesome - Chuck with the blankets pulled up to his chin, Ellie greeting them both with a giant hug, Awesome's squicky declaration that "you two lovebirds need to find a nest where you can let the worm wiggle free."
Casey, sheepishly, on taking out nine guys: "I'm just saying it's doable."
How much of Morgan and Anna's supposed 16 months together have they actually been together? Three weeks?
Lester on Jeff: "That's 95 percent alcohol!"
Love Chuck offering Cole an Us Weekly, or maybe some soup.
I wonder if this is the last we'll see of Cole. I sort of liked his dashing spy charm, complete with cheesy lines ("just close your eyes and say yes") and romantic music.

So: Does this episode change how you see Chuck? How sweet was his speech to Sarah? And are Jeff and Lester totally stealing the show this season?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Chuck Rundown: Episode 15, "Chuck vs. the Beefcake"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:30:51 -0800

Oh man - and we thought Bryce Larkin was competition. On this week's episode of Chuck, we meet Cole, an undercover MI-6 agent who shows up right when Chuck is having some serious doubts about continuing his cover relationship with Sarah. Meanwhile, Big Mike and Morgan's mom are having no doubts whatsoever about the state of their new relationship, which drives Morgan to take shelter in the Bartowski house. This episode definitely sets some interesting things up for the rest of the season, so to chat about it, just read more.

So, what do we make of Cole? My first reaction on this show is to never trust anybody - that's how they got us with Jill, after all. But we saw Sarah looking through his spy dossier, and it seemed sound. Well, more than sound - he's a super spy. And not surprisingly, Sarah (who has a real problem getting romantically involved with her work partners, it seems) finds that hot. I love how Cole is written as this dashing, sweep-you-off-your-feet romantic hero: He takes torture with barely a wince! He promises to whisk Sarah to safety with a cheesy "come with me if you want to live" line . . . until Casey shows up to snap us out of the spy version of Gone With the Wind! At first, Sarah's not buying it; she thinks his pickup lines are pathetic and just laughs when he talks about taking her to Fiji. But then they kiss, and there's something there, some kind of passion.

It's interesting timing, because Chuck has decided - partially at Ellie's urging to take control of his life - that it's time to end the "relationship" part of his cover relationship. This episode was originally supposed to air right after "Chuck vs. the Suburbs,", which would have made the timing of this revelation make more sense, but it still mostly works: If Sarah can protect Chuck just as well without pretending to be romantically involved, why should they drive each other crazy all day by bringing up feelings they know they can't act on? That all might have worked, at least for a little while, had two things not happened: One, Cole finds out Chuck's the Intersect; two, Cole gets captured. That means Chuck needs round-the-clock protection. So, not only are Sarah and Chuck not breaking up, they now have to move in together. Which puts a crimp in Chuck's plans to move in with Morgan, two buddies finally breaking free of their families. I wonder what will happen to Morgan now that he's out a roommate and has already worn out his welcome at Chez Bartowski. I guess back home with Mama and Big Mike? Poor guy. Maybe it's wishful thinking - and probably impossible because of the surveillance - but I'd love to see Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan get a place together.

Some other thoughts:

Jeff and Lester's "Buy More Girl" plot seems like an afterthought, and it took the show's "slobby men lusting after beautiful women" thing a bit far. But it did serve a purpose, plot-wise: When a cop-looking woman shows up looking for Chuck, nobody's surprised.
I'm pretty sure Chuck's "something really strong" at the bar is an appletini.
Hey, I was impressed that Chuck managed to kick in the door of Sarah's hotel room. He's not all wimp.
Good point from Alan Sepinwall: Do you think the writers titled this episode before they cast a guy whose last name is Cake to play Cole?
Little moments I loved: Sarah perfectly slicing the banana, Lester with his Polaroid camera, Casey just showing up (he did a lot of just showing up in this episode) right as Chuck is ending things with Sarah.

Do you trust Cole, or are you suspicious? Did Chuck overreact in breaking things off with Sarah? And why can't Sarah stop falling for her partners?

Photos courtesy of NBC