Chuck vs. the Little Bearded Man

Now that Chuck has been re-intersected with version 2.0, the question that has to be lingering in all our minds is “What will this development mean for the relationship?” That’s right, Chuck fans, we want to know what this development will mean for the bromance of Chuck and Morgan. Morgan has been in the dark for two seasons so far, feeling his best buddy slipping away from him but not knowing the real reasons why. With the revelation that Chuck and Morgan will be sharing an apartment in Season three, will living under the same roof afford Morgan the chance to discover Chuck is secretly living the spy life?

A bromance for the ages - Chuck and Morgan / copyright NBC
A bromance for the ages - Chuck and Morgan / copyright NBC

Morgan has come very close to stumbling upon the truth in the past. If not for the fact that Morgan takes things at face value, he would probably have realized long ago that something is amiss with Chuck. Morgan has always been quick to stand up for Chuck when needed, no questions asked. He has defended Chuck during absences from the Buy More, he has blackmailed Emmett to protect Chuck from Emmett’s prying. The loyalty displayed between them would seem to make it a no-brainer that Morgan could and would be a supportive confidante to his best buddy. Certainly Chuck would be very happy to be able to tell his oldest friend the truth about his life. He hates lying, and it would alleviate Morgan’s feelings of being left behind as Chuck moves forward with his life.

On the other hand, Chuck also wants to keep those he loves safe, and the best way to do that is to keep them in the dark. The biggest source for potential problems is if Morgan were to eventually connect the dots and figure out the truth. This is Morgan we’re talking about. He never saw a boundary that he wouldn’t gladly cross, especially if it somehow kept him closer to Chuck. How long would it be before he got in the middle of a mission in some misguided effort to help Chuck? Morgan knowing the truth holds the potential to lead Morgan and God knows who else into harms way.

As much as it would make Chuck’s life easier to be able to confide in his best friend, the problems that he would inevitably find himself needing to get Morgan out of would more than eclipse those little moments of clear conscious. It’s likely someone else will learn Chuck’s secret in the coming season, but Chuck is busy enough trying to learn how to save the world, the last thing he needs is the responsibility of keeping Morgan from trying to become his crime fighting sidekick.

Hulu Plus Free Trial

About

Check Also

Chuck vs the Goodbye: 10 Years Later

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Chuck series finale. It feels like a decade …

32 comments

  1. The people who mostly care about this ‘Bromance’ are Levi and Gomez…most of the viewers would want to see Chuck and Sarah moving in, not Chuck and Morgan.
    And besides,shouldn’t he be in Hawaii with Anna…
    Him not being in Burbank is more beneficial to Chuck the character and to us the viewers who don’t have to witness too much of Morgan’s presence(as it tends to be annoying),well At least season 2 Morgan.

  2. I think Morgan could potentially hurt himself and others by knowing Chucks secret. Its Morgan were talking about people.

  3. I think Morgan is Chuck’s blue blanket, remembrance of a safer times, when all the battle fields were CGI. Chuck will need him for some comic relief, as do the writers. So the little bearded man is still safe, but still annoying.

  4. Well put me with Levi and Gomez too, then. I love the relationship between the two. Very happy to see the show going back to its roots from Season 1 and giving the Chuck and Morgan friendship more play in Season 3.

    The ‘other’ relationship will end up as a beneficiary because it will help Sarah see the workings of a real friendship.

    Plus the comedic aspects of Chuck protecting Morgan from his spy life should be a lot of fun as Happy has alluded to in her article.

    Great job Happy. Another fun aspect of the show to look forward to.

  5. “The ‘other’ relationship will end up as a beneficiary because it will help Sarah see the workings of a real friendship.” Well, that was true Lou, If it was
    Friendship that Chuck and Sarah were after…they’re not ! or to be specific they are already friends, they are looking to go beyond that toward romance.
    Chuck and Morgan’s Bromance will help nothing in regard to that…if anything, it only interferes.

  6. I’m actually very encouraged about this because once they REALLY solidify the Chuck/Sarah relationship, the show’s close to being over. And the Bromance as well as the Chuck-Ellie relationship can definitely provide more story options. After all, now that Awesome is in on the deal, how long can it be before the rest of Chuck’s family is going to find out for whatever reason?

    Here’s another reason I like the Chuck/Morgan scenario this season. Morgan has always been this lovable screwup who’s needed protecting. Maybe this season leads to Morgan really growing up after what will be an incredibly emotional discovery about Chuck’s real life. It’ll be hard to imagine who will be madder/more hurt — Morgan or Ellie. This show is so good at giving all the characters equal time and importance within the universe of the show, I really am looking forward to this.

  7. I think Chuck has to honor his longer term bromance with Morgan. Morgan is family. Sarah is nice, but if it din’t work out with her, look how well Chuck has done these two seasons. Jill, “evil but hot” , Lou “short but again hot”, La Ciudad, another evil hottie. The sexy good and bad women like/love Chuck. There is only one Morgan and lots of Babes for Chuck to choose from.

  8. what are you talking about geeker, without Chuck/Sarah relationship there is no
    Show, the Morgan Bromance is nice(and even that is a stretch)…all the other
    girls you describe were merely decoration to Charah, if it doesn’t work with her, then there is no CHUCK…

    • What are you talking about Alex? Chuck told Sarah straight out in “Versus the Best Friend” that Morgan was family. He was there when Chuck’s mom left, and then his dad, and he will be there long after Sarah has left. That qualifies for a better adjective than “nice” Don’t you think?

      • that is one redeeming moment(and a stupid and mean one towards Sarah, if you ask me) in a show-full of superficial and circumstantial friendship moments…I mean, of course their friendship is important to Chuck, but let’s not lose track of what is the true center of Chuck’s world.
        Oh, and BTW the “Best Friend” comment… has been compensated with Morgan’s
        IOU incident in “Colonel”.

      • One more reply b4 I give up on this thread… The real redeeming moment of Morgan’s friendship which proves how deep it is happens in Chuck versus the Ring. Morgan stalls the wedding (brilliantly) for Chuck knowing that Ellie, his love since elementary school, will blame him for it. Neither superficial nor circumstantial. I think that more than made up for the tragic yet funny IOU incident.

        Never tick off a lady with a sword.

      • You may go ahead and appreciate the Bromance, I will rather appreciate the Romance(If there’s ever gonna be one).

  9. Alex:

    “Well, that was true Lou, If it was
    Friendship that Chuck and Sarah were after…they’re not ! or to be specific they are already friends, they are looking to go beyond that toward romance.”

    Friends with issues is a better description. Sarah needs to see how a real friendship works because she lacks the emotional experience.

  10. Nice article. Morgan mostly annoys me.

  11. Great article Happy.

    You know, another aspect that I dig about the bromance is how it parallels and often predicts the ebb and flow of the romance on the show. A great example of this is in Chuck v. The Lethal Weapon where Chuck comes into the breakroom to talk to Morgan (about moving in together) and Morgan takes over the conversation. Later that night Sarah is waiting on Chuck at the fountain to talk to Chuck (presumably about moving in together) and that time Chuck takes over the conversation. Just like Morgan never finds out what Chuck was going to say (that he couldn’t move in with Morgan), Chuck never finds out what Sarah was going to say to him.

    I’m quite a fan of the bromance in and of itself but even those who are not fans of this aspect of the show have to enjoy the deeper parallel that the buddies provide to the central relationship of Chuck. Without it, the storytelling would be at a loss.

  12. bethany actually

    Yes, Morgan can be exasperating and annoying, but he’s growing up and that’s fun to watch. Also, like Ellie, I find myself kind of loving him against my will because of his loyalty to Chuck and his unwavering belief in Chuck’s potential.

    Morgan is such a pure character, compared to others in Chuck’s life, no spying or lying or keeping secrets. Personally, I think there are probably unexplored depths to Morgan’s character that we haven’t had the chance to see yet. I’m hoping Season 3 affords the writers that opportunity!

    Alex is right that the show wouldn’t be the same without the Chuck/Sarah dynamic. But to me, it’s much more interesting to see lots of different people in Chuck’s world interacting in different ways than if it were to focus solely on the romantic relationship.

    Great post, happydayz!

  13. Actually , Bethanny I said that the show wouldn’t be AT ALL without the Chuck and Sarah relationship.
    And though I wouldn’t mind discovering the background of some other characters, including Morgan…but this should be only the accompanying tones to the main thing which is the Charah growth, and them dealing with the Intersect 2.0.

  14. The show works because the writers know their stuff. Each character and his/her relaitionship to each other and Chuck is what makes the show work. It’s a delicate balance. Aliu Adler and crew do a wonderful job balancing this all out. You know we’re going to like whatever they come up with.

    A gret job of sparking thought and discussion. Thanks Happy.

  15. Great job, Happy!

    Only found one typo, ‘conscious’ should be ‘conscience’ in the last para, I think.

    I think you summed up the bromance pretty well. While Levi and Gomez’s constant promotion of their bromance has made me a little weary of it, I fully realize the importance of Morgan’s role in the series, particularly that he brings out the Chuck that endeared us to him in the first place. As Truthie points out, the parallel track that Morgan runs in the show adds an element of contrast that at worst doesn’t hurt and at best substantially sweetens the appreciation of the Charah story.

    So, if I had to vote, I’d vote to keep Morgan doing that job rather than having him be opened up to the spy life too early. Maybe someday. And well after Anna gets pulled in. We need a clueless Morgan around to react when Anna starts going kung fu on bad guys. We just must!

  16. I’m all for Morgan finding out Chuck’s secret…if it leads to Morgan’s death, that is. I’m kind of sick of his character, and really, he needs to die for the same reason Bryce needed to die: He is a crutch on which Chuck leans, preventing him from growing up. Bryce died, meaning the “super spy” wasn’t there anymore, and Chuck had to step into that role. Morgan is the connection on the other end: the child likeness of Chuck. When Morgan dies, it will signify the end of Chuck’s innocence, and the storyline can progress accordingly, with Chuck finally acting like a man/adult for once.

  17. Bromance? Come on, isn’t this being overdone here? It’s not “bromance” driving the show, it’s ROMANCE between Chuck and Sara. There’s nothing wrong
    with a strong friendship. It can serve as a strong influence among relationships but at some point people have to grow up and get on with their
    individual lives. I don’t like the idea of Chuck and Morgan living together.
    It looks like they’re delaying adulthood and prolonging their adolescence here. In the meantime what has happened with Anna? Very little has been mentioned about her role in the new season or on these blogs. She served as a
    motivator for Morgan to grow up and stop acting like an annoying little kid all the time. Between the “Shaw” thing and the “bromance” thing I really wonder where the show is going, especially in a 13 episode season. Guess we’ll
    have to wait and see.

  18. I just hope the bromance doesn’t dominate the show. I like seeing Morgan only in small doses. I think the bromance is an important element in the show, I just don’t want them spending too much time on it.
    As for who will be next to know Chuck’s secret, I think it will be Ellie. Now that Capt Awesome knows the secret, I think it will only be a matter of time before he lets something slip.
    Remember how Capt Awesome freaked out when Ellie was questioning him about Chuck in Colonel?
    Of course it’s up to the writers to decide who will know next, but my vote is for Ellie.

  19. I appreciate all the comments. Thank you all for reading. And thank you Aardie for being the one to catch my typo. Do you have any idea how many sets of eyes saw that (including mine, many times) and didn’t catch it? I feel like I should fire someone. :p

  20. bethany actually

    Wha!? What happened to the comment I made earlier? 🙁

  21. Bethany, I can see your earlier comment. You may need to refresh the page.

    • Yes, I found it right after I made that second comment. I had to refresh twice for some odd reason!

  22. I can take Morgan in small doses, but do feel he holds Chuck back on the maturity scale. I hope his living with Chuck will be shortlived because he sees Chuck as a grown up and not back peddling into immaturity. Then he can get that cute one bedroom apartment with Anna and come over for family dinners with Chuck, Sarah, and Ellie and Awesome. He can open a subway franchise with Big Mike and TB can eat there often. I do appreciate his loyalty and that he always backs Chuck as many of you have stated, but again, small doses.

  23. First comment here, so be gentle.

    Personally, I enjoy the “bromance” between Chuck and Morgan, it adds variety to the show. If the show was to focus soley on Chuck and Sarahs relationship, I don’t think it would be as enjoyable.

    The comedy potential of these two clowns moving in together is genius. (Just imagine what these two will get upto.) I enjoy Chuck for its light hearted approach. Taking things too seriously will only drag the show down in my opinion.

    One of my favourite moments when Chuck knows Casey is listening and Chuck and Morgan start talking about sandwiches. (Just thought I’d throw that out there.)

    • Careful Vertzy…once you start posting you’ll have to come back again and again to see if anyone replied. Then you’re hooked. It’s too late for me but save yourself!

  24. I’ve been roped in, only team bartowski can save me now. =P

  25. The biggest question here is when is Season three finally going to air? Down under they are about three quarters of the way through season 2, however having friends in the states they help keep me updated on what has been happening, like Morgan and Anna are moving to Hawaii so he can pursue becoming a chef, yet i read on this site that Chuck and Morgan are moving in together at the start of season 3, can anyone clear this up and give a rough date that season 3 will start to air?