A Look Ahead To Chuck Season 4 – Part II

Where Things Seem Headed At The Start of Season 4

Spoiler Warning! This article is based on spoilers that have been released to date. If you do not want to spoiled then do not read past this point.

Based on the spoilers that have come out since shooting has started the following details about each character has been made known:

1) Season 4 Storyline – is the search for Mama Bartowski played by Linda Hamilton.

2) Chuck

  • working at the BuyMore in some capacity
  • lying to Ellie
  • Chuck/Morgan Spy Team
  • Chuck and Sarah together as a couple

2) Sarah

  • still with CIA
  • doing couply things with Chuck

3) Casey

  • still with NSA
  • continuing to connect with his daughter

4) Morgan

  • working at the BuyMore in some capacity
  • Chuck/Morgan Spy Team
  • continuing growth arc
  • finding that growth in relationship with Alex

5) Ellie & Devon

  • she is pregnant and unaware of her father’s legacy
  • Devon will be obsessed with becoming the most Awesome Dad

6) BuyMore = NoMore

  • BuyMore is back as a CIA base
  • owned and operated by the CIA

7) Better Spy Mythology/Recurring Villain – Shaw?

  • will be an individual as opposed to an organization – Timothy Dalton?

In Part II of the Season 4 articles, attention will be focused on the professional and mythology aspects of the season. In the concluding Part III, the personal implications will be the subject.

Chuck may be trying to stay out of the spy world officially in terms of employment but Orion’s Legacy has thrown that promise to Ellie out the window. Chuck discovered that everything his father did was for Mary Bartowski and that he and his loved ones are in danger.  Chuck has no choice.  He has to go back to the spy world. A great set up of a very promising arc for the season.

Just because Chuck no longer works for the government that does not mean he will no longer being using his spy skills. In fact with everyone’s life on the line, including his mother’s, he will be pushed harder to use those skills to protect them all. Doubly so without the backing of the government. For if Chuck brings General Beckman into the loop all his father’s Intel will be confiscated for National Security. Losing the information stored in the Orion Cave(OC) would take away Chuck’s database to protect his family and find his mother. So Chuck remaining autonomous and having not to answer to anyone but himself is vital. As well, Chuck standing alone, acts as the propellant into the next stage of his character arc down the hero’s path.

Chuck remaining autonomous also bleeds into Sarah’s professional relationship with him. With Sarah still an active agent, Chuck will fear that Sarah will feel duty-bound to tell Beckman about the OC if he confides in her. This is another reason why Chuck not falling back into government employ is important. It will create ongoing tension between Chuck and Sarah as they both wrestle with their personal and professional lives. For Sarah, staying a CIA Agent will further prevent her from becoming an appendage of Chuck. Her job will allow her to retain her individuality.

Back to the revelation that everything Orion did was for his wife sets up a potentially interesting parallel for Chuck and Sarah. Chuck is most likely to feel like he has stepped into his father’s shoes in this regard. Since we know that MamaB will be played by UberMom, Linda Hamilton, and that she was a spy, history repeating itself definitely comes to mind.

On the comedy potential for this setup, the idea of Chuck and Morgan trying to run with this is rife with possibilities. The bromance was broken in the pilot and never came back until Chuck Vs The Beard. The growth arc of Morgan as a character is arguably the one that has travelled the furthest out of anyone in the series. In many ways Morgan is the Chuck of the series now and in a refreshing and more humorous way. Morgan is totally gung-ho and innately impervious to the dangers of life in the spy world. Instead of having to be goaded into action, a horse bit usually has to be put in Morgan’s mouth to reign in him. Chuck and Morgan as a subteam, in appropriate doses, should provide a lot of laughs.

At some point the original Team Bartowski needs to be brought together. Their absence as a unit for most of the third season was one of the big issues. Whether you consider TeamB the original trio or include Morgan in it now; they need ample screen time together. How the show will do this without the government finding out about the OC is one of the more intriguing elements I look forward to see how the show will handle.

It all seems to revolve around the BuyMore. Yes, it is back. And yes I still stand behind the belief that its removal, and the attendant characters, would streamline the show. It would give the prime characters and the main storyline more room to breathe. With the addition of Beckman as a fulltime cast member and Casey’s daughter Alex as a recurring character; the cast of Chuck is becoming increasingly unweildy to manage. Never mind the guest stars and Linda Hamilton’s stint as MamaB!

Would it be a bold move to remove a signature part of the show? Absolutely. But sometimes for the betterment of the whole show tough decisions have to be made. The primary basis for my stance on this comes down to whether or not the BuyMore was relevant any longer. Either to the storyline and to the growth of the characters, particularly Chuck. It became increasingly difficult to make it so with each passing season.

So if the BuyMore is to stay, how to make it relevant again? The show’s solution is brilliant. Make it a CIA base of operations! Now it is automatically incorporated into each episode’s storyline. A near perfect solution. Sharing of screen time with such a large cast is still an issue but if it brings Beckman off the screen and on to the set on a regular basis then that is a big win from my perspective. Especially if Beckman would take part in a mission or two!

Also we know that Chuck and Morgan are back at the BuyMore. I am speculating that this has something to do with the Greta character. Perhaps Morgan and Chuck have new jobs with the government assessing the retail capabilities of field agents as a field cover?

Which leaves us with MamaB and the Big Bad for Season 4. We know this time it will be an individual instead of an organization. With the recent casting announcement of Timothy Dalton the money has to be on him for filling that role. There is little to work with here from a professional aspect. I am leaning towards both of them having been spies back in the day. Their paths have obviously crossed but were they always adversaries or did they work together at some point? Or even more? Could Sarah or Casey ever crossed paths with either of them? Interesting possibilities. And that is just on the professional side. Things could get even more intertwined when the personal side of things are explored.

But that, and more, is for the next article. Till then!

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56 comments

  1. I would love to have Shaw back as an adversary for Chuck. Especially considering his history with Sarah (and how much she hates him for it), I think Shaw could bring a lot to the show.

    I never saw Sarah as an appendage for Chuck. In fact, I thought they worked beautifully together, and with more practice in that capacity could become a really solid team. It is a worry that this would leave no room for Casey, but ultimately I think he would be more of an asset than a third wheel. Morgan seems to be the amusing analyst. I don’t think he’d ever grow into field work, but he’s already proven himself competent at analysis (even though most of his skills come from watching movies and playing video games).

    -Mel (swismiself)

    • Neither did I Mel. Yet. It is a concern of mine going forward though.

    • I would like to see shaw back too but im afriad that might kill the show

    • I’d like Shaw to return but as the ultimate enemy of the Team. But hasn’t Chuck learned by now that keeping his family in the dark to protect them only leads to great risk and danger? It nearly proved fatal in the season 3 finale, The whole gang would be better off and better prepared if knowing everything. That’s a concern of mine. I’ll won’t be happy until the whole crew knows and is in it together for better or worse.

    • I just want to know if Shaw is dead (again). Did Sarah off him with the shot to the head? If he’s not dead, how are they going to imprison him with a 2.0 intersect in his head?

      • Just to be clear, the “shot” to the head was not a gun shot, rather, a blow to the head with a length of footrail. If he could survive two shots to the chest in Paris, I can conceive of a scenario where he survives a solitary bludgeon. Sarah said that not killing Shaw was what made Chuck great. I doubt that she would have said that if she had just clobbered Shaw with a view toward killing him.

      • People can be quite ingenious with how to hold someone in prison. I don’t really think that the Intersect 2.0 was programed for how to get out of solitary in a deep dark hole. But you never know.

  2. Your speculation seems lacking. The government KNOWS that Orion/Steven Bartowski is dead, so Chuck simply adopting the Orion identity (a la the Dread Pirate Roberts) is implausible. If Orion were simply to reappear, the obvious candidate would be Chuck and they’d pounce on him.

    The more likely scenario is that Sarah and Casey KNOW what Chuck is doing and Beckman has been moved to LA to help protect Chuck’s autonomy. (After all, he DID get her job back and saved multiple branches of the U.S. government, so Beckman sort of owes Chuck.)

    Alternately, you could be corrent. TPTB could simply ignore the reality that the original Orion is dead and concoct some ludicrous scenario where Chuck is successfully hiding a magically revived Orion from Sarah, Casey and Beckman. The whole spy infrastructure will have some sort of group amnesia about Steven Bartowski’s death. And that conceit will probably go over as well as the break-up idiocy in Prague.

    So maybe your speculation isn’t wrong. After all, continuity and logical character development haven’t been a strong suit of TPTB since the end of Colonel.

    • Thanks for your feedback. I would like to point out that speculation is by its very nature always incomplete.

      Does the government know though? All we were shown is that Beckman does.

      She may be shielding Chuck in return for a partnership much like Commissioner Gordon and Batman. I have faith the show will come up with something plausible to assuage even the most jaded out there.

      Or Chuck may simply use another callsign like say Cobra. No wait, Morgan has taken that one already.

    • Love the Princess Bride ref.! Although you should’ve said Inconceivable instead of implausible. ; )

  3. Gringo Chuck Fan

    Hola Amigo – muchas gracias for your article…

    One dynamic that seems to have slipped under the radar – would be some kind of implied affections between Gen. Beckman and Morgan….
    ‘methinks the lady doth protest too much’ regarding the bearded wonder.
    Gen. Beckman on the prowl – trying to entangle Morgan would be hilarious….

    One other area – I think you missed slightly – is the parade of guest stars and the amount of different travel [ well – different settings]
    It would be my guess that we get thrown fully into the spy world right off the start.
    I expect the season to begin as a whirlwind of action and excitement –
    then we’ll step back to explore the character growth and to resolve some tensions before the ride starts spinning toward 4.13.
    My guess is that we’ll have several character centric episodes as in the past.
    Then of course there is always the grand finale –
    and we get to wait to find out if there will be a back 6 and S5!!!

    As always – I enjoyed your analysis and speculations…
    you must have tooo much time to yourself!
    Cheers – the Gringo Chuck Fan

    • Shhh! Don’t let my wife know! 😉

      Also Gringo – this article is focused on the professional aspects only. The Beckman you listed are personal and subject of the next article.

      • Don’t we have the need, no, duty to add more than just what the article is talking about as to give the “Chuck 3”, (yep. . .just made that up for Gray, Liz and Mel), more material to think about as they continue their epic work of epicness on chucktv.net.

  4. I think the buymore should still be part of the show only they should do more missions outside of LA kinda like the brief comic series did

  5. Chuck and Sarahs relationship is definatly going to be awesome this season but I really really want a Chuck/Sarah engagement this season. I suppose that might not be possible until MammaB is found. If so it would be really sweet if, after the Bartowski’s have reconnected, MammaB passes on an engagement ring for Chuck to give Sarah. And then season five can include the wedding attempts. (I say attempts becaue if Ellie’s wedding needed 2 tries than Chuck and Sarah are definatly gonna need more.)

    I also want to see Shaw again. They left him with so many unanswered questions. Why was Sarah sent to kill his wife? Why did he insist that Chuck kill him? Why did he make all the stupid villian mistakes?
    If they dont at least explain a little bit of Shaw’s time in the Ring I’ll be a little dissappointed.

  6. some guy named john

    Who says Chuck needs to be Orion 2.0, my bet is he will pick a different constellation as a codename. I’m betting it will be his online Call of Duty screen name too, LOL.

  7. I can’t see the level of autonomy described here between Chuck and Sarah. He may be working on his project and she on her mission, but they still live together and love each other. They can’t feign total disinterest in each other’s work, and would have a tough time lying to each other on a full-time basis. It might work for an episode or two, but it cannot sustain. Each will presumably face danger and each will presumably come to the aid of the other, causing secrets to become exposed. In short order they should re-discover that they are, as Sarah said (in “the Gravitron”, I believe), better as a team.

    • “I can’t see the level of autonomy described here between Chuck and Sarah. He may be working on his project and she on her mission, but they still live together and love each other. They can’t feign total disinterest in each other’s work, and would have a tough time lying to each other on a full-time basis. It might work for an episode or two, but it cannot sustain.”

      I agree. We have seen in the past how fast Sarah has discovered the secrets Chuck was trying to hide (And now, more than ever, with the Intersect trouble he had from 3.16 to 3.19), so I can’t see it continue for more than 2 episodes before Sarah is in the know about Chuck’s search.

      Which will bring them together again professionally, but this time, on a more “personal” kind of mission; CIA missions on the side, but mainly the search for Chuck’s mom, and for the new Nemesis (T. Dalton?). And I totally see Chuck having a “Batman/Commissioner Gordon” working relationship, and it would totally fit with having Chuck back at the Buy More from time to time, if he is to work on some CIA missions.

      • This is more my line of thinking. Chuck and Sarah working together as a team is central to the show. I don’t see Chuck just letting Sarah go off on missions while he stays in the BatCave. He never stayed in the car, did he? Neither do I think Sarah would betray Chuck’s activities in any way that would impede them. She used the CIA computer to find Chuck’s dad … committed treason for him … killed for him … considered shooting Longhorn but then decided to “save him later” … disobeyed orders to help him. Plus, I really can’t take Chuck lying to Sarah any more … about anything.

        Ultimately, and sooner rather than later, I think Chuck will be in at least a symbiotic relationship with the CIA, if not an official one. I think his search for his mother will eventually overlap CIA business in some way just as his search for his father did. Anyway, if Chuck were going to stay out of the CIA, I’m not sure why Beckman would be going to Burbank. Chuck staying out of the CIA doesn’t work for me over the long hall. I can see it being a more flexible relationship, but not him just free-wheeling it. I’ve often wondered if Papa B was really best served by his lone wolf approach. But maybe that’s just me.

        I would rather see Team B become a ghost team doing those things that governments are afraid to do (is that the way Papa B said it?) … with Beckman greasing the rails for them and protecting them from interference and scrutiny. She would be the only one to really know about them, and she would retain plausible deniability.

    • Sorry I may have led people astray with the autonomous remark. Chuck and Sarah will be inseparable. This season will be about them finding a balance between their personal and professional lives.

      Very curious to see how long Sarah is in the dark about the OC. Based on the spoilers I am guessing she finds out in episode 2 and things come to a head in episode 3.

  8. Lou I have a lot of respect for your analysis as you have often nailed other story lines and plots of season 3 in the past. However there are some major leaps of faith that we must take to think it will all come together as you have outlined.

    For example what’s the purpose for the CIA to completely rebuild the BuyMore and have Chuck working there, not to mention General Beckman working in close proximity to Jeff and Lester? I mean how does Chuck explain to Ellie that he is once again working at the BuyMore after everything she knows? Wouldn’t she be more than a little suspicious and questioning his every move? For that matter wouldn’t everyone else in Chuck’s life be suspicious? Like you I was ready for the BuyMore to be no more and Chuck working exclusively out of the OC.

    Also the idea that Sarah and Casey will be out of the loop for any length of time about the OC and Chuck’s new mission to find his mom would undermine everything that happened at the end of season 3 since all of them are now more a part of Chuck’s family than they are part of the CIA. While Sarah and Casey still enjoy the spy life they aren’t as blindly loyal to it as they have been in the past. Family is now more important to both of them.

    I personally don’t ever see Sarah becoming a quiet, submissive appendage to Chuck. While she loves him she has always challenged him and spoken up when she thought he was wrong. I can’t see that changing despite the fact that she has become more of a complete person with Chuck. Even though she will gladly join him in finding Mama B she will still question his methods.

    All that being said I look forward to putting the pieces of the puzzle together, though there are still some major pieces for me that seem to be missing.

    • Besides that being said about Casey and Sarah’s loyalty to family being more important then Spy life, I doubt they’d betray Chuck as he would fear they would (Am I saying that wrong?) After all they’ve been through together that’s not going to happen.

  9. Mostly agreed. However, I don’t see the BuyMore solution as “brilliant;” rather it’s something they had to do. Getting rid of it (and their most expensive set) would be too much of a change to s show that many consider already jumped the shark last year (I’m not one of them, however). I’m waiting to see how this whole “Greta” thing turns out. To be honest, it has the potential to be very lame, but we’ll see. I’m just wary because the last time Schwedak were this excited about one of their new ideas, we got the mishandling of Shaw.

    The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is the Timothy Dalton/Linda Hamilton backstory. I’m soooo glad they’ve dropped the “evil organization” thing and hired someone with real gravitas to be the villain (if that’s what Dalton turns out to be).

    My other tiny concern is how long they string along the “Chuck going behind Sarah’s back” thing. She’s a spy. She’d know if he was up to secret stuff pretty quickly. To make it go beyond a few episodes would be fake.

  10. I agree that Chuck and Sarah working together is central to the show. I don’t see Chuck just letting Sarah go off on missions while he stays in the Orion Cave. He never stayed in the car, right? Neither do I think Sarah would betray Chuck’s activities in any way that would impede them. She used the CIA computer to find Chuck’s dad … committed treason for him … killed for him … considered shooting Longhorn but then decided to save him later, etc. Plus, I really can’t take Chuck lying to Sarah any more … about anything.

    Ultimately, and sooner rather than later, I think Chuck will be in at least a symbiotic relationship with the CIA, if not an official one. I think his search for his mother will eventually overlap CIA business in some way just as his search for his father did. Anyway, if Chuck were going to stay out of the CIA, I’m not sure why Beckman would be moving to Burbank. Chuck staying out of the CIA doesn’t work for me over the long hall. I think the relationship will have to be different, but I think there needs to be one. (Remember how legally hamstrung Casey was as a civilian.) I’ve often wondered if Papa B was really best served by his lone wolf approach. But maybe that’s just me.

    I would rather see Team B become a ghost team doing those things that governments are afraid to do (is that the way Papa B said it?) … with Beckman greasing the rails for them and protecting them from interference and scrutiny. She would be the only one to know about them, and she would retain plausible deniability.

    • Like usual, you have me thinking, Thinkling! The “Lone Wolf” aspects of Chuck’s father is going to appeal to him for a while. And certainly Chuck is separated from the CIA at the start of S4.

      Yet, he’s still connected to them. The haircut, the suit – it all screams CIA. And Sarah is still there, even if she’s also in his apartment.

      If the story-line is about Chuck melding these two worlds, one in the Orion Cave and the other in the Buy More/Castle, it make take a while for it to happen. Perhaps the entire season.

      It looks to me that Chuck’s got two very separate worlds, both personally and professionally. They are going to reconciled, but only slowly.

  11. Those are all very interesting hypotheses. I am inclined to agree with Mel about Sarah and Chuck, they are good partners and can only get better with time. Casey will always be needed for tactical purpose and Morgan can certainly provide “analysis”, gung-ho ness, and comic-relief if nothing else. I also agree with Graham that with General Beckman now a permanent character it indicates that she will indeed have some knowledge about Orion’s spy work and will likely have some kind of partnership with Chuck at some point. Perhaps her protection will be in exchange for his Intersect services. If he is still the only Intersect, (except for Shaw perhaps),that makes him very valuable to the government. I’m glad they decided to re-build the Buy More but change it enough to make it relevant to the current storyline. The Buy More was the setting for many great comedic and other moments over the past few seasons, I think it would have been missed. Ultimately, what makes this show work is not so much the setting, whether the Buy More, Echo Park, exotic Locations, or even now with the house in Encino..it’s the delicate balance among all its elements (comedy, action, romance, family, mythology) that makes Chuck unique among other shows. I watch a fair number of really good shows, but…and here is my Princess Bride reference…”I’ve never seen it’s equal.”

  12. Please, please, please get a better wig for Linda Hamilton or let her have her natural graying hair. I think Chuck will have to be involved with Sarah’s assignments in order for them to take turns saving each other. If Sarah does not know about Chuck’s search for his mother perhaps when she finds out she will through out the bit of him keeping secrets, then Chuck can say “But what about Sam”? You all have great ideas, thank you for sharing them—it is all part of the fun!!!

    • I totally agree. With that wig I actually think she looks kind of ugly. And, dare I say this, but in the photo of her aiming the gun, I think she actually kind of looks like Ozzy Osbourne, who is not who she should look like.

  13. I think that Chuck will end up back in the CIA before the end of the first episode. Most of us have seen the promo clip where Sarah and Casey are captured by the bad guys and Chuck rescues them.
    I think what will happen is that Beckman goes to Chuck to let him know that Sarah and Casey have been captured, and use that to force him back into the CIA.
    Something like “Chuck, I can’t tell you anything else, you’re not an agent. However, if you agree to come back to the CIA I will give you all the resources you need to rescue them. “

    • I like this analysis. Seems it would make for an interesting storyline, and sounds true to the characters.

    • I think that might be very plausible. It makes sense with the promo clip, and Chuck would definitely go back to the CIA if Casey and Sarah had been captured.

  14. Another PLI. That’s all we need now, especially after last year’s fiasco. Will
    they EVER learn? This time not Shaw/Sarah vs Chuck/Hannah but the BROMANCE!!!

    The boys just have to have their play time together don’t they? Chuck/Morgan vs
    everybody including Sarah. The one good comedy lead in the last 6 episodes of
    the disastrous Season 3 was Casey trying to train/mentor Morgan while keeping
    him at arm’s length from his daughter. It played for a lot of laughs and you
    would think the producers would take a good thing and run with it-if only to
    regain the fan base that was so fractured in Season 3. We were told the
    producers had “learned” their lesson but have they? Apparently not….

    The pairings should be Chuck/Sarah and Casey/Morgan till the team is reunited
    hopefully much sooner than later if TPTB care about the ratings and a possible
    Season 5. The show will have to be very strong right out of the gate to get
    the back 6 or 9 order from NBC which will be critical for a possible Season 5.
    You can be sure NBC will watch the ratings very carefully. The show was simply
    lucky to get renewed last year. Any other network, given the show’s freefall
    in the ratings would have cancelled Chuck, period.

    So the Buymore is now to be a CIA run operation. What happens to the regulars
    who staffed the store and provided the atmosphere for so many entertaining
    moments? What happens to Big Mike and Jeffster, especially with the budget
    cuts still in effect?

    Guess we’ll have to wait and see but I’m not going to hold my breath this
    time with impatient anticipation. I don’t trust those guys (the producers) any more.

    One episode at a time. If I like it I’ll watch. If not……..No more blank
    checks to be handed out on blind faith, no more buzz, no more teasing.

    As Yoda once said “Do or Do Not”. They either come through this time or they
    don’t. There is no margin for error or recovery here.

    Nothing more can be done. It’s in the producers’ hands now. We’ll find out
    soon enough if they really “LEARNED” anything from last year.

    • Relax, TPTB said there WON’T be PLI this year. But I share your concerns and hope they get right this time. Chuck is still better then most dreck that is on TV even on it’s worst episode. Hope for the best, that’s one of my mottos. 🙂

    • What will happen to Skip Johnson!?!? And that androgynous Pillsbury Doughcreature?

    • I think you should relax for now. This season I’m actually excited about (and that excitement better not get betrayed) unlike during the hiatus when I was constantly worrying that they would go the wrong direction, which they very much did. The only thing that I’m worried about right now is that in Yvonne’s response to the “will Shaw come back” question, she said she thought the fans want to see Chuck and Sarah together for a while before they bring in any other love interests. That last part is what’s worrying me right now. The message the fans have been trying to get across to them is not “no PLIs for the next season.” It’s “no more PLIs at all.” If they were to bring a PLI into season 5, that would piss me off. I don’t see how they could do it given the current state Chuck and Sarah’s relationship and knowing that it’s going to move forward in season 4, but if they do that it would be very bad.

      I also agree that the show will have to be strong out of the gate. Schwartz did say they learned their lesson. Well, now they have to prove it because we are once again at the season premiere, and we all know how badly they messed up in the Pink Slip. NBC said that they ordered the back 6 for season 3 because they liked the creativity. Well, I doubt that was true. I think they saw the 1st 4 and knew how angry and disappointed the fans would be so they ordered the back 6 so that the show would have a chance to redeem itself. I also don’t think the show would’ve gotten renewed if the Other Guy had been the finale. Yes, they opened up the Honeymoon door. But, that’s what happens when you cry wolf (Colonel to Pink Slip). The fans would have had no faith or trust that they wouldn’t screw up horribly again. And that’s why they have to prove that they learned their lesson right out of the gate. They still have to re-earn the fans trust and the premiere is their first chance to do that. And for Big Mike, yeah, I’ve been wondering about that one for a while. It’s going to be interesting to see how they handle it.

  15. I submitted a comment on topic and it did not take. I tried again and got a
    message it was a duplicate you already had. I don’t see the original or the
    duplicate in the comments. What happened or did not happen? Please advise,
    thanks.

    • Robert, your comment was long enough that our software flagged it as spam. I’ve approved it so it shows up now.

  16. The info their releasing for S4 is mostly speculation for us at the moment.
    This Chuck lying has GOT to stop particularly to Sarah. Chuck has in the past been painted as a good guy but lately he’s been lying like a dog and I hate to say it but he’s acting like a bit of a scumbag with all the lies.
    One doesn’t have to lie just do the good spy thing and say “no comment” or I don’t want to talk about it yet”..
    Good to hear that C/S will be going strong lets keep it that way huh??

    • I’m inclined to agree. There was a time when Chuck hated to lie now he lies nearly 24/7 and it’s very distressing. Yes, his intentions are good, yes, his heart’s in the right place, but lying is not the answer. It hurts the people he loves and puts them all at risk. It even hurts himself. I hope they’re not going to play that card all season.

    • Yes, I’ve been worrying about that too. It’s like the next obstacle that they’ve come up with for them. Now that there’s no reason to lie to her, he needs to start being honest. If they have him keep lying to her, it’s going to get old very quickly. Heck, it was already getting old during the Living Dead and the finale. I thought the angst got old fast. Well, this will get old about 5x faster than that. If they have him hide Orion’s cave from her I’m not going to be happy. Of course, from the promo clip it seems like she and Casey find out in the premiere. But Sarah did look kind of upset in that clip also, so who knows. Bottom line is, the lying thing definitely needs to stop, and it needs to stop much sooner rather than later.

  17. I agree with those who’ve commented that the lying thing got old last season. I hope that any deceit by Chuck is brought to a head, and resolved, in the first 2-3 episodes this season.

    I also agree that the show is at its best when Team B are working together. Ideally, that will start happening again early in S4.

    I’m worried about Greta. Seems too gimicky to me. But, I’ll wait and see how it pans out.

  18. I’d like to see Casey get some romance for a change! Either with Kathleen or with Mama Bartowski [GG]

  19. yeah there’s NO reason she can’t come back, sheesh, they’ve resurrected everyone else why not Trichnia?? Bring her back even for a little bit and claim her sugar bear.
    I’m very much in favor of Trichnia making a guest appearance.
    Lying hurts everyone particularly the ones you love because eventually as we’ve seen on Chuck the truth outs eventually. It doesn’t matter here your heart is at or that you don’t want to hurt anyone lying still accomplishes that and drives a wedge between you and your loved ones. Chucks gone a bit hypocritical in S3 hoping to see that change.

  20. Thanks for putting in my comment, Mel. Appreciate it.

  21. Yeah I’m a bit cynical myself, it’s one thing to say we’ve learned our lesson but it’s another to actually show the lesson has been learned. Lets face it S3 was a cluster frack of epic proportions.
    It’s always been in the back of my mind to think that someone in Chuck writer or producer team will go “you know what it’s time to break C/S up”. (hears howls of outrage on that one) lol
    But they’ve made so many hints about C/S getting engaged and eventually married it’s hard to know.
    I’m happy to adopt a wait and see attitude I spose…..

  22. Oh and YES the pairing should be Chuck and Sarah definitely, honestly Morgan is a danger to himself and others in the field. I never got how they were going to make Morgan field ready in 1 ep when in real time it takes years.. Anyhooo better leave it at that before Mel kicks my ass offa here 🙂

    • Speaking of making Morgan field ready in 1 episode, I’ve had a theory ever since the season 3 finale that Alex is going to be Morgan’s Sarah, if you get what I mean. I’m assuming that he and Alex are still going to start a relationship even though Casey is obviously against it. We know that they’re going to bring Alex into the spy world, and just think of how Morgan will react when he sees that his girlfriend is a better spy than he is and has better spy skills than he does. He would be very envious of her and he would want her to teach him. And Alex can teach him in a much more effective way than Casey ever could: through love.

  23. Both my comments are good mel 🙂

  24. Chuck is still the intersect, I don’t think the government is going to let him go just that easy, they have invested millons of dollars in order to him to reach his potential, is a valuable asset to them. Perhaps as someone said it before he has some kind of alliance with Beckman. Yvonne says of Chuck and Sarah: “They’re together now. It gets very couple-y. We’re sort of finding our couple feet and the story is going to take us into finding Chuck’s mother.” I really hope Chuck tells Sarah about the OC instead of she finding out , one of the reason they make a great couple is the fact that they can relay and trust in each other.

  25. Isn’t Governor supposed to be one of major parts of the show in S4?

    And what about creating new intersect(s) – after defeating Shaw CIA/NSA should have access to Ring’s secret base. Or is it going to share the faith of the Orions wrist computer and be just forgotten.

  26. Uh I just can’t wait to see it so that all of the wondering and ‘what ifs’ will END. Chuck and Sarah ARE together in this season and thats good enough for me. As long as they are together I think most fans will be happy. I am mostly against bringing Shaw back. They barely got out alive last time he cam back. But if they do bring him back I think they should do it during the end of the season so that Chuck, Sarah, Morgan, and Casey will have all the truth out and be able to figure out a team. And so that Chuck could have told Ellie the truth about being a spy. I am done with all of Chuck’s lying. He needs to stop lying to the ones he loves. (Ellie and Sarah.)

  27. I’m so pumped for S3 on DVD in 2 days, and even more so for S4 in a little over 2 weeks. I keep reading about the supposed demise of the BuyMore. That just can’t be. Much of the creative genius of the show is the parallel between Chuck’s home, spy, and BuyMore world. I love that aspect. I think the BuyMore needs to stay, with all our beloved, goofy characters. However, for Chuck to “keep his promise” to Ellie, castle is now expanded to a training base for future CIA/NSA rookies. They come in undercover as greenshirts. Thus the Greenshirt Rookie Educational Training Agency ( GRETA )is the cover for all the new people to come in and out. Chuck will be the manager of these rookies to outsiders, however, working as an analysist in their spy training. This keeps him with Sarah and Casey. Thus Ellie and Awesome aren’t too suspicious of their working together, but we know Chuck will be back involved in the spy world looking for his mom on the side, probably with Morgan first, then Sarah and Casey later. Sounds plausible, don’t you think?

    • Um I think that sounds genius and makes a lot of sence! And I agree that the paralell in the show can’t be taken away or the show will lose some character.