ChuckTV.net The CHUCK archive
Written by Max Denby
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
Chuck is back! And not just the show but the character too.
Let me clarify that. Chuck the show is back after a 7 week holiday hiatus. Chuck the character is starting to show some light again from under the bushel this season arc has put him under. It is a welcome start and the bushel should be removed completely by the time the 4.13 showdown confrontation with Volkoff rolls around.
Between Chuck reverting to a child state every time his mother showed up to being hamstrung by the loss of the Intersect to struggling to balance his spy life with his personal life; Chuck has been in react mode for the vast majority of this season. He has been a fire fighting pawn. Chuck has been given little to no opportunity to display those qualities that won Sarah and audiences alike over. This has been a fantastic season for Sarah Walker growth, Morgan Grimes growth, and even some small scraps of Casey growth. But for Chuck it has been a tough haul. And the big reason for me why Season 4 has been an underwhelming experience from the big picture view.
It is a debilitating problem for a show when your titular character is not being used to his best or fullest capabilities. The old writing dilemma of telling a story honestly is a constant battle between plot and character. With good writing the plot unfolds based on the character’s established traits. Weaker writing bends the character to fulfil story requirements. Good writing takes time. In television time is a precious commodity. The writing for Chuck the character has taken the plot driver road. For me it is quite obvious that Chuck has been subjugated to serve the story points so far this season.
With the end game in sight the need for the heroic Chuck has re-surfaced. Before the break, Chuck had reacquired the Intersect as a prelude to making the climatic charge that will happen in 4.12 and 4.13. We saw Chuck in the Balcony able to properly prioritize mission versus personal priorities for the first time in a long while. Praise the stars! While he desperately wants to make the perfect proposal to Sarah, Chuck does not let that, or Morgan, sway him from a proper course. A more than welcome return to form by someone who admits that he is not a great multi-tasker.
It was also a welcome sight to see Chuck taking charge from time to time in the spy world. For the first time in a while Zac Levi looked like he was having fun playing Chuck! Proposing to someone as special as a Sarah Walker is a daunting task indeed, so any skittishness Chuck relayed in the personal moments is understandable. He knows he is no James Bond, or Bryce Larkin, or Cole Barker, or a Daniel Shaw. Okay, okay. Chuck definitely trumps a Daniel Shaw any day! Actually Chuck trumps them all. Just ask Sarah Walker.
Chuck learns via Casey that there are no perfect moments. All you need is your girl and the intestinal fortitude to ask THE QUESTION.
And that is all the matters.
Episode Flashes: Add your own in the comments.
- Former Chuck show runner Scott Rosenbaum gets a nod in the opening action scene
- Chuck aborting proposal in restaurant after Sarah tells him about her parent’s proposal horror story under similar circumstances – ‘Not enough balloons. No carb thing?’
- Sarah oblivious to proposal abort
- Casey’s, ‘Some moron was clogging up Ventura Blvd with a horse and carriage.’
- Casey’s mumbling about being a Colonel and being devoted to man-servant on the mission
- Sarah’s protective instincts kick as she tells Beckman about taking down Volkoff
- Chuck stating he is not a good multi-tasker
- Morgan running submission to help Chuck propose to Sarah in the French Looouvre Valley aka The Garden of France
- Morgan’s Fixer – Big Mike
- Lester comes from ‘Old Country’ aka Canada. A HinJew from Saskatchewan. A nod to the Canadian comedy series, ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie?’
- Morgan telling Chuck, ‘Watch Sarah. She will show you the spot.’
- Morgan makes sure Chuck mints in both pockets. Q eat your heart out!
- ‘Casey is your man-servant. Let him man serve you.’ ‘Oh Jon, Jon!
- Villain Pierre licks hypo and gives Chuck writer Lauren Lefranc a shout out identifying that the chip is in a bottle of ’86 Chateau Lefranc.
- Nod to Danny Kaye’s Court Jester- ‘ A peppery pino with a stable on the label and a stork on the cork.
- Sarah plays flirty drunk to disarm some baddies.
- Two Buck Chuck
- Chuck flashes and fights with wine glass in hand.
- Casey still spot on in the spy world intuiting Beckman has switched the chip.
- Lester is a lucky little Canadian.
- Castle engineers should be complimented on making the spy facility acoustically accessible for eavesdropping – Sarah finds out about the proposal sub-mission.
- Sarah surprises Morgan – ‘I am someone deadly.’
- ‘I’m a spy. I hate surprises.’
- Sarah takes over proposal mission and Morgan Grimes becomes double agent!
- Sarah wanting the proposal to happen for Chuck…. and for her.
- Sarah’s, and Chuck’s intuition about something with the exchange mission being off, prove to be true.
- Full Moon Proposal sub mission.
- Morgan working the dual headsets! Woot!
- Morgan covers all sub-mission contingencies. He equips Chuck with Tide-To-Go tubes.
- Casey steps in to help Full Moon Proposal sub-mission.
- Nervous Sarah. ‘I don’t get butterflies.’
- Morgan calming Sarah by giving his blessing to marry Chuck. Sweet moment.
- Casey catches dropped ring. Sarah retrieves ring and preserves Chuck’s illusion of being in control of the proposal. Now that’s true teamwork!
- Chuck telling Sarah that being with her anywhere is the most beautiful place in the world.
- Casey’s, ‘She’s good.’ to Sarah’s, ‘I didn’t fall in love with James Bond. I fell in love with you.’
- Casey mentions Alex’s mom and his girl Kathleen! Huzzah!
- Casey’s advice to Chuck, ‘Forget the balcony. All you need is the girl.’
- Sarah’s tearful promise to bring MamaB back to Chuck.
“Chuck vs. the Balcony” started out with a seemingly generic mission that adroitly morphed into the launch pad for the next two episodes that will deal with taking down Volkoff. Seizing on an opportunity inspired by Sarah’s request that some initiative be formed to take down Volkoff and rescue MamaB, General Beckman quickly manufactured that opportunity. So quickly that Sarah never had the chance to explain it to Chuck. Using the followup buy to cast Sarah in the role of double agent, Beckman has given Sarah the means of getting into Volkoff’s organization. Sarah’s innately strong protective drive was also used effectively as the catalyst for her request to Beckman during the opening restaurant scene when Chuck lamented his lack of attention to Sarah because of the Volkoff situation.
During the same scene Chuck’s proposal plans were humorously scuttled as an oblivious Sarah recounted the horror of her parent’s proposal. This episode made excellent use of the main cast with Morgan’s behind the scenes proposal submission activities providing some very funny counterpoints to the main missions. Sarah’s discovery and commandeering of the proposal, making Morgan a double agent in the process was well played being touching and funny at the same time. By the time Casey swooped in to help, the show was using the main cast members to their best abilities. It was great to see Chuck’s friends working in unison to maintain the illusion that he was in control of the situation. Right down to Sarah scooping up the dropped engagement ring and putting it back in Chuck’s pocket.
The villains were forgettable this week but with the focus on the relationships between the main cast members this is an understandable non-issue. The BuyMore plot was more palatable to me this time because of the Canadian basis but the Jeffster Whitesnake performance of, ‘Is This Love?’ fell flat. Non-Canadians were doubtless not nearly so enthralled. I cannot help but wonder each time how the episode would have played out if there had been some Ellie/Devon and/or Alex subplot to support the main storyline instead.
A wonderfully, entertaining return episode for Chuck with some snappy one liners, many in jokes, and the inevitable clash between professional and personal lives for Chuck and Sarah. Chuck works best as a show when the missions are plausible and any implausibilities are kept to the humorous aspects of the relationships between the characters. “Chuck vs. the Balcony” was such an episode.
With the still you chose Lou, I just realized that Sarah is “glowing” like she did in Suburbs! “Of course she will” has to be in contention for understatement of the year. 😉
I don’t care that it was interrupted (again)! It was a wonderful moment.
Definitely a favourite episode. Nice anyalysis, Lou.
This is the first time I really felt that Morgan is an actual full member of Team Bartowski since everything he did was golden and even Casey didn’t hesitate or snark, he just jumped right in.
And it was great to see another toucing interaction between Chuck and Casey with Casey giving the advice this time. I guess Papa Bear took Daughter Bear’s advice about friends to heart. *melts* 😉
I’m totally there with you on the Casey scenes. It’s such a reminder of why Adam Baldwin is such a fantastic actor. He can take small scenes and make them perfect! It was such a joy to see Casey being such a good friend to Chuck.
Didn’t Sarah’s dad say that his proposal was the beginning of the end for his and Sarah’s mom’s relationship?
What about Chuck’s proposal attempt?
Yeah, but Chuck and Sarah both walked away without any minor burns so I think they’re in the clear 😉
It appears every time Chuck tries to pop the question in this episode, it backfires:
Italian Restaurant: Sarah tells horror story about parents’ proposal.
Balcony 1: chasing wine bottle with chip
Balcony 2: chased by bad guys, saved by Casey
Balcony 3 (By this time I was thinking “oh God, this is it. This is TV history in the making.”) Sarah gets “arrested.”
Castle Jail Cell: Beckman talks to Sarah.
Poor Chuck. He just can’t win, can he?
the final moonlight balcony proposal would have been PERFECT, I almost had tears in my eyes. and then when he got to “will you-” i thought, “oh, maybe they’ll actually do it this episode!” and then she got arrested and I actually yelled at the TV haha
Nice review, a really good episode.
I love it when Casey shows the team that he does care about them in Casey fashion. When he was giving Chuck advise on the proposal near the end was GREAT. Unleash the Casey!!
Lou, I totally agree with you about Chuck being in the background!! It hasn’t been a great season because Chuck hasn’t been at the forefront. And Zachary Levi hasn’t looked like he’s been enjoying this season as much as seasons 1&2. I compare this show to Human Target made by McG, and that show is great all the time!! It’s funny and action-packed and they stay with the main character. They need to keep with the formula!! Chuck, SArah and Casey with Morgan helping and adding to the comedy of Chuck and Casey and Sarah!!! I felt the same way about Chuck being back to himself. Thanks, Lou for your analysis. I’m always right with you!!
I agree completely with Joy and Lou. Chuck’s ongoing insecurities with Sarah and life without the Intersect have been a real irritation for me. I think many of us could accept that hand-wringing back in seasons 1 & 2 and the first half of 3 but I’m more than ready for Chuck to grow up and be the mature, confident guy that we know he is capable of being.
For instance when he had the chance to step in front of Sarah when Volkoff cocked and pointed the gun at her (in Leftovers) Chuck just froze and Mama B. had to come to the rescue. Yet back in American Hero when Shaw’s life was on the line Chuck risked his own life to save him. Why not now with Sarah?
I’m hoping that over the next two episodes things will finally click (i.e. Sarah and Mama B’s lives and possibly Morgan and Casey’s will be on the line) so that Chuck will finally have to man-up and be the hero we all know he is capable of being. We have seen everyone else grow and mature, now it’s time for Chuck!
Can anyone tell me who makes the gray wool coat Chuck is wearing in this episode (in the photo above)? My boyfriend loves the coat and I cannot find it anywhere. I have seen the same question posted elsewhere but there are no responses.
Thank you!
Has anyone identified the gray wool four pocket coat that Chuck (Zachary Levi) was wearing in 4×11 Chuck Vs The Balcony?
I’m looking for something like this but cannot find out what this coat was.
It seems like it’s a military inspired four pocket coat.
I loved the episode, and one of the main reasons is that Morgan was shown as a competent person, not just a comic buffoon. No matter how much we fans have to suspend disbelief at times with this series, Morgan’s been just too clownish to believe real spies would actually put up with him. Not this week.
One thought that has absolutely nothing to do with this particular episode… for a doctor, isn’t Ellie the most clueless person in the world? In the last episode she was told her Mom’s been cleared and is free to go. This is the woman who has been away from her kids for 20 years and now she’s free to see her PREGNANT daughter at any time… how is it that Ellie’s not suspicious that MamaB hasn’t been hovering all over her, buying onesies and knitting baby booties? MamaB comes to dinner, says she’s a free person, and disappears again. And Ellie has no clue that the spy shenanigans continue?
Chuck is trying too hard to be over the top with the proposal, going for the most exotic location. He apologises for not being James Bond. He is always worried about not being good enough for Sarah. But she told him that she didn’t fall in love with Bond, and Casey told him that he doesn’t need exotic locales. Perhaps Chuck will take all this to heart, and go for the simple charm that makes him the guy she fell for, and go back to the beach where they watched the sunrise after their first date. Proposing there would feel natural, and would lift much of the pressure from the situation.
Chuck needs to remember that Awesome’s proposal to Ellie didn’t go as planned, but still it turned out all right. As you remember that proposal took place on the couch in Ellie and Awesome’s apartment. Could Chuck end up popping the question in a similar familiar location?
You’re right. Awesome’s plan didn’t go as planned. But in the end he did the right thing. On the other hand, it is painful to watch, as Doctor Bob, Chuch is trying so hard, and going extravagance that is totally out of sync with the character. If Morgan was planning these sort of grand event, Chuck would have pulled him aside long ago and told him maybe he should just keep it simple and speak from his heart. This is not the Chuck that Sarah fell in love with. And its not the character that I’ve come to enjoy on the show.
Awesome, quintessential Chuck episode. The “parts” were great, i.e. Chuck and Morgan calling off the first proposal, the one handed fight scene at the wine tasting, the “conversation” between Sarah and Morgan, Casey and Morgan running the proposal op from Castle, among many others; and the whole became much more than the sum of the parts. On top of that, this is the set-up for what looks to be a great 3 episode arc. I agree with your review. I don’t see how anyone who has watched Chuck from the beginning could have significant issues with this episode, or even the overall arc of this season, which I think has been stellar.
Well personally, I didn’t care for the episode based on the way it ended and the stupid Jeff stuff. I did like the submission in both halves. It was done well. Here are the 2 big reasons that I didn’t care for the episode and will pass on this arc and be back with Roan (yea)!!!
1. Sarah leaves chuck just like his mom, his dad, Jill, etc… The total lack of response from Chuck other than a couple of sentences. Guess what by doing this she tells him NO to his proposal and leaves him to possibly die. No emotional damage for him here. Just didn’t hit me well at all.
2. The other part that just drove a nail in my skull was Casey and Chuck’s discussion while Sarah was locked up. If you remember, when Chuck was going to get bunkered by Casey, Sarah saves him; When Casey gets locked up for treason, chuck and sarah break into the prison to save him. What do our 2 guys do when Sarah is arrested for the same thing, smoke cigars and talk. I was yelling at the TV and I don’t watch shows where I yell at the TV.
Thanks for the review Lou. I have to admit that as a Canadian from Saskatchewan I loved the reference and the fact Lester managed a very good “Saskatchewan” (even Eastern Canadians don’t always have the knack). But I did miss that it was a reference to Little Mosque on the Prairie (a show I watch regularly). I’d like to know who came up with this one. I didn’t think LMotP was even known in the US. 🙂
I still think that the proposal may come from Sarah in the end.
I flashed on Casey’s fist pumping during Chuck’s aborted question popping scene. He’s such a romantic.
Max, Thank you for taking a stab at explaining why, as you put it so eloquently, “Season 4 has been an underwhelming experience.” I couldn’t agree with you more. It has been totally underwhelming. From week to week its been hit or miss. Just when things seem to be gaining traction, the plot stalls, or the character falls flat. And just when you think things have totally deveolved, they surprise you with a glimmer of what made these characters so interesting to start with.
I keep trying to convince myself that “it was a really good show tonight.” But except for “Chuck vs. Phase Three” the season has been completely unconvincing. Which is a shame because on so many different levels things started with so much promise. But perhaps that is part of the problem: there are so many individual reasons to get excited (Linda Hamilton as mom, Timothy Dalton as Volkoff, etc.) but with so many strong directions to follow, it seems that none of them get much opportunity to gain traction and take off.
The show is starting to feel forced; like they are trying too hard.
Whatever the reason, the show seems to have lost its way. This is no longer the Chuck that grabbed my attention in Seasons 1&2, then ramped things up in Season 3. Chuck Season 4 is starting to feel convoluted, like Lost Seasons 4, 5, & 6. I just hope they can find a way back. It might be a good start to go back to the basics. One of the reasons The Simpsons has endured as well as they have for 20 years, is that the characters do not grow or evolve. They always remain true to their archetypes. But they do an incredible job of finding new ways to make those archetypes entertaining.
I will agree a good episode but not great. Too fast, and the romance was ruined by Morgan. I have said it before and I will say it again. Morgan has got to go. He is ruining the show and his obsession with Chuck is getting real weird. I am sure that he means well but the path to perdition is paved with good intentions. The you have my permission blurb to Sarah was really delving into some odd Freud thing. Its time to kill Morgan.
I agree. I mean, seriously, is he going to live with them even after their wedding? Chuck lived with Ellie, yes, but he is her brother and they moved away after Ellie got married.
I don´t understand what they are doing with Morgan this year. Or with Casey. Or with Chuck. I almost started to like Morgan in S2 and in the middle of S3 but how can anybody seriously think he can handle ANY mission, even only as an analyst? I know this show is supposed to be fun but Chuck was the best in balancing between drama and comedy, and now they moved more to a (self)parody than just pure “look, this is an Alias reference” fun. I enjoyed digging and looking for references, links, paralells. Now I watch an episode once and that´s it.
Chuck is, again, a screaming girl, instead of an agent who he should be. He was so great in the second half of S3. Where is that Chuck now?
If we should deal with “OMG, Chuck has killed someone” now, I wouldn´t care as I cared when he shot Shaw.
And Casey? I thought this show is about a team, not about Casey babysitting Morgan.
I really, really hope that the last two episodes will be worth it and that they´ll find their way again.
Rant over.
Lou, I agree that this is an amazing episode, but I disagree with your take on the s4 as a whole. So far this is shaping up to be my favourite season of Chuck. There hasn’t been one episode that I haven’t liked.
Sure it has had a few weak moments – like the Buy More plot in Cubic Z, but whenever we have had episodes with weak points, the rest of the episode has more than made up for them.
Glad you are enjoying it Gord but S4 has been fundamentally handicapped because the lead character has been hobbled all season. When fans say that this season is not doing it for them and are not sure why, Chuck’s passiveness is why.
Hard to get fans excited about a show when your lead character is stuck in neutral.
For the record, warts and all, Season 3 is still my favorite. Only season to push the characters and have real tension.
This was a very funny and romantic episode, but the only thing that really annoys me so far about this season is the long wait for Chuck’s proposal to Sarah. Seriously, there has been talk about proposing since near the beginning of the season (Chuck vs. the Suitcase). Then came the trilogy of what would happen if Chuck did propose and Sarah would answer “yes”. Then finally in Chuck vs. Phase Three, it was confirmed that Chuck was planning on proposing to Sarah, which got me psyched because I love watching Chuck and Sarah’s relationship progress. Then in Chuck vs. the Leftovers, it appeared that Chuck was about to propose when they got interrupted by assassins, then came the holiday break. By the time the new episode (Chuck vs. the Balcony) aired, we’re really hoping that Chuck was going to this time pop the question, and he was about to several times during the episode and just when it seemed he was about to, Sarah has to go undercover to bring his mom back. That’s a total of half the season of will he or won’t he. That’s too many, and I’m starting to get annoyed. I can understand that the writers wrote it that way to keep the viewers hooked onto the next episode, but enough is enough. Viewers will stop watching if they keep postponing this. I think what they’re going to do is keep the proposal on hold until episode 13 (the original season finale) and then Chuck will propose and Sarah will say yes. I look forward to watching that episode, but next time they come up with something even more exciting, I hope they WON”T keep dragging it on and on until the very end.
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