Season 3 Episode 4: Chuck Vs Operation Awesome

[Crazybone]

Sarah's husband? I don't think so.

Agree. I think it was more like he was remembering his ex-wife or dead ex-wife.

[Crazybone]

OK my thoughts on this episode. I thought that is was really great, no angst, intense story and a great new character introduction. It was great to see a new side to Devon, that he is actually bad at something, and thats lying . Didn't like the whining Chuck, I think they should tone that down in the future, but in his own nerdy way he manages to pull through anyway.

I think I will enjoy watching Shaw in future episode, he looks mysterious, confident yet I still didn't feel that he is anything like Bryce or Cole for that matter. I don't know how but you could feel that he has this more human side to him, not only the cold and calculating side.

Love the BM subplot, Fight Club homage was awesome and Lester electrocuting that guy was the funniest moment on the show.

[claire]

I read on another forum that Shaw is like a grown-up Chuck who lost his Sarah. Somehow I find that description very touching. Even though it could definitely turn out completely wrong.

[pdmspy]

I like the maturity they're showing in Morgan's character this season.  I've always thought he was one of the most lovable characters, a lot like a puppy-dog, so I thought the whole "big dog" conversation was pretty funny.  He's always been a leader behind the scenes at the Buy More, the one Lester and Jeff look to when decisions need to be made, so it's nice to see him stepping up in an official position. 

I noticed in 3.02 that he was dressing pretty sharp when he and Chuck went out, as well as at the party.  I had wondered if it was a sign of his changing maturity level.  It looks like it could have been. 

[cubbie5150]

--agree w/ the sentiment Shaw's entry was probably the best character intro ever done since the pilot
--loved the spy plot in this episode
--while amusing, the Buy More stuff just took away time from the spy stuff
--also happy for a brief respite from the C/S stuff for the most part

This was really a good episode, and I don't think I have appreciated the Devon character more than I did tonight.  RM showed some range, and it was nice to see.  I agree, the Devon/Chuck/Ellie scene was hilarious.  I laughed out loud when he came up w/ the decapitated bear.

I actually like Shaw, well, as much as anyone can like him after such a short time.  BUT, that's probably b/c I've admitted I want him to be likable; I'm predisposed to it.  I like that he's gonna put Chuck's growth on Chuck's shoulders; tough love time.  I can now see that some conflict WITHIN Team Bartowski is needed.  I can't wait to see how the Shaw dynamic plays-out

Angie Harmon was TERRIFIC, as I anticipated.  This episode gave me much of what I've been wanting:  more fleshing-out of the spy plot, and less explicit emphasis on C/S.  Kudos to the 'runners for pretty much improving on every episode so far.  I'll be re-watching this episode multiple times this week for things I'm sure I missed.

[OrangeMochaFraps]

Am I the only one who noticed that the Fight Club part actually used a bit of Fight Club's score?  Awesome.

Great episode - I just started watching the show before this season and I love it so far.  I kind of liked Shaw - at least from a character stand point.  It's good to shake things up a little bit, and hopefully he'll be able to change the relatively static team dynamic.

I do like Chuck/Sarah, but I was really happy to not see it featured.  The small moments are nice; they keep Chuck/Sarah fans happy while preventing overkill.

Can't wait for next week!

[pdmspy]

I actually liked the Shaw character, as well.  I've been trying VERY hard to avoid spoilers, so without knowing exactly how his character is supposed to affect the C/S relationship, I'm not basing my perceptions on what is supposed to happen later - only what I saw in this episode.  When compared to Agent Forrest in Chuck vs. the Broken Heart, who is the only other CIA agent I remember them bringing in to temporarily lead the team, Shaw seems downright lovable. 

[buymoriaking]

Now that I'm done watching the Laker game (they won  ), this was an amazing episode. I'll probably repeat stuff already mentioned, so apologies in advanced.  As many here have said, the intro of Shaw was one of the best, though I still like Roan's entrance a tiny bit better.

There's no doubt that Chuck and Sarah still care very deeply for one another.

My favorite scene of the night? Chuck and Devon trying to lie to Ellie. I wonder how much of that was improv by Zac and Ryan  It was so insane it was beyond hilarious. Clearly the funniest scene of the show thus far.

[mmoomin]

I read on another forum that Shaw is like a grown-up Chuck who lost his Sarah. Somehow I find that description very touching. Even though it could definitely turn out completely wrong.

Absolutely agree with this. If anything I think Shaw is going up Sarah's worries about Chuck initially at least until she finds out works out what happened to Shaw. Hmm Shaw is a threat to Chuck because he is Chuck down the line after several years and a tragedy.

[arakaan]

I still think Shaw shooting himself was one of the most memorable character intros the show has done.

Forget comparing it to another character intro in Chuck, it is one of the best intros of a character on any show.

Name one instance when a character is introduced in a show and then proceeds to "kill himself" by stopping his heart and shooting himself within their first 2 minutes on screen. It was truely epic.

while like everyone else I'm on the bandwagon of Chuck and Sarah, I'm more than willing to take a ride to get there and I already love what Shaw is going to bring to the mix in regards to all aspects.

I seriously cant wait to see how this plays out and I'm now getting the feeling we are in for something so special in all aspects from the episodes around 11-13. 

[Misch1ev0us]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, episode was great and the show continues it's streak of really good guest casting. I like the depth they appear to have given Shaw and the character growth they've been giving everyone else. Well maybe except Jeff and Lester, but then again half (or maybe all?) their charm is how insanely oddball/childish they are. Can't say I completely loved the episode though. Story wise and everything it was great.  something just felt "off" about the way Routh chose to play Shaw to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I guess I just need to let it grow on me.

Of particular interest:

- Awesome and Chuck's "lie"? Brilliant! I also love how quickly they paid off that joke at the end when Ellie took Casey's wine 

- The misunderstanding between Devon and the Security Guard was a laugh too.

- Fight Club is one of my favorite recent films so I appreciate the reference, and yep I picked up the music cue too and had a big dopey grin on my face.

- Chuck doesn't want to use guns.  but apparently has no issue possibly electrocuting a guy to death? To each their own I guess!

- While I loves me some meaty drama, I appreciate the way they're playing Chuck and Sarah's relationship right now. You can see the chemistry there every time they talk/look at each other at this point. Little tid-bits like "It just wouldn't have been the same without you" are just icing to me. Though like others, I really wonder how they're going to pull off the Shaw/Hannah possibilities without making it seemed forced now.

I'm sure more will come to me later as I rewatch, but for now I just need to brace myself for another week long wait 

[FrankieRider2]

Can't really add much.  Everyone here already discussed the pros and the cons.

Liked it a lot, can't wait for next week.   

[PNy]

I can’t help having empathy for Shaw since I assume his Wife (or what ever) was killed. Just by thinking what if Chuck would lose Sarah the same way: gulp
Also his statement of not liking guns underscore that he’s really a "Chuck like" guy.

I disagree with some of you about “whining Chuck” in this case. Chuck will and should always be worried about families, friends etc. That’s what makes him Chuck. What I don’t want him to do is to whine as soon as some one makes a move on Sarah. In those cases I want him to man up more.

[yuri]

Great episode!

I'm totally loving this season!

One thing that you would notice about S3, is that each and every episode is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and you know that by the end of this season (ep13) we will see a complete picture..seems like this season is one big story arc, as compared to the first 2 seasons where in they seemed to have a lot of "filler" episodes.  

[yuri]

Oh and BTW, did any of you guys noticed how cute it was when Chuck was whining about where Devon could be and what he could do.

And then Sarah goes on to tell him to calm down..

Then Chuck went on to blast her comment.

Then Sarah gave a very cute disappointed look.

Then just so slightly there was a change in Chuck's character, as though he was trying to appease Sarah.