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Early on in the series, Casey’s personality is reflected (literally in one screen shot) in both his name and his Crown Vic. A character who ‘encases’ his emotions, he hides behind an outward armor plating to protect his feelings even while using a fully stocked arsenal of sarcasm, dismissiveness, and physical intimidation as weapons to keep others at a distance.
Casey’s interior defenses are further figured in his notorious stalking of the Costa Gravan Premier Goya, during which he claims to have lived inside a wall for two weeks. This barrier image repeats itself in Season 4 when Casey hides inside a bad gal’s wall during a mission in Morocco (Seduction Impossible).
Casey’s eventual emotional liberation is foreshadowed near the end of Season 1 when his beloved mobile fortress is destroyed by a guided missile notably redirected by Chuck to its target (Crown Vic). Soon after, Casey’s lowered protective walls allow him to begin bonding with the Intersect, who relentlessly pursues the NSA agent, though it remains a turbulent process. The lens images this emerging friendship not only during a hotel room fight in which they work together while literally bound to one another, but also when they escape via a deep baptismal plunge into a pool (Undercover Lover).
In Season 4, Casey’s growth continues when his awkward relationship with Alex reaches a climax in “vs. Seduction Impossible”. With his emotional walls penetrated, Casey finds himself distressed by difficult circumstances involving Alex and her mother even as he finds himself stuck in a collapsing, bullet-ridden wall in Morocco and on the verge of cutting his arm off. However, just as he is ultimately able to free himself from his entrapment (with a notable assist from Chuck and Sarah), Casey and Alex also move forward together to a mutually fulfilling future that includes, ironically, “Downton Abbey” episodes and a Mr. Peepers teddy bear.
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.
