Chucktoids: 6 Old Testament Parallels for Charah

When viewing Seasons 1-3 as a whole, several compelling parallels emerge between Chuck and Sarah’s romantic journey and archetypal elements of the Old Testament:

1. Not only does Chuck shepherd a flock of misfit Nerd Herders at the Buy More (owned by Moses Finkelstein, no less), but he ends up marrying a wife named Sarah who initially scoffs at the thought of having children. Remind anyone of Abraham?
2. For most of two seasons, Chuck and Sarah languish in the invisible prison of handler-asset protocol, unable to investigate or even admit their feelings for one another. Hmmm, Egyptian captivity?
3. Chuck and Sarah’s period of handler-asset captivity comes to an abrupt end when they embark on an unplanned nocturnal escape to the desert (leading to that passionate moment in a Barstow motel), mirroring the Israelites’ sudden flight from Egypt, bound for Sinai, in the middle of the night on Passover.
4. Following their nocturnal escape, the Israelites wandered in The Wilderness for 40 years, meanwhile committing idolatry with the Golden Calf. Though it only seems like 40 years, Chuck and Sarah inexplicably suffer through a metaphorical equivalent, emotionally wandering from each other and even idolatrously offering their affections to others (i.e. Hannah & Shaw) in an episode revolving around a golden mask on loan from a Middle Eastern museum.
5. Chuck and Sarah exit their wilderness wandering only after overcoming the seemingly impossible obstacle of the Red Test (notably a fictional name with no basis in actual law enforcement or espionage usage). And it couldn’t have been achieved without the “miraculous” appearance of Casey on the tracks. Similarly, the Israelites could not reach Canaan without a major assist: God parting the impassible waters of the Red Sea.
6. Chuck and Sarah finally exit their emotional wilderness and cross over into the personal Promised Land of an “exclusive” relationship in Season 3. However, they reach it only after the “death” of Shaw on a bridge spanning the Seine, a reprise of the Israelites crossing the Jordan.

Chucktoids come to us from G. Walter Bush, author of Unpacking Chuck: The TV Series Interpreted and Unpacking Chuck 2.0: The Conversation Continues, both available via Amazon. 

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