ChuckTV.net The CHUCK archive
Written by Phil Klemmer
Directed by Kevin Mock
Serialized vs Stand Alone.
As a series Chuck has flipped between these two types of story telling approaches with mixed results. Even the most ardent fan will recognize the inconsistencies that have cropped up over the past four seasons in the show’s mythos. These become even more pronounced when the stand alone episodes try to operate in a vacuum, ignoring or contradicting previously established show mythology and history.
That the Intersect was something so overwhelmingly complex that only a unique individual could withstand having it inserted into their brain has been long abandoned by the show. The number of people that can survive being Intersected increases with each season. What was once postulated being unique to Chuck, his brain’s ability to absorb being Intersected without harmful or fatal effects, is now commonplace. Now the show conceit has shrunk down to that it is Chuck himself that is special as a person. His personality and set of moral ethics is what makes him the only one that can handle having the Intersect in his head without losing his humanity. Time after time Chuck’s specialness is ignored by the Intelligence Agencies Power Brokers when new Intersects are desired.
It would seem that the recent economic downturn has also affected the available number of bad guys too. In the pilot the goal was to be able to produce an army of Intersected Agents to protect the free world. Now, contradicting that original goal, there are only enough bad guys to keep one Intersect team employed.
The A Team.
The setup of having Chuck and Sarah demoted to the Dog Walking Team does not bear up even under the most cursory examination. All the success history of Team Bartowski is also ignored so the new A Team can arise and replace them. Of course, all this suspect situational setup is irrelevant to the viewer if it leads to entertaining story results. I found the results mildly entertaining with the Hurt Locker Chuck bomb defusing scene at the climax the definite highlight.
Another problematic aspect of this episode is the muddied motivations of why Casey joined the new team. The show wants to set up tension between Casey and his old team mates but the show cannot make Casey out to be a bad guy. So they gloss over Casey’s motivations for dumping Chuck and Sarah. His third wheel laments make little sense when we find out he has left to helm a team of two Intersects. If he felt like a third wheel on Team Bartowski with one Intersect how does this move to the new team make any sense? So the whole exercise of having Casey sneaking off to lead the new team is to create pointless false drama.
Episode Flashes: Add your own in the comments.
- Morgan almost gaining control over his torture peeing problem
- Missionless Chuck and Sarah bored and playing board games
- Morgan describing Casey as his domestic partner
- the new A Team – Rick & Vicki
- the Jana extraction assignment turns out to be a real ‘dog’ of a mission
- stir crazy Ellie wants the Orion laptop
- Ellie seduces Jeff and Lester…. again
- Jeff the Psychic
- CBS approved bio-residue scanning goggles
- Lecter-like plexiglass jail cell in the new Castle wing
- Hurt Locker Chuck and the Apple Juice solution
- iPhone bomb detonator
- Chuck is now Overseer of all Intersect Projects
- the Gretas relief at having the Intersect removed
- Ellie gets the Orion laptop as Bentley does an end run around Beckman and Chuck
There was some interesting stuff at the end of this episode. Ellie being given the Orion laptop by Bentley certainly sets up some intriguing story possibilities. What was a throw away line by Captain Rick about feeling bad for Chuck having the Intersect in his head really grabbed my interest. It is doubtful the show will pursue that comment any further but an exploration of the burden of Chuck having an Intersect is one that I would find fascinating.
The real frustration is the sin of lost potential. There are so many exciting stories that they could tell.
Why is Chuck the only intersect? Would the others quickly go insane?
What is the role of Orion’s govenor? Does Chuck still need it?
Where is MamaB, what does she know about Orion’s work? Were they working together over the years?
Can Ellie fix the flaws? Does that make her part of the team?
Why don’t Casey and Sarah have a temptation to become intersects if it’s that easy?
I simply don’t understand why all the glaring inconsistancies. It seems like just as much effort could be spent to make it consistent… and a much more engaging story.
The real frustration is the sin of lost potential. There are so many exciting stories that they could tell.
Exactly that is why we need Season 5
Why is Chuck the only intersect? Would the others quickly go insane?
Some went insane in Suburbs, Only small percentage can decipher the subliminal images others would have been intersected CIA had 10 agents, Ring had some to, Bryce and Shaw oh yes and Orion
What is the role of Orion’s govenor? Does Chuck still need it?
Ellie fixed the intersect so proabably not but as Chuck has not spoken to Ellie he does not know that so he still wears one.
Where is MamaB, what does she know about Orion’s work? Were they working together over the years?
Dont Know
Can Ellie fix the flaws? Does that make her part of the team?
No the flaws arent with the intersect they are with the host.
Why don’t Casey and Sarah have a temptation to become intersects if it’s that easy?
Who said it was easy? and why when they work with one already?
I simply don’t understand why all the glaring inconsistancies. It seems like just as much effort could be spent to make it consistent… and a much more engaging story.
I have to say I love your Storys Bill but This is a 42 minute TV Show and to be honest the only thing that you mention that has not been addressed is where is Mama B but as we believe she is in episodes to come the seasons story is not finished yet.
Lou, I thought they plugged all the holes you mentioned, although in a cursory manner, which should probably be forgiven because a lot of exposition explaining why the new team was set up and so on would have done damage to the flow.
Casey was offered a command where, he was previously convinced by Bentley, he would be doing something useful now that Chuck and Sarah were less reliant on him. He’s a man who follows orders, but when he saw what his superiors were doing to Chuck and Sarah, he did his best within his new constraints to help them out. Beckman was under orders so it was not her call what happened from there on. Unstated but inferred by me, the higher-ups screwed it up because they had no idea that the intersect is more than the sum of its parts, more than just a walking computer. Actually, I think that was stated by the end. Also inferred, there’s something different now about the intersect data from the earliest one that makes it “absorbable” by others? Chuck could take the early one because he was pre-conditioned as a child? We already know about the governor. So kinda just sloppy storytelling rather than any major breach of canon.
Capt. Rick’s line was intriguing. I also sincerely hope it wasn’t just a throwaway.
Bill, go write a fic. That’s a terrific wish list but it’s not going to manifest in a show that has to pull a wide demographic (or, in fact, the narrow one that the advertisers seem to want). 😉
Thanks for another review, Lou. Although I don’t agree with you on much of this one, I thank you for the time and effort it takes for you to write these and so quickly after airtime. Kudos! 😉
I think the point is that Ellie “fixed” the Intersect program that Orion had on his laptop so that a broader group of people can download it. There was a trial/training program in place to find agents that could accept it. Now it appears that Ellie’s going to develop it further so that even more people can tolerate it. We’ll see next week. To paraphrase a wise man: “Just enjoy the show, there might only be 6 episodes left.”
Good review with valid points made. Regarding Casey’s temporary departure from the team, I was less bothered by this. Casey has always wanted to be the team’s leader, and recently Chuck has taken on a greater leadership role. So, Casey’s move to become the leader of a separate team did not strike me as particularly inconsistent. Also, the fact that other agents can be “intersected” seemed like a reasonable development of the “technology” to me. Here, and in other aspects of “Chuck”, I am not so picky as long as the stories are entertaining. Finally, I liked that in the end Casey still trusted Chuck when it comes to saving the day…
But the Casey I know would have in some way told Sarah & Chuck he needed to head his own team.
He wouldn’t have just gone behind their back. And remember, Casey owes Sarah and Chuck both his career, and freedom. Casey is a loyal guy.
I think axactly the opposite, how many of us has avoided/put off an awkward conversation this is made worse as they are not just partners they are Family.
Casey said it himself in Aniversary when asked about long distance relationships.
‘No either I leave or they Die’
And Casey isn’t the best at talking about feelings in the first place. I consider the fact that he tried to explain himself to Sarah shows how far Casey has come from the pilot.
I have to agree with your assessment. As I mentioned over on the forum, I’m not sure the creators can come up with new interesting stories.
I guess CIA/NSA has some very brilliant minds, much more brilliant than S Bartowski. These brillian programers can develop intersects that most anyone can now down load, and with a few flashes, remove said intersect.
If it’s that easy, why not just down load the intersect for a mission, and when the mission is over, just remove it.
Also, it doesn’t make sense that Casey would abandon Team Bartowski. For one thing, he owes his career to them. They saved his butt when he stole the special pill, at the risk of prison time for themselves.
Also, he’s so trusts Sarah & Chuck, he put his life in Sarah’s hands when he told her to throw him out of the building during the arc to find Chuck’s mom.
Another example of a story being told even though it’s contrary to what we know about the character of Casey, in this case. They keep bending the core values of the various characters just to tell a different story.
Chuck got better since the first half of S4, so I am glad.
One thing I noticed – Sarah is still Sarah but I think being with Chuck actually made her a better agent. She is more thoughtfull, she doesn´t pull a gun out at everybody (she never did that but I think she used to be “trigger happy”, too) and she considers the safe of people more important now. I like how Casey knows Chuck and values his abilities (“apple juice, your favorite”)
The heart monitor trigger didn’t make any sense. Sarah could have could have put several
non fatal slugs into the bad guy.
With a trigger like that it’s also possible that any drastic change in heart rate could trigger the bomb , like for instance a speeded up heartbeat because of pain from a gunshot wound. The bad guy could easily have made the trigger so that it would also trigger with a drastic change like that because he would not want to be captured alive and would rather live free or die.
Sarah would know that.
I understand your points, but don’t entirely agree with them. Casey has shown a desire to leave the team before, like end of season 2 with the group to Afghanistan, just that one of those guys was a ring agent, which pulled him back in. He is consistently the one to follow orders from his superiors, and tried to explain that this was the situation here. G Beck has always thought Chuck’s sensitive side was a weakness, and she has been consistently portrayed as a results orientated leader. So happens, Team B has gotten her results, so she plays that hand, but it isn’t out of character to me to have her want a “tougher” intersect. The team wasn’t broke up, but rather, it was to be determined through this mission whether or not the new intersect gretas were going to be better. Turns out, they weren’t. G Beck seems satisfied with the results, but Bentley doesn’t, so we’ll see where this leads.
As Alan Sepinwall said this week the show writers would have approached things much differently had this been a 24-episode season from the start. That being said, you are correct that there has been a lot of inconsistencies in the story telling this season. How did we get from the mental deterioration of Chuck and Shaw who downloaded Intersect 2.0 last season to new agents having no problem at all? Did Ellie fix that problem and is the governor no longer needed despite still seeing Chuck having 3 governor-watches in his bedroom?
This episode would have been a little more believable during the first half of this season before Chuck singlehandedly brought down Volkoff. Surely Beckman couldn’t sideline her best team after a coup like that.
I have a suspicion that Jane Bentley is dirty and perhaps even working for Volkoff. As for Ellie working on her dad’s computer this looks like a set-up for Chuck to finally tell her that he has the Intersect and what their dad’s part was in designing it. Other than learning what all the GRETAS were doing at the Buy More we still didn’t learn what the name stood for.
You answered the question yourself plus there were others they tried to upload CIA in vs Seduction and Ring in Colnel
Chuck never talked to Ellie about what she did so he does not know.
I thought about the fact that Chuck was “Special” in his ability to handle the intersect. Here is how I view it. Papa B had an intersect, but an older version that clearly gave him problems. He was still special in his own right that it did not completely ruin him. Over time though it did effect him. Chuck had a similar version when he was a kid, but as Chuck is “Special” it didn’t effect him. Chuck only got effected after he had the “Beta-sect”, Intersect 1.0, Fulcrum intersect and Intersect 2.0 in his head. Maybe too much for anyone to handle. I guess Manoosh (?) had one also but it was only a partial and was handled by him. Shaw had a full one but immediately had issues. Now that leaves Ricky and Vicki. I think Ellie’s upgrades make it easier for others to handle. R & V must have still met certain specs though, or they might as well just have given it to Casey and Sarah. They must not have qualified.
I really enjoyed this episode.
As for the two intersects – they ultimately failed. I got the impression based on what happened the intersect affected their moral compass in a negative way. Yes they could pull the trigger, but were also too quick to pull the trigger and could not seem to discriminate on who to pull the trigger on.
At the end of the episode when they were de-intersected to me there was an indication of personality change, not just relief at losing the intersect.
I agree with some of the comments verkisto made. They were intersected on the intersect that Ellie made changes too – she solved the memory problem.
I really don’t see this episode as an abandonment of the Chuck mythology.
Even if it was, I had a lot of fun watching this episode and for me that is the most important thing about watching Chuck – being entertained.
Lou,
You have been my critical touchstone for some time now, both here and in the episode discussion forum. I agree almost universally with your criticisms of this season. However, I beg to differ with your assessment of this episode on one very important front: enjoyability.
My daughter and I laughed several times while watching this episode live, and also pointed out to one another the various call-backs to earlier episodes and seasons that Mr. Klemmer weaved into the script. In alot of ways this episode felt like Season 1 Chuck to us. Two thumbs up!
Of course, your criticisms are once again valid, as they have been throughout this season. For my part, I have struggled with the show’s big picture since the romance re-set and budget cuts that marked the beginning of S3. I’ve continued to struggle with the creative team changes and (bungled) story arc of Season 4.1. Indeed, as recently as two episodes ago I decried the silliness of it all.
Finally it has dawned on me: whether I want to admit it or not, Chuck has nearly run its creative course, and there’s no sense beating up the creative team with expectations that it can’t possibly meet given its budget, shooting schedule, and plus “x” episode orders.
I’m at peace with Chuck now. I hope to see a few more excellent episodes and a wedding before the run is over, and I’ll live with a couple more dogs along the way. I’ve concluded, though, that to expect a rigid adherence to any type of show mythology at this stage of the run, and given the aforementioned limitations, is asking too much. I just hope to enjoy the rest of the ride.
Unfortunately, that may be a very accurate analysis.
I agree and disagree on this as there are only so many spy storys to tell and once you have done them you have to repeat them and once the charcters get what they want were do you go from there.
That said I have not found that point in Chuck yet and I have love 99.9999 of season 4 so
I thought it was one of the dullest episodes in the show’s history. I wonder if Ellie being bored and frustrated by being “just” a stay at home mom is a prelude to her becoming involved in the spy world somehow.
I am sorry you must have switched over and watched The batchelor instead as we obviously watched a different show.
Some valid points I don’t agree whole heartily with some I think Bentley play Casey weakness He was feeling like 3rd wheel and show been showing signs of that I believe it was Bentley actions to place Sarah and Chuck on side lines to stay out of the way of her trials She was very obvious she didn’t approve them in a relationship Casey had the lead in the missions the Greta’s were more there to provide basic intelligence and back up Casey
The intersect has been involving sense Fulcrum and intersect 2.0 Even Orion didn’t understand the code changes He also been working on intersect downloaded from laptop The first was and e-mail that ran all night. I think more answers coming Hey the brought back the laptop you were sure that idea would never surface again I agree with you and do hope additional explanation to why Chuck is special They didn’t do a very good job explaing the 20 year mission I nice review thanks for sharing
I think one thing that a reviewer said this week that really stuck with me is that chuck is always on the bubble and therefore always tries and provides resolution for its dedicated fans and in truth always facing cancellation is a really unfair way for a show to be run! Yeah Lou you are right that certain storylines are not played out and seemed heavy handed, but the writers just do not have time to flesh the stories out! It is a shame but it does say something that the show has so many stories still to tell. People say that this intersect idea is a repeat but in a different way, that is true but you have to remember that the CIA/NSA in chucks world are filled with a bunch of small minded beaurocrats that are always searching for a way to gain total power and control, they are not very ethical and they certainly are not sentimenal and do not really care about team b’s record. One has to think is an alternate intersect program being pursued due to the fact that beckman’s team bartowski has been so successful that it has given beckman power and promotions that we do not know about and other big wigs in the spy community want that same power and promotions and are trying to use their influence to get that same recognition. I mean the president knows about Beckman and team b (anniversary) so it does not suprise me that others are trying to repeat that, but the problem as we saw in this episode is that there is only one chuck bartowski and he is not going to abandon beckman (he has better morals and ethics then to do that) and sarah will not leave chuck so they went after casey and picked on his insecurities. Givens gave the computer to ellie so that she makes the intersect think like a bartowski, think like chuck. This intersect battle could be a way for big wigs to gain more power and that is facinating!
For one, I’m glad that Casey got a LOT more screen time and a interesting story line. It’s going to be fun to see how him sharing living space with Morgan will pan out :-). Casey being bad-ass and active is the best use of his character; that and placing him outside his comfort zone for comedy gold.
At the end of Season 3, due to certain lines in the script, I predicted that Ellie would get the Intersect. Now I’m really beginning to believe it might happen.
I’m loving the stand alone episodes. As much as I liked Timothy Dalton, the whole Volkoff arc got stretched way too long. Contrast the last three episodes which IMHO have given us much more of the all the things that make Chuck great. And the writers have done it with mini-arcs (e.g. Casey’s secret, Volkoff’s daughter) that haven’t weighed down the rest of the episode.
Keep it up! S4 looked like it was coming off the rails mid-season, but its feeling like we’ve got Chuck back!
I don’t believe in fate, but I do believe that life goes in circles. Chuck disarming the bomb with Sarah and Casey at his side was closing of a circle, possibly the main one. Sarah and Casey were in completely different roles in that scene from the roles they were in when the scene was first played. In the pilot, Chuck disarmed a bomb with a porn virus. In this scene, he disarms a bomb using apple juice. Sarah is now his fiance and Casey is now his former partner. At the end of the pilot, Chuck didn’t know what to think, now he’s in charge of the Intersect project. Did this episode leave a bunch of questions unanswered? Yes, but it closed a circle.
Thanks Lou for your review. I would like to think as episodes keep coming, that Fedak and Schwartz will clear up some questions. It does get frustrating with the inconsistencies, but I still really like this show. I am sure that it does get harder keeping the mythology straight, especially with new writers. I am hoping that if they get next season which I really think they will, that they just go all out and have great episodes that make sense and end the show well if that’s the end. One thing I wanted to bring up is am I the only one that really doesn’t want to see Ellie become a spy? She is a doctor as Awesome said a “Ph.D M.D.” Why make her a spy? I would like her to know about Chuck, but what good does it do to make a spy?-especially with a baby? Another thing about the computer-I think that only Chuck can get into the dangerous stuff. Papa B. set it up for Ellie to see only some of the info. so I don’t think Ellie should be able to crack into things that Papa B.didn’t want her to see. Plus the fact that he did leave it to her.I agree with the intersect being accessibe to other agents because of Ellie tweaking it. I didn’t like Bentley and wonder if she is working for Volkoff. We did learn that Volkoff has inside people in the CIA from Mama B. in “Leftovers”, so she could very well be bad. I don’t think she’s in very many more episodes. I didn’t mind the callback to season 1 episode 1, because you do want to hear about past memories, and in their line of work, diffusing bombs is part of their job. I thought it was neat how Chuck could figure out how to do that but Greta Rick couldn’t. I didn’t really like Chuck being bumbling. That was past Chuck that looks like he hasn’t changed any. Overall, I still love this show and it always makes me think through the episodes. Chuck and Sarah are awesome together!!
I did think it was interesting with the bomb disarming scene. I was also thinking of the porno-virus scene in The Pilot. I loved seeing Isaiah Mustafa again. I can’t wait to see how it goes… And I’m saying next week’s title over and over. It’s just fun, y’know?
I don’t think Casey’s motivations were at all muddied. He wanted some more action, and he couldn’t get it with Chuck and Sarah stealing the limelight. A douchey thing to do.. but understandable.
Putting aside that Casey takes an assignment that is intended to replace his best friend, how long do you think it would take Casey to feel like a fourth wheel on a team made up of Intersects?
You think that the asignment would have gone away if he had said no? Dont be silly/naive the us govt wants more intersects now they know they can get one do you think they are going to let that go?
He was not the fourth wheel he was the driver.
For how long would he be the leader before being deemed redundant?
And his friendship with Chuck and Sarah counts for nothing?
Also please no personal comments. No problem if you hold a different opinion.
I am sorry for my comment.
I onll meant he was in charge at the time and I think he is a strong enough person that he would stay in Charge. As such his choice was believable to me particularly as he made sure he stayed round his ‘Family’ before accepting the mission.
No harm.
Not disagreeing Casey is strong enough but the Intersects are beyond anyone’s ability to control.
More concerned from a friendship perspective that Casey snuck off and did this. He did not have to give into specifics but he should have said something to Chuck and Sarah about taking on a new assignment.
But it was all bogus anyhow because we all know Casey is going to end back up with Team B. I just find it irritating that the show creates this false drama and then resets everything and everyone acts like it never happened.
Lou
I almost completely disagree with you for two major reasons the fact is that other people have has the intersect before Orion, and Shaw they both had Governors Shaw almost from the word go so we have no idea if he would have gone crazy or not but he did not when he first downloaded it. In suburbs Fulcrums intersect sent people crazy but they tried uploading agents again in vs Colnel and The CIA tries do upload agents in First date and then of course Bryce in Ring so the fact it there are others. Ellie made changes to the laptop that they are using from a Neurologist POV that would naturally make it easier so again why wouldnt the CIA want more. They test the military or agents for compatibility and they have found 2 that we know of at the moment that could handle it so yes he is still special. Then we have the underlining idea that he is special for handling it but also his morals he is a normal person he is not Military he has emotions so therefore it all boils down to the same thing his emotions make him special and allow him to control the intersect Vikki flashed and then shot, Chuck has had flashes to fight before but resisted them.
Your other issue is Casey leaving the team to be in another Team firsly it is correct that he does feel like a third wheel in there team, he knows Chuck and Sarah he knows they are good at the job and that he is usually a supporting role to them. In the new team he was the leader he is a Colnel they were Captains, He was invloved in the mission we saw he was not behind a bar, or stuck in the van he was doing something why would he not want to do that? You say about him not talking to them about it firstly he is an agent if he is ordered not to tell them why would he? He might disagree but he would follow orders, he almost shot Chuck in First date and then sent him to a bunker in Colnel. Yes they are his partners but they are also his family now and that also makes the conversation much harder.
Appreciate your feedback!
Some better paragraph use would make your response easier to read.
Thanks
Lou,
The way I saw it, the main reason Casey joined the new team was because he’s the brains on that team while the GRETAsects were the brawn. On Team Bartowski, Chuck is the brains and Casey & Sarah are the brawn.
It’s not that Casey & Sarah aren’t smart but Chuck’s the brains. Remember Chuck assessment of team roles and responsibilities from season two (Chuck vs. the Fat Lady)? “The running, jumping, shooting people part of the job, that’s all *you* guys. But the puzzles, that’s all me.” The mods Bently described for the GRETAsects essentially take away their initiative and independent thought from the Intersect program. Once they flash, they can only follow the program. No higher priority pre-emption.
Anyway, that’s what I keep telling myself to give Casey justification in my mind for leaving Team Bartowski. Shouldn’t have to do that.