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'Chuck' puzzles it out
Hey there, nerds and nerd lovers! Happily for me, Sarah is hard at work tonight at her super secret spy job, so I'll be taking over her cover identity as a mild-mannered TV recapper. Very happily, since Chuck is one of my favorite shows these days, and tonight's episode did not disappoint.
We open with Chuck failing to find a place to smooch with Jill without being spied upon by Sarah and Casey. Man, nothing like a surveillance camera tracking your every move to ruin the mood. Unless you're an exhibitionist, I guess. Sarah, for her part, is trying her hardest to convince herself and Casey that she's fine with the situation, and that Chuck deserves a real girlfriend. Full disclosure: I am a total Chuck and Sarah shipper. But in that weird way that I want the characters to get together so they can be happy, but kind of don't want them to get together on the show for fear of messing up the dynamic. Yes, I'm totally crazy and way too invested in a TV show for it to be a healthy thing.
More important than Chuck's love life, though (AS IF), is a list of Fulcrum operatives that Dr. LaFleur had hidden in his hotel room. Chuck and co are instructed to break in behind the FBI's back to retrieve the list, and their cover is that Chuck is a businessman spending some "quality time" with Sarah, who is dressed like an escort. Casey is a bellhop, because the writers (who live to please me) have realized how much I love seeing Casey in silly uniforms. He's just so precious!
Jill, of course, is totally jealous of Sarah, and seeing her in her escort outfit definitely doesn't help matters. I wonder what she'd think of the fact that she and Sarah both dated Bryce? A Three's Company-style misunderstanding ensues when Chuck accidentally calls Jill as he's crawling through ducts in the hotel, trying to estimate how long it'll take him to get home to her. Unfortunately, said estimation involves wondering aloud how long it'll take for their cover identities to have sex, as well as lots of grunting and talking about getting into and out of tight places. It's a conversation made for "That's what she said!"
Then, a puzzle box they find and unlock in the hotel room shoots a cloud of red powder all over Chuck and Sarah, thus requiring them to strip down and jump in the shower to decontaminate. It would be pretty hot if they weren't frantically trying to scrub potential poison off their bodies. Okay, it's still pretty hot. In another highly coincidental coincidence, Jill somehow manages to get their hotel room number (warning sign #13) and finds them there, wet and in their underwear. Pretty contrived, but I'll forgive it since Chuck was totally adorable and all, "But I might be dying!"
Apparently, the powder was nothing but fruit punch mix, but Jill suspects that it could be a clue. Chuck, breaking all kinds of protocol, blindfolds Jill and takes her to the secret hideout so that she can help figure it out. Investigating a la CSI follows, and Casey gets his second awesome moment of the night in which he reveals that he has perfect pitch due to time served as a choirboy in his youth. Long story short, the box leads to opera glasses, which lead to a key, which leads to the opera house, which leads to another puzzle box that everyone but Chuck and Jill believes to be a bomb, which leads to a flash drive with the list on it. Fulcrum sees them get the list, but lets it go to the CIA for decryption (warning sign #47).
Chuck can't seal the deal with Jill while he's under surveillance by Sarah and Casey, so he uses "nerd code" (Casey's delivery of this line is priceless...he's seriously on a roll lately) to tell Jill when to meet him elsewhere, off the grid. Unfortunately, the Fulcrum agent manages to find them (warning sign #93), and kidnaps Jill, demanding the list in exchange. Casey refuses to give Chuck the list, so Chuck absconds with it, initiating a lockdown in the secret hideout which puts a big metal wall in between Chuck and Casey.
And now, my favorite scene of the episode: Though Casey yells at her to take Chuck out, Sarah is unable to make herself shoot him before a door slides shut between them, too. He says he's sorry, but the look of betrayal on Sarah's face (and then the look of abject disgust with herself) is painful to watch. Poor Sarah!
She and Casey trace Chuck's car to the opera house, where Sarah kicks some serious ass taking out a sharpshooter, and Casey trains one gun on the Fulcrum agent holding Jill, and another on Chuck. Giving Casey the most obvious wink of all time, Chuck hands over the list. The Fulcrum agent destroys it and runs, releasing Jill. Obviously, Chuck had already copied the list with Morgan's illegal game copier, which was heavily highlighted earlier in the episode.
In another great scene, Jill apologizes to Sarah for not trusting her with Chuck, and thanks her for saving her life. Sarah asks that as payback, Jill not hurt Chuck again. Jill promises that she won't, and Sarah continues with tears in her eyes (or maybe that's just me projecting...) that it's her job to protect Chuck..."from anything."
"Anything" turns out to be defined rather quickly as Jill and Chuck finally hook up at Chuck's place, with Jill performing the classic American Pie "shirt over the camera" move to hide from surveillance (more successfully than in the movie). Unfortunately, the list reveals her as a Fulcrum agent, and Sarah and Casey are too late to rescue Chuck - they arrive to an empty room with Chuck's GPS tracking watch left behind. Predictable? Maybe. Still awesome? Totally. I can't WAIT for the inevitable Sarah/Jill fight. It's gonna be bonkers.
Over at the Buy More, Emmett is suspicious of Chuck's many offsite installs, and pushes Morgan to rat him out. Morgan refuses to break, but is shocked to learn that Chuck's cheating on Sarah with Jill, which Emmett figures out by talking to Jeff and Lester, and Morgan inadvertently confirms. Emmett joins Morgan's illegal Buy More card game, drinking wine coolers and congratulating Morgan on his betrayal of Chuck. Too many wine coolers, it turns out, as a hung over Emmett is confronted with videotape of himself drunkenly rampaging through Big Mike's office the night before. Go Morgan!
Odds and Ends:
- Quote of the week: "Are you sure you're not just jealous that Bartowski's found himself a new piece of asset?" -Casey to Sarah, who's unhappy that Chuck's involved Jill in the investigation.
- Emmett drinking wine coolers reminded me of Buster Bluth getting drunk on juice. It was awesome.
- The plot tonight seemed predictable and contrived at times, but the show is so much fun that I find myself able to overlook the adherence to tried and true plot devices. They may fail to surprise, but they definitely entertain.
- How much do I love Casey? Seriously. And even Morgan is growing on me!
- When did Jill join Fulcrum? Could that have something to do with Bryce dating her after Chuck was kicked out of school, since Bryce was already involved with the agency then, or is that just crazy talk?
What did you think about the big reveal (aside from "Poor Chuck!")? Did you see it coming?
Not to brag, but I called Jill being a spy last week. Check out last week's recap for the proof.
Now, that I'm done patting myself on the back...I thought this episode was solid. It was nice seeing Chuck happy again, but too bad that's probably not going to last. We'll soon be back to wondering if/when Chuck & Sarah will get together.
I do think Yvonne is doing a great job at hiding her emotions while totally showing them at the same time. And who doesn't love seeing Sarah in a hot red dress, AND showering with Chuck?
But, Casey steals the show yet again. My favorite moment, Casey getting a facefull of Chuck's junk. He was able to throw in some good one-liners and digs too.
It might not have been the show's best outing, but it was still entertaining.
MC | Nov 18, 2008 12:01:52 AM | #I used to be totally annoyed by Morgan but this season total improvement.
And yeah I sat there watching them go through the list and knew Jill was gonna pop up there. Here's looking forward to the fight tween Sarah/Jill
Francesca | Nov 18, 2008 12:40:42 AM | #Aww, Chuck's dad made him play the flute?
Chuck and Sarah in the shower...that was seriously hot. Loved that when he started washing her back, the music slowed down all romantic. They're in love.
I really hated seeing Chuck and Jill in bed because now paranoid me thinks she'll get pregnant and turn the poor baby into another Intersect. Even FULCRUM's not evil enough to do stuff like that, right?
The upside: this program can show sex scenes. So when Chuck and Sarah give in to their feelings, it's gonna be melt-your-TV HOT.
Lexi | Nov 18, 2008 5:40:03 AM | #It doesn't make sense for Jill to be a fulcrum agent. I thought the list was of CIA agents who are secretly double agents, and she's not CIA. And she helped them figure out how to get the list.
And I hate scenes where the girlfriend catches her boyfriend in a misunderstanding with someone else. All Chuck had to say was "poison gas!"
Billiam: Her not being a CIA agent is pretty iffy, but it's possible she helped them find the list so that fulcrum could destroy it for good. Kind of a risky move, but not really a plot hole.
Ryan M. | Nov 18, 2008 6:53:17 AM | #Awww, I was kinda bummed that they wrote Jill into the "OMG she's really a villain" role. Very cliche, so cliche almost that it was almost surprising that they went down that road. Next week I predict that there will be a scene where Jill has a choice to shoot Chuck and will NOT take the shot. Because, well, just because Chuck is so damn adorable. (I say this as a straight male BTW.)
Brian of the North | Nov 18, 2008 7:34:01 AM | #Good to see I'm not the only A.D./Chuck afficionado.
Casey finally got me at the "Crown Victoria: Perfect Car" moment.
What is it with the women Bryce dates??
And since I'm a big geek, but not that big enough of a geek, has ANYone found out how 1-12 in Roman numerals translates into a Fibonacci series? The first 11 entries look like: IIIIIIIVVIIIXIIIXXIXXXIIII. The first eleven digits in Roman numeral form: IIIIIIIIIIVVIVIIVIIIIXXXI. Too many V's, not enough X's.
pakopako | Nov 18, 2008 7:51:44 AM | #I really liked last night's episode. Casey was awesome as always. I think this season has been really good so far. On a side note I also thought of Buster getting drunk on juice when Emmett was drinking the wine coolers. Great recap.
Dory | Nov 18, 2008 8:09:17 AM | #I was a little disappointed that they went down the "Jill is really a spy" path but not terribly surprised. After all, Bryce got Chuck thrown out of Stanford to keep him from getting mixed up with the CIA so there was probably something off with Jill even then, so Bryce tried to make sure that bridge was burned, too.
Last night's episode had so many excellent moments! I think my favorite (although it's really hard to choose!) had to be when Casey let out the high C and revealed he'd been a choir boy. When he said, "What!? Did you think I was hatched?!" had me rolling on the floor laughing.
To be honest, I'm sort of amazed (AND REALLY GRATEFUL!) that the writers of this show have not just managed to maintain quality levels but have actually improved! I just didn't see how they'd be able to build a story from week to week for an extended time. Thank goodness I was wrong!
katie71483 | Nov 18, 2008 8:49:57 AM | #I loved this episode. When Casey sang and then pointed out that he was a choir boy, and added (to the looks of amazement from others) "What? I wasn't hatched you know!" I laughed out loud. That may be my favorite Casey moment so far.
Anyhoo, just thought this was a perfect episode EXCEPT the ending. I really, really didn't want Jill to be a spy. To me, that is an easy way out of the romantic triangle and would like to have seen how it played out naturally. Oh well, I'll still tune in!
Allie | Nov 18, 2008 8:50:47 AM | #i wish sarah wore a thong.
tuesday | Nov 18, 2008 8:55:41 AM | #MC, That's nothing to brag about. I think everybody and their mom knew Jill was going to be a spy. If by chance you were one of the tiny few that didn't see that coming, well the short-bus will be by soon to pick you up.
Scott | Nov 18, 2008 9:10:55 AM | #so no sarah (the zap2it recapper, not the spy, probably just as sexy tho) means no prison break recap???
tuesday | Nov 18, 2008 9:11:59 AM | #Wow, I love this show. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Love Casey's remarks and Chuck's desperate to get some loving looks. Chuck in the airshaft had me howling. Couldn't help but notice Chuck kinda forgot about potential death when he started scrubing Sarah's back.
Jill being the bad guy was pretty obvious, but next week looks good with Sarah vs Jill.
The big question is, did anyone go to Stanford that year not become a spy??
jbw | Nov 18, 2008 9:53:51 AM | #by the end of the ep, I realized that Jill was a spy, but I also thought that it would have been an interesting twist to have Bryce be the Fulcrum agent...it could expalin a lot.
Rachel | Nov 18, 2008 10:26:23 AM | #I'm glad Jill's a Fulcram agent, because that means that somewhere down the line, Sarah and Jill are going to have an amazingly hot chick fight. It's got a lot to live up to after the Nicole Ritchie fight.
Corey | Nov 18, 2008 10:51:03 AM | #My favourite quote was Emmett sipping his victory wine cooler and going "Ahhh, tastes like high school." Then later on tape we hear him puking in Big Mike's office uttering the same line.
Which, you know, is right on both counts.
townie | Nov 18, 2008 10:52:11 AM | #Lets hear it for Morgan for shuting down Emmit and his Chuck obession.
| Nov 18, 2008 12:55:27 PM | #Rachel, That would be a fun twist. I'd love to see Casey take Bryce down. (Hey, if all the guys can wish for hot girlfights, I think we girls can wish for a few scenes of hot guys writhing around together of our own.)
Jen | Nov 18, 2008 12:57:47 PM | #Casey made the episode tonight! That Hi-C had me almost peeing myself, and loved the Nerd Code !
MJ | Nov 18, 2008 1:03:53 PM | #Let's remember what the Intersect is: the consolidation of all the intel databases.
Jill is revealed to be a Fulcrum agent. Fulcrum is an organization of double agents within the CIA.
BUT...don't you think a simple CIA human resources list would be part of the Intersect? That is, wouldn't Chuck have flashed on Jill's employee photo before this and known she was a CIA employee?
Dickie | Nov 18, 2008 1:28:35 PM | #Dickie:
That's my problem too.
In the past, anyone who's an agent, or even has a file on them, Chuck flashes. And he flashes on anyone who's Fulcrum.
Yet, no flashes on Jill?
And if Bryce dated Jill to get her away from Chuck, she'd especially be in the system.
VideoBeagle | Nov 18, 2008 1:57:46 PM | #I also wonder why Chuck didn't flash on Jill if she was part of the CIA. But it makes me wonder how the whole intersect thing works. Did Chuck ever flash when he saw Bryce? Bryce should be in the system too as a CIA agent. It also seems like Chuck only flashes once. He does not flash each time he sees a person, just the first time. So maybe since he already met Jill before he gained the intersect, Chuck did not flash on her.
SLP | Nov 18, 2008 2:34:10 PM | #I agree with Dickie and VidioBeagle... especially considering that Chuck flashed on... well... Chuck.
Bobs | Nov 18, 2008 2:35:49 PM | #As a total, rabid fan of all things Loony Toons, and with the episode-long theme of opera, I was quite happy to see "What's Opera, Doc?" playing on the TV screens behind Morgan while he's having one of his conversations with Emmett. True, the scenes in the cartoon were shown out of sequence and with skips in them, but who cares...it's one of my favorite of all time, and in keeping with the eventual betrayal of Jill, I quote Bugs' last line: "Well, what did you expect in an opera, a happy ending?"
Chuck and Sarah in the shower was both hilarious and sexy, but I nearly fell out of my chair when the powder they go sprayed with was powdered Hi-C. I figured out the note clue before Casey clenched the sac and sang high tenor. That was comedy gold.
I agree that some of the spy stuff can be rather predictable, but if you think about it, what in any James Bond movie or other spy film hasn't already been done? It is a bit of a limited genre, after all. The only thing I haven't seen yet are pre-school-aged assassins, with mini-Morning Stars in their Osh Koshes. :P
Oh, and it's possible that Jill is a very, very recent addition to Fulcrum, as in after the Intersect was already planted in Chuck's head. Any info that has been added since the first episode of last season would not be inclided in Chuck's encyclopediac knowledge. Barring that, of course, I agree that there's a bit of an oops with that particular twist. Unless Jill has a clone...or an evil twin...or somebody's had plastic surgery done to look like Jill...or whatever other spy novel and soap opera plot twists you can add to that list. :P
Kara Mel Apples | Nov 18, 2008 2:52:30 PM | #
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