ChuckTV.net The CHUCK archive
Written by Chris Fedak/Matt Miller
Directed by Robert Duncan McNeill
It has been a long time coming! Eight long nerdless months but Chuck is back!
New Season. New Intersect. Does this mean a new Chuck? What does the first episode of Season 3 show us?
Chuck: ‘Bueno, bueno, bueno.’ Old Chuck for sure.
Sarah: ‘Chuck, we should talk.’ Definitely new Chuck.
Old Chuck meet the new Chuck.
Season 3 picks up replaying the last few moments in the White Room from the Second Season. From there the show jumps 6 months to a spy training facility in Prague where we are treated to a great ‘show not tell’ sequence as to where things stand in the spy world for Chuck and Intersect 2.0. Things go relatively well until Chuck is given a kill order. An order which he cannot carry out.
Things go downhill rapidly from that moment. Chuck literally gets caught with his pants down and Beckman sends him back home until they decide what to do with him. Chuck mopes around back at home and enters into a, ‘Vagrant Serpico,’ mode as aptly put by Emmett MillBarge. It is the discovery that Sarah is still at the Orange Orange, not even attempts by an Ellie recalled Morgan can snap Chuck out of his funk, which sparks Chuck’s decision to return to the real world.
Rebuffed by Sarah and seemingly by Casey as well – though we see the old softie has been keeping tabs on Chuck – Chuck insinuates himself back into the spy game and by the end of the episode General Beckman grudgingly reactivates Team Bartowski.
Throughout the episode call backs to the previous seasons abound with a tinge of new. A well groomed Jeff is off setting but the uncontrollable eye tics are still there. Devon & Ellie are still concerned about Chuck but move out to an adjacent unit. Morgan provides Chuck needed support but quickly owns up to flunking out of cooking school. Casey still tells Chuck to man up but berates Sarah for not giving Chuck closure.
These are new times indeed in the ChuckVerse. Characters are being allowed to stop and ask questions or say things that occur in real life to a much greater degree. It is still the old Chuck with all the fun nerd references but there is more weight to the events because of the character beats.
Nowhere is this more evident in how Chuck and Sarah interact with one another. Shown in flashbacks any doubts about Sarah’s feelings are quickly put to rest. In the first flashback, right after the events in the White Room, Sarah implores Chuck to run away with her to avoid becoming trapped forever in the spy world. Chuck agrees and the next flashback shows them meeting at a train station. A real romantic throw back.
What happens at the station is heart breaking and a showcase scene for Yvonne Strahovski as she implores Chuck to come with her. A call Chuck regretfully declines. ‘This is simple. This is real,’ Sarah pleads with Chuck as she clasps Chuck’s hand. A big admission for Sarah. A very important reason must lie behind Chuck’s sorrowful refusal.
Episode Flashes:
– Tim Jones provides a rousing upgrade to the Chuck heroic theme during Chuck’s re-emergence sequence starting with his beard shaving onto Chuck donning the Nerd Herd uniform
– Casey gleefully discharging his mini-gun aboard a helicopter as he rescues Chuck and Sarah
– Morgan’s Benihana Chef utility belt
– The Chuck and Sarah kiss and slap which puts the Nerd Herder down for the count. A perfect visual encapsulation of their relationship
– Morgan’s ‘couldn’t flip the shrimp.’ line.
– Emmett Millbarge’s mortally ill advised epithet leading to his shocking death and the haunting image of his blood covered and shattered eyeglasses. The stakes are higher this season indeed.
– Chuck and Sarah talking about what happened between them. We may not like what we heard but finally the two of them are engaging in two way communications. A big step.
Season premiere episodes have a lot of expositional setup ground to cover and often can be clunky. It is a credit to the writers so much background is covered and they still managed to incorporate several action sequences. The only thing missing was a clear explanation by Chuck was as to his decision not to run with Sarah. At the same time, threads have been planted for the Chuck and Sarah relationship, Chuck’s control issues with the Intersect, his aversion to guns and killing, Ellie and Devon moving out and Morgan moving in, and reassembling the team while also re-establishing Chuck’s cover at the BuyMore; all in a seamless manner.
Of special note is Casey’s actions in covering up the Millbarge murder. Chuck’s entry into the spy world has come at a cost not only to him and his personal life. He inadvertently caused the Emmett’s demise when he lost his BuyMore Employee ID. This may have been nothing more than the show’s way of getting everyone back to the BuyMore. But it could also be a setup for a painful lesson for Chuck further into the season and a major confrontation between Chuck and Casey.
As Casey says in the closing Eye of the Tiger/Rocky/Karate Kid/Kung Fu scene, ‘You have much to learn, grasshopper.’
I think you described the first episode perfectly
I was scared with the “no more mister nice spy” schtick that they went and ruined my favorite show. But after seeing the first episode, I am so happy that Chuck is back. When he couldn’t shoot Yuri and then his pants fall down while on the roof was just right.
Then when Chuck was so amazed that he knocked out Javier with one punch.
Casey happy to finally be using the large gun.
Also, when Ellie exclaimed, “You have other friends!” about Morgan moving in.
Finally, I think the Chuck and Sarah relationship is being executed right.
Great review, Lou. I liked the ep fine, but enjoyed it a lot more the second time around. I’m very excited for the new season!
Nice review Lou. However I going to have to go back and review the scenes were Sarah is talking to Chuck about what happened between them. I don’t recall I know in 3.02 he was pretty insistent to talk could you specify exactly ?
If I understand your question correctly what Chuck said in the vault room video is what he should have said to Sarah at the train station. It was a stalling technique in 3.01 not to do so.
I have seen a lot of comments about the train scene asking how Chuck could treat Sarah like that, why he didn’t give her more of an explanation.
My thought on the writers approach was that Chuck knew he had to do the right thing, but knew he would have to get in and out fast or he would have been too tempted to accept that ticket and passport.
Of course the main reason he didn’t run off with Sarah was because that would have been the end of the show. Chuck and Sarah on the run worked in the Colonel, but it wouldn’t make much of a series.
Terrific review, Lou, and I particularly like your analysis of the last line. I hadn’t thought of it quite that way. I was busy wondering how they did the choreography as it looked by the freeze that those punches were actually going to connect! I got a little distracted. 😉
First, I’ll say that I enjoyed this episode upon watching it a second time. The first time through, the train station scene pretty much poisoned it for me. Not one, but both Chuck and Sarah were acting well outside of established character in the scene and the writers showed a complete lack of understanding of the world they created.
1. Chuck talks about his feelings. It’s what he does, but he can’t get out the words he needs to say here. Maybe he’s just not strong enough to stay the amount of time he needs to get them out without caving in and running away with Sarah, but why waste time on words that make it sound like he’s doing it for the excitement and allure of the spy life?
2. It makes sense that Sarah’s gut reaction to learning Chuck would be made a spy is to run away with him. That should have lasted about as long as it took her to run out of fingers and toes counting the various ways that running would not get her the life she wanted with the man she loved. That she still wants to run weeks later in Prague makes her look like a flake. She compounds it by being an ice cold ***** when he returns. She’s a spy, she’s the one who told him he’s that guy, she doesn’t want to lose his family either, she’s the one who told Chuck he couldn’t run from the government and she was there when the were snagged by Casey within 24 hours of fleeing in Colonel.
How hard would it have been to have Sarah show up in Prague and agree with Chuck, or if the two of them must be split actually have some catastrophic event befall them? An Intersect glitch that resulted in Chuck injuring Sarah would be more than enough to cause Chuck to withdraw from the relationship.
Lou
I have one minor disagreement. I can recall several episodes in the first two seasons where Sarah intimated “talks with Chuck.” Now, I agree that Chuck usually carried the conversation.
In addition to her obvious anger, I believe Sarah is scared. She fell in love with the guy, not the spy. She’s afraid that becoming a spy will drastically change Chuck’s personality, demeanor and attitude. She’s afraid of losing her Chuck.
It was right there in the White Room after he kicked some ass. She had a trembling voice when she uttered, “Chuck???” As if to make sure it was still him and not some kind of monster. And don’t forget she asked Beckman if Chuck was dangerous.
Well I don’t know about anyone else but I know why the had another episode right after episode 1. I think a whole lot of people would have been upset with the ending between Chuck & Sarah, I know I was! I remember Josh Schwartz in a comic con interview not choosing his words carefully when he was talking about Chuck & Sarah’s relationship had a lot of people upset.
Overall though these episodes were fantastic!! I am the happiest person on the planet now that Chuck is back.
hey, i can’t watch chuck episodes online from nbc.com. after loading a “null” message appears with an “ok” button. do anyone have this problem?
The null could be because you are not in the “proper region” NBC won’t allow streaming to countries outside the US.