Chuck season 5 and the series itself comes to a close with its ultimate thirteenth entry in tonight’s "Chuck Vs. The Goodbye," as Team Bartowski races to retrieve the final Intersect from Nicholas Quinn (Angus Macfadyen), and restore Sarah's lost memories of the last five years.  "Chuck Vs. The Goodbye" closes the series on a high note, balancing both the sweet with the bittersweet in the manner the show has come to employ so very well over the last few years.

Wow.  Thus endeth Chuck.  I don’t often have a lot to say when it comes to TV finales, and it’s been a good long while since a series I actually cared about managed to wrap things up on its own terms, but this one got to me.  I actually saw both "Chuck Vs. Sarah" and "Chuck Vs. The Goodbye” a few nights ago when NBC decided to release the screeners, and since watching I’ve likely listened to The Head and the Heart’s “Rivers and Roads” about forty times, if only to relive such wonderful sentiment that caps off five years of sweet memories.

I first started watching Chuck about midway through its second season, powering through old episodes as often as I could, though I don’t quite remember what turned me on to the series in the first place.  Mostly what I remember was the warmth, lying there on my door room bed dreaming of that wonderful world where nerdery and dead-end jobs could end up the adventure of a lifetime, provided you never lose the heart that made you yearn for them in the first place.  Even after Chuck’s second season finished, and NBC listened enough to Subway sandwich purchases to grant the series a budget-reduced season 3, it never lost that sense of childish wonderment and enthusiastic glee.  We love Chuck, because we are Chuck.  Chuck Bartowski consistently surprised everyone around him with his intelligence, his heart, and his willingness to risk anything for those he loved, and so too did Chuck as a series keep on braving insurmountable odds to come back year after year.

To be honest, I’m not even sure how I’d go about putting into words a goodbye to Chuck, let alone an in-depth response to “Chuck Vs. The Goodbye,” but I’ll do my best.

In a way, "Chuck Vs. The Goodbye" is all about bringing everyone back to the beginning.  I wish I’d had a chance to go back and watch the series again from its very first episode in time for tonight’s finale, but writing about TV can be a harsh mistress.  Instead, “The Goodbye” does most of the work for us, with Sarah’s memory erasure bringing her in line her badass 2007 self, Chuck an unremarkable layabout with a girl on his mind and no supercomputer powers to speak of, and Casey a career military man trying to eschew any emotional ties.  In that way we get to re-live Chuck all over again, discovering how Chuck’s heart and Sarah’s skill make them the perfect team, and Casey’s emotional entanglements actually made him a better agent in the end.  By going back to Chuck’s roots, we learn along with the character that after five years,  life isn’t so much about how things have changed, but why they’ve changed, and how to take those lessons into the future.

Still, Chuck wouldn’t be Chuck without it’s nostalgia.  And that’s why all of “Chuck Vs. The Goodbye’s” many, many callbacks feel like enthusiastic celebrations rather than rehashes.  Whether it’s one last epic Jeffster performance, an unceremonious reappearance from an old Fulcrum agent (Mark Pellegrino) or Chuck and Sarah re-living the most memorable of their early missions (Wienerlicious outfit alert!) in succession, everything about Chuck’s finale feels as thrilling as it does familiar.  In truth, I practically jumped out of my chair cheering once I realized that a Jeffster performance was on the way to keep Nicholas Quinn’s bomb from killing our heroes.  And if you’re not at least on the edge of tears when Chuck and Sarah once again meet on the beach to discuss their future, flashing through five years laughter and love, then your Intersect must be broken.

Really, most of the little things don’t even matter.  Chuck does re-Intersect-ize himself (and presumably keeps it) by the end of the hour, but the Intersect only serves a base role in unraveling the final threat.  In the end, it’s Sarah’s fleeting memory of Chuck’s past ingenuity that saves the day with a welcome, if surprising callback to the “Irena Demova Virus.”  Nor does the villainy of Angus Macfadyen’s four-episode turn as Nicholas Quinn really amount to anything, considering Sarah just kind of, well…shoots him.  Chuck’s climax lies in bringing together its players to do what they do best by working together; Chuck as the brains, Sarah and Casey the muscle, Morgan the plucky support, and Jeffster the soundtrack.

The climax actually reminded me a bit of similarly heartful series Futurama’s "ending" “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings,” not merely for the operatic climax, but rather that it and Chuck were both wonderful series that never quite found their niche.  They shared a relatively generous run, all things considered, and ended on a beautifully sweet note  with just a hint of ambiguity.  Unless Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz want to out-right tell us, we’ll always cherish that fairy-tale ending of the magical kiss that may, or may not have rescued true love from the depth of Sarah’s memory.  Either way, they’ll figure it out.  We all will.

And no matter what, we’ve gotten a decent amount of closure to all our beloved characters; Morgan and Alex will move forward with their relationship, Casey will find Gertrude again, Ellie, Devon and Clara will move on to Chicago with Mama Bartowski (Linda Hamilton) in tow, and even Jeff and Lester ride off into the sunset toward the inevitable German superstardom of Jeffster.  Hell, even Subway sandwiches have a  happily ever after!

So, to Chuck I say goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.  Who knows when we’ll see another series as nerd-celebratory, or full of heart as the Buy More boy who met a girl and became a secret agent?    However Chuck goes down in history,  I can’t wait for the day when I can share it’s effortless charm and soul with a leggy blonde of my very own.

And Another Thing…

• After five long years, all the Buy More extras finally get lines!  Really, really creepy lines!

• If Chuck WEREN’T ending, I imagine Sarah hiring out Team Bartowski for missions might’ve been a new dynamic to explore in another season.

• Sheesh, are Desert Eagles really that big?

• There really wasn’t any need for Linda Hamilton to reprise her role as Mary Bartowski, but hey, a friendly famous face is a friendly famous face.

• "I'm a Casey.  I don't run, I stalk my prey."  Well, technically you're a Coburn.

• Did anyone catch any fun easter eggs I failed to mention?

• Sigh.  Goodbye, Chuck.  Aces.

What did YOU think?  Give us your best Chuck memories in the comments below!

Chuck 5.13 "Chuck Vs. The Goodbye" Series Finale Review

Chuck season 5 intersects its ultimate end with its penultimate twelfth entry in this week’s "Chuck Vs. Sarah," as Sarah returns harboring a dark secret from Nicholas Quinn (Angus Mcfadyen) while Team Bartowski searches for the final Intersect.  "Chuck Vs. Sarah" has a mostly thankless role to play in the Friday night two-part finale, but still serves up one of the darkest, most memorable hours yet.

Obviously “Chuck Vs. Sarah” isn’t the highlight of our Friday night, given that NBC decided to air both “Sarah” and “Chuck Vs. The Goodbye” back to back as one two hour-long series finale, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t treate the two separately and offer up a few quick thoughts on the penultimate Chuck episode.

After all, Chuck has been a joy to watch, discuss and write about for five years now, and I just wouldn’t be a fan (or a capitalist) if I didn’t take every opportunity to talk about this much-beloved series.

“Chuck Vs. Sarah” faces something of an awkward role in its position as the penultimate Chuck episode, serving both as a stand-alone episode and the bridge to the series finale itself.  With Sarah’s memories of the last five years totally erased, we’re essentially back to the basics of season one in the awkwardness between her and Chuck, serving as a sort of nostalgic reminder of just how far the two have evolved in five seasons.

At the same time, “Chuck Vs. Sarah” works on hammering home the idea that we’ve indeed come upon the end, sometimes haphazardly  positioning us toward “the future,” whether in Morgan’s meta-reference or Devon and Ellie’s sudden invitation to co-manage a hospital in Chicago.  Transition episodes are never easy, but here Chuck manages to pack just enough emotion and action into an hour that nothing feels too amiss.

Watching Chuck has always been bittersweet given its uncertain future and limited budget, but perhaps never more-so with an idea as rich as pitting Sarah against her husband and former teammates.  The idea of an “evil Sarah” was mostly played for laughs in season four, but here seems genuinely frightening given the character’s well-established proficiency, and the emotional devastation created in her wake.  I imagine that another series (maybe Alias) might have had room to play something like this over the course of a full season, but we’ll have to make due with these two episodes.  Perhaps it’s best left as a short arc, given how the concepts of Sarah's memory and identity raise larger philosophic questions that even shows like Dollhouse weren’t big enough to tackle, let alone Chuck.

The best part, however, of “Chuck Vs. Sarah” very much comes from Zachary Levi, who gives his most emotional Chuck performance to date in desperately trying to win back his wife from her memory-loss.  Sometimes it isn’t about how cleverly the series can choreograph its battles, but rather the emotion behind them, and Chuck has never been more heartbreaking than the knock-down, drag-out fight through the barely-dressed halls of their once dream home.  “Chuck Vs. Sarah” essentially capitalizes on the title character’s greatest fear since the first season, the idea that the beautiful woman can only see the nerdy guy as a mission rather than a man.

I’m thrilled that we got to explore one last, last, last mission with Team Bartowski before the end.  That perfect balance of fun (Morgan’s amusement at the DARPA invisibility cloak), nostalgia and heartache are what made the series so sweetly poignant to begin with.

And Another Thing…

• Sorry, still not buying Nicholas Quinn as a villain.  Maybe we could have chosen someone a little younger, maybe in better shape to resonate as a physical threat to both Chuck and Sarah?

• I wondered in the beginning why Sarah wouldn’t ask Quinn for additional log entries to confirm his story, but I’m glad we got to see Casey be the one to show her, in a wonderful two-sided performance for Yvonne Strahovski.

• Not to get all philosophical, but could Chuck really destroy the Intersect?  Like Iron Man, isn’t a certain level of scientific advancement inevitable, no matter who has the first breakthrough?

• I wrote “BE ALL THE BADASS!” in Sarah’s one-woman guard smashing scene.

• I guess it would have been a little convoluted to explain, but it amuses me that both Chuck and Sarah separately refer their first kiss after attempting to defuse a bomb, but neglect to mention it turned out to be Bryce Larkin in stasis.

• Finale time!  Watch, watch, watch!

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.12 "Chuck Vs. Sarah" Review

Tonight is the Chuck series finale and we have interviews with Zachary Levi (Chuck), Joshua Gomez (Morgan) and Adam Baldwin (Casey) to share; they look back with fondness over the five seasons and talk about favorite moments, what the fans mean to them and the overall Chuck experience.

The one consistent talking point in these interviews (that you can see below) is how much they all appreciate the fan support and that they would not have hit this five season mark if it wasn't for the fans. Zachary Levi thinks that "every show should be so lucky to have fans like ours" and that the "integrated fan experience" is both unique and what kept the show on air. Joshua Gomez reiterates this connection with the fans and thinks that Comic Con and social media allowed for this bond to exist and thrive. The passion of the fans is something that Adam Baldwin calls "overwhelmingly uplifting" and it is clear that even if Chuck was never a ratings juggernaut, that the fans made up for this with their devotion.

Both Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez name the season 3 episode "Chuck vs. the Beard" as a favorite; not just because it was Levi's directing debut but because it was the moment that Morgan found out the truth about Chuck and his spy life. Levi's favorite episode moments are generally when there was a big character reveal but he also loved the 'kick ass fights' and the guest stars that the show has scored over the years.

They share some information about the final episode including the hint of an epic Jeffster! performance and that you should probably have some tissues to hand. Levi says that "It's an emotional finale. Chuck fights with everything he has for his girl." This emotion can be seen in Levi himself during the interview as he is clearly trying to hold back the tears on a couple of occasions. Adam Baldwin hints that Casey will also have to make a decision about his future about whether he should follow his heart.  Alas, there is no video interview with Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), but she did talk to TVLine about the end of Chuck saying "There will be a satisfying ending, but it's almost slightly, slightly tragic, the lead-up to what happens."

What are you going to miss most about Chuck?

Check out the video interviews below and for sneak peeks from tonight's episode head here.

Chuck Cast Talk Series Finale: "All Good Things Must Come to an End"

As all Chuck fans I'm sure are aware tonight is the 2-hour series finale of the spy caper and last week's episode left Team Bartowski in a major predicament. New villain Quinn (Angus Macfadyen) separated Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) in spectacular fashion; by erasing Chuck from Sarah's memory. He followed this up by pretending that he is Sarah's handler and gave her orders to kill Chuck (for our review head here). Warning spoilers ahead.

The first episode tonight is called "Chuck vs. Sarah" and sees Sarah returning home to Chuck but acting strange. This is thanks to Quinn 'Eternal Sunshining' her and giving her this new mission, though the first sneak peek below would suggest that Sarah does not respond well to Quinn's orders and is deeply suspicious of him. Will Chuck be able to remind his wife of their life together?

The amnesia plot device is one that has been used many times before and can often seem like a contrivance, but because Chuck often uses common plots from both spy and action escapades and then adds a Bartowski twist, I'm on board with this trope being used in this way for the finale. It also means that there will be the opportunity to have call backs to not just the pilot episode but the entire 5 season run so be on the lookout for multiple references.

"Chuck vs. the Goodbye" is the second installment tonight and will see Chuck calling on his family and friends (and some unexpected allies) to bring down Quinn, who is looking to destroy everything that Chuck has built over the past five years. One person that will be helping is Mary Bartowski (guest star Linda Hamilton) but who else from Chuck's past would you like to appear tonight? The two characters I would love to see in the finale are both dead; a big obstacle to overcome but if either Bryce Larkin (Matt Bomer) or Stephen Bartowski (Scott Bakula) appear I will be very happy.

Both sneak peeks are spoilery and can be seen below. Let us know what you would like to see happen in the finale in the comments section.

Also be sure to check out our celebration of five years of great music on Chuck here and interviews with the cast here.

Tonight on Chuck: Series Finale Sneak Peeks

The final episode of Chuck airs this Friday and this is an impressive achievement considering how close it came to cancellation during this period. Chuck clearly has a rabid fan base that has shown their devotion which led to this 5-year run. The Subway campaign was a good way to prove that despite low audience figures this show was worth keeping on the air and I definitely bought a sandwich or two.

For me though it would be far easier to measure my love for this show by the amount of tracks on iTunes that I have purchased after hearing them first on Chuck and I’m sure I’m not the only one. For some it is the pop culture references that made Chuck the charming show it is, for others it is the characters and while these two factors are incredibly important, so is the weekly soundtrack that let me hear some old classics and fall in love with new bands.

Josh Schwartz isn't a stranger to having a strong soundtrack; The OC before Chuck spawned 6 CD compilations and had a venue built to showcase real bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and The Walkman. Gossip Girl too has a soundtrack available for purchase and has had big time names such as Sonic Youth, Lady Gaga and No Doubt performing on the show. Chuck is once again kind of like the nerdy quiet cousin; no CD release (which is also down to the lack of CD soundtracks thanks to iTunes) and it isn't necessarily known for the cracking soundtrack it has on a weekly basis, but it is something that deserves high praise.

There is a multitude of ways to discover new bands in this age of digital media and when I was younger the radio, music video channels and music press informed me of what new bands were about and influenced my choice. TV is still a source in finding new music, but it is away from the MTV's of the channels and has recently laid heavily on certain TV shows; the recently departed Friday Night Lights was one such show and Chuck has been another. A soundtrack for a TV show or movie is one factor I rate highly as the music has such a strong influence in creating the tone for a scene (this theory was proved right recently when I saw a cut of The Vampire Diaries with none of the finished music and even though the episode was good, the version with music was obviously better).

The one band that features highly in my playlists also happens to be the band that had the equal most songs used on Chuck, and that is Frightened Rabbit (the other with most songs played on the show is Band of Horses). The track that really stood out for me is from the season 3 premiere episode as Chuck (Zachary Levi) chooses the spy life over Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and I am so grateful to this show for introducing me to this wonderful band. Special mentions should go out to music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas and editor Matt Barber for their excellent work over the five seasons with the musical choices.

Chuck has had fun with its soundtrack and this begins with the theme song; Cake's 'Short Skirt/Long Jacket' which sounds like it could be from a 70s spy caper and is now a rarity in this TV landscape of title cards and brief incidental music. The music used doesn't just cover up and coming indie artists or classic tracks from the 80s, but has also featured pop songs by Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Backstreet Boys. What the show does well, is use tracks that express the level of emotion in a scene such as Bon Iver's 'Creature Fear' when Chuck and Sarah almost do the deed for the first time in 'Chuck vs. the Colonel' at the end of season 2, or the use of Nico Stai's 'One October Song' during the utterly heartbreaking moment of Stephen Bartowski (Scott Bakula) death by Shaw (Brandon Routh) in 'Chuck vs. the Subway.' This song was cleverly used again in season 4 as Stephen's work is blown up in 'Chuck vs. the First Fight,' killing him all over again.
What about Jeffster? They too are important to the musical world of Chuck from their first performance of Toto's 'Africa' in season 2. The highlight for me was probably their rendition of Styx's 'Mr Roboto' that was used to stall proceedings at Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Awesome's (Ryan McPartlin) wedding, and also accompanied an intense gun battle scene. The Jeffster! performances have been dialled back, which was probably for the best as you can have too much of a good gimmick band, but I can imagine the twosome rocking out one more time before the final episode is out. Any last songs you'd love to see them do? What was your favourite Jeffster! rendition?

Below is my ultimate Chuck playlist with tracks from all 5 seasons that stood out to me when I first watched the episode and are still favourites. Some of the songs were featured during important scenes such as first kisses, proposals and a realization of what the spy life will bring. Not to make it all emotional, I also included some songs that complemented fun mission scenes and work well with running spies. It was tough to limit my track choices but I landed at 20 in the end which seems like a good number. Let us know what you would want to put on your Chuck playlist and if there are any special songs or bands that this show introduced you to.

1. Cake: Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Theme)
2. The Shins: A Comet Appears (Pilot)
3. Band of Horses: No One’s Gonna Love You (1.10 'Chuck vs. the Nemesis')
4. Huey Lewis and the News: Hip to be Square (2.01 'Chuck vs. the First Date')
5. Rush: Tom Sawyer (2.05 'Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer')
6. Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime (2.13 'Chuck vs. the Suburbs')
7. Bon Iver: Creature Fear (2.21 'Chuck vs. the Colonel')
8. The Thermals: Now We Can See (2.22 'Chuck vs. the Ring')
9. Frightened Rabbit: Backwards Walk (3.01 'Chuck vs. the Pink Slip)
10. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: 40 Day Dream (3.06 'Chuck vs. the Nacho Sampler')
11. Plants and Animals: Bye, Bye, Bye (3.13 'Chuck vs. the Other Guy')
12. The Gaslight Anthem: Here’s Looking at You Kid (3.16 'Chuck vs. the Tooth')
13. Nico Stai: One October Song (3.18 'Chuck vs the Subway' and 4.07 'Chuck vs. the First Fight')
14. The Black Keys: Howlin' for You (4.01 'Chuck vs. the Anniversary')
15. Alexi Murdoch: Towards the Sun (4.08 'Chuck vs. the Fear of Death')
16. Slow Club: When I Go (4.11 'Chuck vs. the Balcony')
17. The National: Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (4.12 'Chuck vs. the Gobbler')
18. Typhoon: The Honest Truth (5.01 'Chuck vs. the Zoom')
19. Heartless Bastards: Only For You (5.04 'Chuck vs. the Business Trip')
20. Fun (featuring Janelle Monáe): We Are Young  (5.08 'Chuck vs. the Baby')

For a full and comprehensive list of all the music used in Chuck head over to ChuckTV.net here.

The Chuck series finale airs this Friday and be sure to look out for more Chuck related articles here in the next few days.

Chuck vs. the Music: Five Seasons of Great Tracks

Chuck season 5 speeds along toward the end with its ante penultimate eleventh entry in this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Bullet Train," as a newly Intersect-ed Sarah and Casey look to rescue Chuck from Nicholas Quinn (Angus Macfadyen) aboard a Japanese bullet train.  "Chuck Vs.The Bullet Train" marks the beginning of the end for Chuck, and proves a strong start before next week's two-hour series finale.

Well, that was certainly something, wasn’t it?

As the ante penultimate episode of Chuck, “Chuck Vs. The Bullet Train” had a lot of ground to cover in setting the stage for next week’s two-part finale, something the hour absolutely delivered in terms of scale.  Not only did “Bullet Train” do an excellent job of creating an altogether exciting story for Team Bartowski, but managed to raise stakes in a palpable way.  From the moment the title crawl unfolds along the bullet-trains track like a big-screen Chuck movie we’ll never see, it became apparent that we’d be in for a treat with these final three hours, lovingly crafted to keep us invested in the present while reminding us of years past.

As I brought up with last week’s “Chuck Vs. Bo,” it feels good for the series to return to its roots by finally bringing the Intersect back into the equation as a plot device.  After all, the Intersect and the players governing it were what set the series in motion in the first place, and even with all the progress the characters have made beyond the device it’d feel disrespectful to simply cast aside something so crucial to the show’s mythology.  Not only that, but the Intersect as a literal and figurative device provides a means of tying all of Chuck’s lead and supporting characters together in one narrative, especially now that the show has evolved beyond any hang-ups about having Devon, Ellie, Morgan and Alex coordinate with Chuck, Sarah and Casey for missions.  It’s a real accomplishment how full-circle things have come for Chuck to see everyone working together on what drove the show’s conflict in the first place

I’d be interested to know if providing Sarah with the Intersect ever arose as a possibility during  the more formative years of Chuck, given how quckly the development unfolds across “Chuck Vs. The Bullet Train.”  Morgan had at least three episodes before his behavioral shifts became apparent, whereas Sarah’s excessive (and righteously enthusiastic) use of the device pushes her from flippy spin-kicking super-spy to amnesiac mental case within the course of a single episode.  It does offer up a compelling bit of tragedy to have Sarah’s entire memory of the last five years undone, a development mostly unanticipated by the hour spent trying to extract the device from her head.

I’m ordinarily not a fan of memory loss stories (especially this late in the game) given they provide little more than quick excuse to pit characters against one another before hitting a reset button, but in Chuck’s case it does give us a chance to mine conflicts we haven’t seen before.  Not only that, but Sarah having no memory of her time in Burbank opens a welcome window for Chuck and the others to remind both her (and us) of what we enjoyed so much about the last five seasons.

In a way, the drama of Chuck’s series finale needs to come from Chuck vs. Sarah and the role others have to play, given how Chuck never truly built up any lasting villain to anchor its end around.  Angus Macfadyen still does his best with the limited material given to him as Nicholas Quinn, but I have a hard time investing in the character given how little time we’ve spent with him, or how unimposing he seems as a villain.  His brawl with Chuck across the Japanese bullet train made for a thrilling action set piece to be sure, but whatever training he rattled off beforehand wasn’t convincing enough to believe that the elder, more portly Macfadyen should be any real threat to someone as athletic or trained as Zachary Levi’s Chuck.  It’d be one thing if Fedak and Schwartz wanted us to invest in Quinn’s villainy from an intellectual standpoint, but we simply don’t know enough about the character to understand why he so desperately craves the Intersect, or what he would even accomplish with it.  When all is said and done it leaves a rather weak premise to build in to Chuck’s final episodes, but hopefully Chuck can succeed in spinning its meager materials into something greater as in season finale’s past.

Along the same lines of last-minute plotting it seems odd that Chuck would essentially scrap what could have served as Jeff and Lester’s swan song last week, by overturning its stance of keeping Jeffster out of the spy world.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the honesty wrought from Jeff and Lester finally learning the truth and especially that “Chuck Vs. The Bullet Train” could bring them to a place of taking out armed goons with flamethrowers and a mini-gun, it just seems bizarrely repetitive to have them fall into an alternate outcome of the same plot within two episodes.  “Bullet Train” also gave some great material for Adam Baldwin in the lengths we see Casey go to protect his daughter, including betraying his team and trusting Jeffster, though now poor Big Mike seems to be the only one left out in the cold.

For me, Chuck has always struck an odd balance of teetering on the precipice of greatness and forgivable in its failures, but I’ll be very sad to see things draw to a close next week.  Its second season filled me with a tremendous amount of glee (particularly this), and while the ensuing three seasons never quite hit that sentimental high, Chuck deserved more love than it got.

So…would a comic-book continuation be out of the question?  Just sayin’.

And Another Thing…

• I don’t suppose staging the action on a Japanese bullet-train really added anything to the precedings, but somehow I imagine Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz envisioned this as their last chance to set a Chuck episode in the technological haven of Japan.

• Just like last week’s missed opportunity for “and my swingin’ cod!,” I find myself disappointed at a lack of Firefly references for Adam Baldwin on a moving train.

• I really have to hand it to the show’s inventiveness for staging Sarah in a hybrid lap-dance brawl.  And of course, one last chance to put Yvonne Strahovski in a skimpy outfit.

• Did anyone else think that at least in the episode, Erin Cahill (Quinn’s female agent) was a dead ringer for Eliza Dushku in voice and appearance, or at least a sibling?

• For those following Chuck press as we go into the final episodes, Yvonne Strahovski implied some kind of Sarah “tragedy” in the final episodes, but memory-loss aside I’m still hoping for a death or two.

• Also, try re-watching Chuck, Sarah and Ellie discussing Sarah’s repeated “flashing,” without cracking up at the Girls Gone Wild implications.

• The Crown Vic!  Now can we please have one more Jeffster performance for nostalgia’s sake?

• I nearly screamed “PLEASE BE BRYCE LARKIN!” at my TV when we saw Sarah waking up in her old hotel room, with a knock at the door…

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.11 "Chuck Vs. The Bullet Train" Review

Chuck season 5 emerges with its tightly-coiled tenth entry in this week’s "Chuck Vs. Bo" Morgan's past with the Intersect drags Chuck and Team Bartowski on one last mission in Vail to meet with superstar Bo Derek as herself, and uncover a new villain.  Things are really starting to move along in Chuck's final episodes, and thankfully "Bo" manages to keep a good balance of its many plot lines toward one of the more fun episodes of the season.

Well, there’s three episodes left.  That should be enough time to give Casey the Intersect too, right?  Maybe Big Mike, or one of the Buy More extras?

All kidding aside, “Chuck Vs. Bo” left us with a lot to digest, particularly in those last few minutes as Casey and Sarah seemed pinned down by a barrage of gunfire, their only hope for Sarah to Intersect-ize herself and superhumanly take down the goons enforcing our final Chuck villain.  It’s hard to believe something as monumental as that development arrives in the same episode where Jeff and Lester (repeatedly) discover Team Bartowski’s secrets, Morgan deals with his and Alex’s breakup indiscretions, the gang bounces back and forth between California and Colorado to retrieve another Intersect device, Bo Derek seduces Morgan as a spy herself, AND introduce a new Chuck villain tied to our hero’s very origins.

Suffice to say, it was a busy hour.

Before I go on, I’d like to take a minute to think about the ultimate Chuck villain Nicholas Quinn (Braveheart’s Angus MacFadyen), and what his arrival says for the next three episodes and the series at large.  Now Chuck has never had an overarching threat that lasted longer than a single season, aside from Shaw, but the series put that thread to bed a few weeks ago.  And even then, Shaw didn’t represent anything crucial to Chuck as a person or a series, acting more as a dark mirror hellbent on avenging his wife’s murder through various twirls of an invisible mustache.

As Chuck’s final act, it’s natural for creators Joshua Schwartz and Chris Fedak to want to return to the roots of the series in crafting a natural ending to their story, and to that end I appreciate the effort to tie Quinn to past Chuck foes like Fulcrum, The Ring and Volkoff, while simultaneously asserting that Bryce Larkin stole the original Intersect as Quinn was about to receive it.  It begs the question of what the Intersect itself represents to Chuck as a person and to the series at large, namely what happens to ordinary people gifted with extraordinary powers, and how they evolve with or without them.  Quinn could be an excellent Chuck villain, but the sad reality lies in the fact that we have to be told about his connection to Chuck rather than shown, meaning the character’s history has to be awkwardly shoe-horned into the already-convoluted mythology. 

Chuck’s fifth season has faced this problem a few times now, cramming additional backstory into the past, like the way "Chuck Vs. The Baby" ignored Sarah’s past with Bryce, or even here as Morgan somehow went on a world-saving mission to recover another Intersect in between the events of “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips.”  I’d like to think that given how far in advance the creators knew of Chuck’s 13-episode order for season five, there could have been a better way to introduce Nicholas Quinn than in the last four episodes.

But like it or not, Nicholas Quinn is who we’ve got, and I for one look very much forward to where this road leads.  Sarah receiving the Intersect makes for an interesting twist in this final fight, and provided we take a little time to flesh out Quinn beyond his tantrums and glossed-over backstory, we should be in for a great final run of episodes.

That aside, “Chuck Vs. Bo” definitely made for a strong episode of Chuck even with its dizzying flurry of plots.  I’m impressed with how well “Bo” (and Joshua Gomez in particular) managed to juggle so many plots coherently, with Morgan having to deal with the guilt of “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips,” remember details of his last mission, fret over Alex (Mekenna Melvin)’s breakup fling with another man, AND deal with Jeff and Lester’s repeated efforts to uncover the truth.  And even then, I can’t recall the last time I giggled so consistently over the course of a single episode, between Chuck and Morgan’s fawning over Bo Derek, or more subtle gags like Lester wearing the same “dreadlocked” ski had as Morgan during his frosted tip days, the Vail Buy More doppelgangers occupying a re-dressed set, or the irony of Adam Baldwin muttering “I hate Twitter.”  Plus, if the last few Chuck episodes carry anything like the tension of that final scene with Casey and Sarah, all bets are off for what might happen.

It’s in that way“Chuck Vs. Bo” keeps a delicate balance of good and bad Chuck, with a push-and-pull between stories willing to change the status quo and those that tacitly remain the same.  For instance, at this late point in the series it doesn’t seem practical to keep toying with the idea of Lester and Jeff uncovering the truth, particularly in one episode, but there’s enough thought given to the idea of how Chuck, Sarah, Morgan and Casey will move on from their current paths that Chuck does seem finally willing to let the chips and character development fall as they may.

As far as Jeff and Lester, the Buy More really has always been the “creepy cousin” of Chuck, the way its C-stories felt increasingly tangential over the years as Chuck got deeper into the spy game, but their resolution feels true to life.  We shouldn’t want Jeff, Lester or Big Mike getting in on the gunfights any more than their characters would naturally want to.  We loved their charm, depravity and light heart, and the ultimate reset of sending the three blissfully ignorant employees off into the sunset, Subway sandwiches and all, feels like more appropriate closure than we ever could have asked for.

All in all, I’m glad that Chuck managed to re-introduce the Intersect into the series without necessarily forcing Chuck to rely on its power to save the day.  Given the origin of the series itself, Schwartz and Fedak have done the right thing by once more posing the question of how this power affects the lives of those it comes in contact with, and giving us a different angle with which to see its endgame.

Bring it on, Inter-Sarah.

And Another Thing…

• Boy, that X-13 memory-erasing gas seems like it would have come in hand…about 647 other times before it was so casually introduced in this episode.  And kudos for the subtle Memento references in the way both Jeff and Morgan write details on themselves to remember the past.

• I’m not going to delve into how incurably dirty I found all the “rainbow” sex metaphors to be.

• Once again, I’m doing my best to ignore logic gaps like why after placing them in the Vegas clothes and car once more, Casey wouldn’t wipe any notes off Jeff’s arm.  And what was Alex doing in the Buy More before her ex showed up to talk to Morgan?

• I guess I should give up on the Manoosh return, but Quinn’s motivation for hating Chuck does seem surprisingly similar to the burned asset of season 3, which no one ever spoke of again.

• I like how Chuck knew that saying “last mission” was a jinx, but couldn’t resist the “I guess it wasn’t a jinx after all.”  Boom!

•  I honestly expected Casey to finish his line “one mag left” with “and my swingin’ cod!”  #Firefly

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.10 "Chuck Vs. Bo" Review

There are just two episodes left before the big Chuck series finale on January 27 and this season has focused on what the future holds for these characters and a big question mark hangs over their future career options. We have already seen the gang turn down a return to the CIA and the idea of raising a family has been getting louder as the season has progressed, with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) mistakenly thinking she was pregnant last week (check out our review here). Don't get too cosy yet as the final villain that they will be facing is introduced this week and it looks like he is set upon causing some major havoc.

The mission this week involves fallout from Morgan's (Joshua Gomez) time as the Intersect which means he has to get those delightful frosted tips back. It also strangely involves the real Bo Derek (10) who will be playing herself and is important to this mission as they head to Vail. It's not going to be all fun and games though as a final obstacle comes into play and it looks as if Sarah is the one who might be in danger this time. Angus Macfadyen (Californication, Alias) will be playing Nicholas Quinn and Yvonne Strahovski told Entertainment Weekly that in terms of the past villains on the show "He’s a little more erratic than others."

Generally with Chuck you know that they will get out of the dangerous situations they are in but Strahovski warns that these last episode will bring heartache; "Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah have this great relationship, but I think in these last episodes, you’ll see that they’ll have something taken away from them, and it sort of causes some trouble in a big way." Could this be at the hands of Quinn? The death of Stephen Bartowski in season 3 showed that on occasion they do kill one of the good guys, so can we expect another surprise in this manner?

If it's not too late it looks like both Chuck and Sarah want out of the spy game; the first sneak peek shows Sarah revealing this desire to quit spying as she spent the night thinking about her future with Chuck and the second clip below shows the pair trying to convince a very reticent Casey (Adam Baldwin) that it is a good idea. He seems to semi come around to the idea but as a cover is no longer needed he wants to be rid of the Buy More.

One interesting development last week was that Jeff (Scott Krinsky) figured out the whole spy status of Chuck, Sarah and Casey and discovered Castle alongside Lester (Vic Sahay). The pair got shot with tranquilizer darts at the end of the episode so where does this leave them now?

Check out the promo and sneak peek for the Friday 13 episode "Chuck vs Bo" below.

Chuck Sneak Peek: Will They Quit the Spy Business?

Chuck season 5 trots out its prize-winning ninth entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Kept Man" as Casey faces challenges to his own masculinity as Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) and her aggressive affections return with a new mission for Carmichael Industries. Last week's "Chuck Vs. The Baby" did a good job of wrapping up most things Chuck, but "Kept Man" still manages to add some tender resolutions to our favorite characters.

I’m proud to say that I enjoyed tonight’s “Chuck Vs. The Kept Man,” more than I enjoyed any other episode of Chuck this season, and not simply because “Kept Man” represents the first new Chuck in weeks that NBC didn’t unabashedly burn off during the holiday season.  Perhaps the imminent ending of the series makes everything feel that much more gripping, or the writers themselves have finally dropped the pretense of stretching conflicts further than they’ll go.

“Kept Man” embodies everything I fell in love with about the series in the first place; its quirky charm, offbeat action mix, and willingness to avoid stagnation.  Sure we’ll always have certain heightened realities that temper the effectiveness of the scenes they occupy, like Chuck and Sarah’s pre-rescue baby arguments or Jeff and Lester’s pursuit of Devon, but by now most Chuck viewers know what they’ve signed up for.  Just because Jeff presents a massive conspiracy bulletin board a la the back of Chuck’s TRON poster or (as others point out) Homeland’s Carrie Matheson, it doesn’t mean anyone will end up in any real danger by the hour’s end.  I’ll still roll my eyes now and again, but that indelible sweetness will wash over you no matter what.

Part of what allows “Kept Man” to succeed where others like “Chuck Vs. The Curse” failed is that “Kept Man” allows its characters the courtesy of appreciating the dangers around them.  In comparison I look at the torture scenes between Devon, Chuck and Robyn Cunnings (Rebecca Romijn), and tonight’s arbitrary first-scene villain.  A few weeks ago Chuck asked us to buy into the tension of potential torture it never delivered, with our characters seemingly sharing the dread, but in this case Chuck throws Spider-Man-esque quips at his would-be torturer, fully in on the audience’s knowledge that he regularly survives such cliché predicaments.  When Chuck has fun with its premise, so do we, and that’s what made the series so unique in the first place.  Chuck walks a fine line between escalating its seriousness, and keeping the wry perspective its audience relates to, something “Kept Man” treads better than usual.

As the danger level ramps up with three episodes to go, so too does Chuck’s seeming resolution of its leads, last week with Sarah’s confrontation of her missing childhood, and here with Casey’s always hyper-active masculinity.  As one of the better supporting characters in Chuck’s history, the returning Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) brings out a side to Casey we don’t often get to see; where the brutish ex-NSA man suddenly doesn’t have the biggest stick in the room.  Casey’s character has long mined its humor in playing Chuck’s more mellow nerdery against Adam Baldwin’s natural intimidation, but Gertrude brings out different colors to the hardened agent.

Much like Sarah has now learned to put the spy life behind her in favor of a husband and family, so too does Casey more or less find his peace with strong female presences in his life, both daughter Alex and now Gertrude, when he’s not being shot at somewhere in an icy landscape.  One wonders at this point how much is left for Chuck to put a cap on, with major villains like Shaw seemingly already taken care of, but one never knows how it’s all going to end.

To that end, there feels like less to discuss with this week’s episode, all neatly tied up and no major complaints, but special attention should be drawn to our bi-weekly Buy More plot, if only for having the stones to finally clue Jeff and Lester in on the truth of their CIA friends.  I remember talking with Vic Sahay once where he expressed his hope that the character never learns the truth behind the Buy More, if only to keep his comedic ignorance, but we can’t blame Chuck from pulling out all the stops with only three episodes remaining.  In truth , the better Buy More B-stories usually tie into Chuck’s adventure in some capacity, but Jeff’s incredibly systematic uncovering of the truth paired with Morgan’s clever use of Devon as a distraction in Jeff and Lester’s disturbingly costume-filled pursuit prove too entertaining to bemoan the interchangeability of plot threads.  Presumably neither would brush off what they remember before being tranquilized, but it’ll be interesting to see how the next episode picks up this relatively drastic thread.

And I can kick and scream all I like, the Chuck creators are going to throw in a Sarah pregnancy storyline somewhere within the last three episodes, so at the very least we’ll have the stock pregnancy-scare of “Chuck Vs. The Kept Man” to set up the idea more organically.  That is of course, unless Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz have any real curveballs they want to throw our way before the end.  I have my own theories.

At this point, Chuck doesn’t have many burdens, and the final episodes are free to play with the free-spirited action adventure we’ve loved since 2007.  And if they want to throw in Yvonne Strahovski’s endless bikini wardrobe at least once more…groovy.

And Another Thing…

• Sure, I keep it on my mind more than I’d like to admit, but I have to think those radiation containers seen in Chuck’s opening scene rescue referenced similar looking plutonium cannisters from the first Back to the Future.

• Carrie-Anne Moss really does create amazing chemistry with Adam Baldwin, or any man in her other work.  Something about that incredibly soft bedroom voice…

• I’d love to know if any eagle-eyed freeze framers caught any fun details on Jeff’s conspiracy board.

• A great episode for Yvonne Strahovski with her meta-rant about the constant skimpy costumes, and the reaction to walking in on Casey and Verbanski.

• I appreciate the attention to quieter moments like the exchange between Casey and Sarah before parting ways for the Verbanski rescue mission, which carried a very real tension in spite of the cop-out plot device of the Aegis gun protecting them from gunfire.  Additionally, we still haven’t had much mention of the Intersect, strange considering how important it was to the show’s premise.

• Now, call me crazy, but I’m wondering if the show might have the guts to actually kill off Sarah as a climax, given some of the tragedy mile-markers they’ve already thrown in.  If you’ve read Y: The Last Man and followed Chuck’s connection to the comic, you’ll understand why that’s relevant.

• I’m still glad they got caught, but it would seem like in the time Morgan must have taken to elaborately paint, age and detail a concrete wall pattern onto their fake set, they could have…actually.built…a wall whose wet paint wouldn’t clue in Jeff and Lester.

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.09 "Chuck Vs. The Kept Man" Review

Chuck season 5 swaddles up its eighth entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Baby" as Chuck and Sarah delve into the past by confronting her rogue former CIA handler (Tim DeKay) over a missing child involved with one of her last missions. After some strong weeks "Baby" may offer up a bit of tonal whiplash in its contrasting plot lines, but ultimately comes together for a solid look into Sarah's mysterious past.

Sigh. With another holiday week gone by, NBC dumps yet another Chuck episode to the no-man’s-land of Friday, New Years’ Eve Eve. With most still on vacation or at the very least enjoying a Friday night social life, how little must NBC’s regard for Chuck have dissolved to burn off yet a second important episode during a time least likely to be watched?

Unlike last week’s "Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit," I had actually been aware of this episode airing ahead of time, but still managed to forget until returning home from a late night viewing of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which may or may not have colored how I react to more light-heated espionage.

But, I digress.

As a critic, one of the toughest aspects of responding to something as unevenly balanced as "Chuck Vs the Baby" lies in splitting the difference between what works, and what doesn’t to see things not only in the context of an hour, but in the series’ continuity at large. I wanted to like “Baby,” I really did, and both Sarah and Yvonne Strahovski were long overdue for some attention in season five.

Toward that end, I spent much of the first half hour of “Chuck Vs. The Baby” in increasing annoyance of yet another pre-Chuck story shoe-horned into an already delicate continuity, a problem only exacerbated by an inherently superfluous and sugary B-story, until I was struck with a concession of acknowledged detail that nearly made up for it. Longtime and over-analytical Chuck fans know that its supporting spy characters maintain dubious histories at best, with Chuck flashing back over the years to multiple self-contained backstories that don’t always seem to gel with one another.

For instance, we’ve now seen Sarah’s past to include a con-artist and high school history with her father, a partnership with Bryce Larkin, time spent on the “CAT Squad,” and now as an agent handled by Kieran Ryker (White Collar’s Tim DeKay*) and keeping close ties to her mother, all immediately before moving to Burbank as Chuck’s handler. “Chuck Vs. The Baby” ultimately offers up passable explanation for why Sarah’s kept information about her mother so close to the chest all these years, but that doesn’t quite eliminate the feeling of stagnation that develops from writers clearly squeezing in afterthought backstories.

(*) As most TV viewers and critics would be quick to note, Tim DeKay currently stars on USA’s White Collar opposite none other than Matthew Bomer, best known as Chuck’s Bryce Larkin. DeKay’s availability would suggest that Bomer himself might be free for a pre-finale Chuck appearance (despite his character’s death), but even if that winds up the case, Chuck has managed to keep some of its better cameos under wraps, a few weeks ago with Yvette Nicole Brown and here with Tony Todd.

For the record, I’d like to point out that Bryce had something of a comic-book death in that we last saw his actual body being nefariously dragged away, despite the “ashes” Sarah later carried. Not only has Bryce been “dead” before, but Shaw was revived from near of the exact same wounds fatally inflicted on Bryce. Just sayin’.

On the other hand, my feelings on “Chuck Vs. The Baby” did, however briefly, flip at the thoughtful inclusion of Tony Todd reprising his role as CIA Director Graham from the first season, and the rather tangential B-story being woven into the saccharine happy family sequences at episode’s end that Chuck does so well. It reminded me that Chuck as a series will always provide that relationship we fondly remember in later years; too unique to truly last and packing plenty of flaws, but sweet enough that most of them will fall by the wayside when viewed in the light of aging wisdom. To that end, I’ll put aside my irk for the more questionable aspects of Chuck’s chronology and logic, and put the darkness of Stieg Larsson and David Fincher out of mind before judging any further.

As I mentioned earlier, Chuck season 5 had been somewhat in need of more Sarah-centric stories, to the point where my readers even pointed out that the character received few-to-little mentions in episode write-ups. To that end, “Chuck Vs. The Baby” proves a relatively strong outing for both Sarah and Yvonne Strahovski, who deftly handles switching between a maternally inexperienced yet remorseless killer, and the Sarah we know today inching ever closer toward domestic bliss with her husband. I don’t know that any further Sarah backstory adds much to the overall mythology of the show , especially with most threads seemingly resolved and only five episodes of Chuck to go, but bless the writers for finding ways to remind us that Strahovski and Sarah offer up more than a pretty face aiming down the barrel of a big gun.

It is interesting to consider where Chuck will go for its final five episodes, considering the “CIA conspiracy” and Shaw** behind it have most definitely fallen by the wayside, but we can remain confident that series co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak made the most of their thirteen episode order, with very little to stand in the way of crafting complete andsuccessful arcs.

Whether or not it winds up affecting the story’s climax, Sarah’s arc has remained clear throughout the series as a woman denied childhood and a life of her own, who slowly comes to accept a world outside of espionage, and “Baby” puts a nice focal point on that with Sarah’s young “sister” Molly.

(**) Less of a complaint and more of a question, but did anyone pick up on what exactly tied Shaw to Ryker or the baby plot? We know that Shaw only first met Sarah and turned rogue in season 3, so how did he manage to uncover Sarah’s history with the baby, when Ryker apparently couldn’t?

Last week’s “Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit” also carried the added bonus of integrating its B-plots into the narrative better, as this week cutting between a tense, history-filled mission and the supporting characters playing board games in a militarized installation felt rather jarring. Awesome and Ellie have certainly received their due this season in co-habitating in Chuck’s world, but I can’t help feeling like the uneven tone did damage by making “Baby,” aim high and low simultaneously. Yes, there’s cuteness to seeing Awesome and Ellie continue utilizing Chuck's spy lifestyle for some romantic roleplay, and we knew something would have to shove Morgan and Alex (Mekenna Melvin) back together eventually, but we’ve seen these parallel threads woven together much more carefully in the past.

By the same token, cynics and diabetics might not be able to stomach the overly saccharine last act of “Chuck Vs. The Baby,” with its gratuitous O.C.-style montages, Alex and Morgan’s reconciliation, Awesome and Ellie’s flowers, and the sweet Chuck and Sarah moments dreaming of their future, but Chuck was bound to stock up on sugar in its final run. There’s still plenty of room to surprise us before the end.

And Another Thing…

• I loved the darker, more ominous tone of the brutal Sarah flashbacks, complete with sweeping, color-desaturated, rain-soaked imagery. That kind of atmosphere we never saw near of enough on Chuck.

• Thankfully Chuck never carried on long enough to the point of asking us to accept a pregnant, and or child-carrying Sarah taking on the bad-guys, but I had to laugh at how the writers still managed to work that visual in before the series’ end. Then again, judging by the “next time” preview…ugh.

• Tim DeKay manages to exude such convincing moral authority on White Collar, I find myself disappointed that we didn’t have time to learn what brought Ryker from a trusted CIA handler to a rogue baby-killer.

• Stupid Spy Behavior of the Week: Once again, Sarah. Sure, baby’s cries and the flood of emotions might have clouded her judgement, but I’d like to think that Sarah would remember that after five years, the girl would no longer be making a baby’s cries, and that she pulled that exact trick on Ryker.

• So…Sarah couldn’t hide the baby at the CIA given that Ryker could theoretically use his resources to uncover its whereabouts, yet in five years he never so much as checked in on Sarah to learn she in fact had a high-profile working team, and even a husband?

• “Hey, Alex. So you know, I had a billion-dollar computer in my mind that literally gave me brain damage and forced me to treat you badly. I think it’s time you cut me a break on that one.” CONVERSATION OVER.

• Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I flat out told my girlfriend she was wrong, and she agreed.

• How nice of Sarah’s mother to design her kitchen around fight scenes, with such open space, prevalent glass and break-away walls.

• It is somewhat bizarre that no one so much as mentions Bryce Larkin’s name, especially since Director Graham first showing her Chuck’s file would mean that her former partner / lover was very recently presumed dead. Then again, we can assume that beat wouldn’t have added anything to “Baby,” and might have been a part of their conversation taking place shortly after that flashback.

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.08 "Chuck Vs. The Baby" Review

New episodes are scarce at this time of year so thankfully there is a fresh outing of Chuck tonight for those who are watching this fifth and final season.

Last week's Christmas episode featured the return of Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) who ended up defeated again and back in prison, but this doesn't mean he didn't wreak havoc for all those on team Bartowski. Shaw ended the episode asking for a meeting with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and he revealed that he knew a big secret about Sarah and her past that involved a baby and the country Hungary. What could this big secret possibly be?

Not one to stand still Sarah takes immediate action tonight that will see her heading out into the field alone, despite Chuck's (Zachary Levi) protests. Chuck of course wants to know his wife's secret but wants to be supportive of Sarah at the same time. As you can see from the sneak peek below Chuck is having a hard time not getting involved and has been looking up all things Hungarian on Wikipedia. Morgan (Josh Gomez) is the voice of reason in this clip; he reminds his friend that he should give Sarah the benefit of the doubt as he can name at least four or five times when Sarah has been right in the past (I'm pretty sure the audience can too). Will Chuck refrain from interfering?

We will also be introduced to two very important figures from Sarah's past tonight; her mother and her first handler. Sarah's mother is someone who has been briefly mentioned before, but as with a lot of things from Sarah's early life it is something she is not all that willing to discuss. Former Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd will be playing Sarah's mother (see promo photo above) and we will find out why there has been no contact over the course of the show. This might have something to do with Sarah's original handler Kieran Ryker (White Collar's Tim DeKay) who is involved with this big secret; Sarah is concerned that Ryker will harm those closest to her including her mother.

As the show comes closer to finishing I am glad to see a Sarah centric episode that will explore more of her past and hopefully this episode will give Yvonne Strahovski another well deserved moment to shine. Does Sarah have a secret child? Or will the reveal be something more complicated and mission related?

Watch the sneak peek below and for a review of last week's episode head here.

Tonight on Chuck: Meet Sarah's Mother

Chuck season 5 dresses up its seventh entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit" as Chuck races to recover a piece of stolen CIA technology with General Beckman, while a returned Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) holds Sarah hostage in time for Christmas and computer virus "The Omen" looms over the Buy More.

Shaw's return and the surprising reveal of Sarah's secret at episode's end will likely  what most take away from "Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit," but as one of the better episodes of the season, it's a shame more people might not see what keeps this little show kickin'.

First of all, I should start this review by telling you that I nearly missed Chuck tonight, so swept up in the holiday preparations that it barely even occurred to me there might be fresh TV episodes to watch.  Not that any huge boom or bust in Chuck’s ratings (or Subway sandwich purchases) would do any damage at this point, but I imagine that a great many regular Chuck viewers could shirk their watching duties with such an awkwardly-timed episode.

It really speaks to NBC’s regard for their fan-beloved series to casually dump one of the final season’s better episodes on the Friday before Christmas, but then again this is the same network that attracts protest groups outside their New York offices before a series has officially ended.  I can scarcely think of the dismal ratings Chuck will be likely to attract tonight.

That said, I also wanted to tell you how Christmas episodes have always been a strongsuit for Chuck, but then I realized that to date the series has only truly had two, here with “Chuck Vs. the Santa Suit,” and all the way back to season two’s “Chuck Vs. Santa Claus.”  The two seasons in between had their episodes and orders shuffled to the point that Chuck almost* never aired in December in time for Christmas, despite Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak’s very OC-perfected experience at capturing the sweetness and drama of the holidays.

(*) Technically, season one’s “Chuck Vs. The Crown Vic,” itself another strong episode aired in early December, but didn’t make the holidays any kind of real focus beyond a Buy More subplot.

That said, season 2’s “Chuck Vs. Santa Claus” proved a surprisingly dark and ante-upping kind of episode, where for one of the first times Chuck really learned the dangers of the spy world, and the cold-blooded lengths his handlers traversed to keep that status quo, as Sarah brutally gunned down a problematic Fulcrum conspirator (hey, it’s The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker!).  “Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit” didn’t quite go to the same lengths, but still reminded me that the series succeeds by taking itself seriously.  Watching Chuck and Shaw once again take to fisticuffs amidst the aisle of the Buy More felt like what the fight from season 3 ender “Chuck Vs. The Ring, Part II” always should have been; rather than two Intersect-powered equals trading superfluous blows, here both were brought down to the level of ordinary men, and forced to rely on their own innate strengths to win the day.  Here the fight gives Chuck a chance to showcase the true evolution of his character, relying on his own acquired fight experience combined with genius intellect to defeat Shaw, exactly what the series should highlight in these final episodes.

On the subject of Shaw, I’m somewhat on the fence on his effectiveness as a villain for Chuck.  Growing up, to me Venom always seemed the perfect villain for Spider-Man; a dark and menacing mirror image always locked in a twisted ballet with the other, near of the exact relationship Chuck and Shaw share.  Both Shaw and Eddie Brock started out somewhat sympathetic, if morally unsound characters, but find themselves empowered and enslaved to an unending vendetta.

Along the same line, it wasn’t until I was older that I became aware of the fan’s disdain for “90’s” anti-heroes like Venom, contrasted with the more classic supervillains, and so too can I understand Chuck fan’s difficulty in accepting Shaw.  Shaw initially represented yet another meaningless obstacle for Chuck and Sarah’s relationship, but grew into a more complex character after revealing his tragic shared history with Sarah, and gaining Intersect powers of his own.

Admittedly, I never quite understood why the Intersect would make an ultra-competent spy any more efficient, but the mirror imagery still gave Chuck a more credible threat to have looming over the series.  I have a harder time accepting Shaw’s heel-face turn into unrepentant villainy and betrayal of his country, and “Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit” doesn’t do the character many favors in that respect.  One the one hand Shaw’s re-appearance manages to tidily explain the recent conspiracy plots and Decker’s CIA vendetta, but Shaw never entirely comes to life as a villain, his ominous hatred of both Sarah and Chuck feeling more caricatured than compelling.  Sarah killed Shaw’s wife on orders, granted, but why such elaborate conspirator lengths for simple vengeance?

As long as we’re speaking in such nerdy comic-book terms, I should mention that we can’t expect too much out of Chuck’s writing, or Brandon Routh’s performance, given what Superman Returns became.  Whether you buy Shaw’s villainy or not, perhaps The Joker said it best:  “All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.”

As I mentioned last week, Chuck will always walk a fine line between plausibility and comic sustainability, but “Santa Suit” succeeds moreso than “Chuck Vs. the Curse” in having fun with its inherently silly premise.  “Curse” wanted us to invest in the deadly predicament its main characters found themselves in without delivering on the consequences, but “Santa Suit” treats danger with a grain of salt.

The real threat lies in Shaw’s invasion of Castle, freeing Chuck and General Beckman to recover a top-secret piece of tech from a boozy CIA Christmas party that consists of sloshed and saucy military officials hiding their greatest secrets behind two locked doors, and apparently, the real Stan Lee.  The best, most relatable Chuck lies in comical situations broken up by real threats, not threats broken by comedy.

Another area “Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit” succeeds in is utilizing its supporting characters without shortchanging their value to the series.  For the first time since…ever…as far as I can remember, both Jeff and Lester actually prove useful to the main plot by directly taking on “The Omen” virus (in one of the rare instances they’re actually aware of what they’re involved in).

Casey and Morgan got their own little moments  as well for both Casey’s tender badassery and Morgan’s Samwise Gamgee-like support, but particularly effective was Ellie’s integration into the story, finding some measure of peace in being the one to ultimately take out Shaw and vent some grief for her father’s murder.  Even General Beckman gets some of the bigger laughs of the hour with her brief, and horrendously awkward smooch with Chuck.

It’s also worth noting that “Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit” above all else, actually delivers laughs, more so than I’m used to from the usual Chuck, perhaps owing to writer Amanda Kate Shuman’s sparklingly awkward dialogue.  I especially liked the brief exchanges over Casey’s choice of present for Alex, along with Chuck and Beckman’s post-makeout car ride home, the perfect examples of how Chuck can find its humor in the smaller moments rather than the overtly silly set pieces.  Now if only the same attention could have been afforded to some of Shaw’s more ear-splitting villanisms, I’d be much more enamored of the hour.

I feel like I always say it, but by the end Chuck is Chuck, most threads tidily resolved without any major casualties, and we’re even treated to an especially sweet misuse of government resources in the Bartowski / Woodcomb Christmas party (The OC always managed to make its parties full of such warm atmostphere).  But as the pattern has been, Chuck offers up a small tag (complete with its requisite Terminator knock-off music) to drive the next episode, that of the supposed baby Sarah wishes to keep hidden.  I swear I’ll throw a hammer at my window if Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak manage to side-step a pregnancy and cram a baby into Chuck and Sarah’s life before the end of the series, but at the very least right now things remain full of possibility.

And in the end, isn’t that what we all love about this time of year?  Also, lavish presents.

And Another Thing…

• After the rush of crowds I’ve seen in the last few days, it doesn’t unnerve me in the slightest to think that in Chuck’s world, when the entire globe faces down an internet-destroying computer virus, people still focus on how it affects their holiday shopping.

• So, no one made any attempt to de-Intersect Shaw during his captivity, despite the speed and convenience with which we’ve seen that done before?

• What’s with the over-the-top Subway harping?  At this point in the show’s tenure, why bother?

• Aside from Stan Lee, the episode also features former Mad TV star Mo Collins, these days apparently best known for playing sloppy drunks on various NBC comedies.

• Stupid Spy Behavior of the Week:  Sarah.  When you’re being stealthily stalked by a trained spy with a machine gun, here’s a hint: REMOVE YOUR CLACKING HEELS!

• So, with Shaw almost succeeding in creating the Intersect 3.0, do we expect (or even want) Chuck to receive it before the end of the season?

• In spite of some of the dialogue, I especially dug Yvonne Strahovski’s performance in frigid captivity, and Shaw’s cold brutality.  It was especially shocking for Casey to actually get shot, though the tension (and his sad last recording to the bear) were quickly undercut by Chuck’s unwillingness to kill off any characters…yet.

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.07 "Chuck Vs. The Santa Suit" Review

Chuck season 5 summons out its sixth entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Curse" as Chuck, Sarah and Casey look to rescue Devon and Ellie from rogue CIA agents after a date gone wrong, and prevent the outbreak of deadly computer virus "The Omen" at the hands of Robin Cunnings (guest star Rebecca Romijn)

Ultimately, "Chuck Vs. The Curse" offers up something of a mixed bag, enchanting us with its potential scope but stumbling a bit in its execution.

With a show as versatile as Chuck you’re bound to run into headaches trying to classify episodes, which in and of itself speaks to why the series at large experienced such trouble in finding an audience.  Chuck works at its best when keeping the comedy and heavier spy material in check, last week’s “Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off” keeping a smart mixture of palpable dread and light-hearted absurdity in the episodes’ main mission that made for one of the better episodes of the season.

Unfortunately, “Hack-Off”’s rather explosive ending meant that things couldn’t’ immediately go back to status quo, and it’s the more “dangerous” episodes of Chuck where the material begins to suffer from a lack of plausibility and consequence.  Blowing up Decker provided a rather hardcore turn last week, but even in these final episodes the stakes rarely feel raised.  Simply put, it’s Chuck.  Of course Awesome and Ellie are going to survive their predicament entangled in the CIA, and of course all charges against Team Bartowski for their various murders will fall by the wayside.

It’s not that I’m asking for Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak to do something as drastic as cost Chuck his sister and a series-long character for the sake of his own sins, but I’d be wary of Chuck’s turn to darker territory when it can’t follow through on the dangers inherent in its premise.   For goodness’ sake, rogue CIA operatives who don’t even value the lives of their fellow agents shouldn’t hesitate to torture, and or kill their captives, something this week’s villain Robin Cunnings (guest star Rebecca Romijn) drags out beyond any palpable sense of menace.  Sure, Cunnings herself provides cannon fodder in that we can gruesomely imply her torture at the hands of Casey and General Beckman, but to see nothing and later reveal she gave up all her secrets off-screen feels like a cop-out we shouldn’t have to forgive at this point.

During Robin’s (near) interrogation of Chuck, she naturally refused to deliver any necessary exposition about the purported conspiracy taking aim at the Bartowski family, but she did utter one line that resonated with me, that of Chuck having angered a number of powerful people.  Clearly we’ve seen Chuck thwart dozens of powerful figures over five seasons, to the point where Robin’s statement has only face value, but it reminded me of another series I’d recently taken in, that of the short-lived but critically-adored Terriers*.

There the basic premise rings the same, that you have small figures scurrying about and making trouble for the big dogs, the idea that even the most ill-equipped of teams can rattle the cages, and fight the evil empire.  It’s a universal theme to be certain, but Terriers embodied the spirit especially well by creating real consequences for these scrappy underdogs meddling in powerful forces.  Fitting perhaps that both Chuck’s final season and Terriers' only season each consist of thirteen episodes, but I gravitate to Terriers if only for their willingness to deliver casualties and omnipresent threats, rather than hand-wave away danger with off-screen information.  Chuck still has more than half a season to go, but now isn’t the time to pull punches, and “Chuck Vs. The Curse” suffers a bit for it.

(*) About the time you start referring to Terriers in a Chuck review, utilizing an italicized asterisk break, and given last week’s Community cameos, you know you’ve been reading too much Alan Sepinwall.

On the positive side, I like that “Chuck Vs. The Curse” kept continuity with “Hack-Off” by keeping afloat the threat of “The Omen” computer virus and the “conspiracy” itself.  It all seems a bit jumbled when CIA authorities tend to cross-cut one another without explanation (Beckman apparently forced to appear as though she’s apprehending the team, but morse-code tapping them to run), but I sincerely hope we’ve not seen the last of this thread.  Chuck spent far too much time in its earlier seasons fighting faceless threats of *insert evil organization here,* so the sooner we can put a human face on the “personal” danger driving our heroes this season, the better.

If Chuck were to have an emotional conflict of the week, “The Curse” at least offers a believably resonant moral dilemma in the parallels drawn between Chuck and his parents.  The so called “Bartowski Curse” really has done a number on his family in the way Stephen and Mary Bartowski spent near of their whole lives on the run, so for Chuck to face the same conflict in abandoning Ellie rings very true to the spirit of the character.  Admittedly yes, we’ve seen Chuck wax noble and waltz into national danger alone for the sake of his loved ones before, but seen through the lens of his family history the gesture feels far more personal.  This seems to represent a trend Chuck’s final season has going for it, where even re-used emotional conflicts feel fresh and powerful given no one really has to cover up their double-lives anymore.

Speaking of double lives, “Chuck Vs. The Curse’s comic angle finally allows some spotlight for Devon and Ellie in their inadvertently winding up in the wrong hands, but this proves something of a double edged sword.  In a way Devon and Ellie have always felt underutilized, the way the beautiful Sarah Lancaster always finds herself dressed down in scrubs and reduced to harping on her brother or how even when the chiseled Ryan McPartlin gets to play Devon on a mission with Chuck, the handsome doctor usually fins himself unfit for higher-stakes action.

So on the one hand I like finding things for Ellie and Devon to do, but then I glance at my notes and observe the phrase “these people are DOCTORS” over and over.  Seriously.  Two brilliant physicians, and they couldn’t figure out that the CIA was rustling them into a car until twenty minutes later, or the basic chemistry of not shoving a metal hairpin into a fuse box?  Why would Ellie worry about her husband seeing her exposed lack of panties, especially when their lives were on the line?  And didn’t the direction make a point of showing us those limo doors were locked in the first place?

These provide exactly the kind of Chuck I find infuriating, when the writing dumbs down intelligent characters for the sake of lighter comedy, yet never creates any real consequences for their mistakes.  I thought we might be in for a Firefly-style dual torture session between Devon, Chuck and Robin, but what does it say about the edginess of a series if it won’t even afford its primary characters one measly electric shock?

It almost feels as tacked on to this review as it did to the episode to mention Morgan’s subplot of retrieving Chuck’s “P.A.N.T.S.” (Priceless Artifacts Never To Share), but I suppose something needs to get the ball rolling on the inevitable Morgan / Alex reunion.  And what better way than to lock them in an apartment overnight?  Granted, I certainly don’t mind getting Mekenna Melvin in on the action (especially with a shotgun), and a recent conversation with her indicated she’d indeed be getting her hands dirty a bit this season, but the subplot itself doesn’t amount to more than some requisite sweetness.

What does seem like a surprisingly larger, and more epic twist for Chuck was to actually release the “Omen” virus out into the world, but far be it for Chuck to really explore the incredible scope of the world coming under a computer virus, the malevolent entity seems to be biding its time for now.  I’m excited for where that thread might go however, as a problem much more organic to Chuck’s natural skill set, and surely not set loose into its world-devastating peril for the sole purpose of releasing one prisoner from that ominously malfunctioning door at episode’s end…

And Another Thing…

• Apologies for the generic images folks, apparently NBC wasn't feeling too Christmas-y with this week's promotional photos...

• Unfortunately, Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) indeed seems to have been written out for the time being, but with the charges dropped like a load of bricks, might we see her again before the season’s out?

• I've noticed that several other TV critics have bemoaned or at least called attention to the blatant product placement of Chuck and his sister using "Open Table."  I'm giving that a pass, because I've never heard of it!

• Good direction in the roadhouse scene between Casey and Beckman.   I know ominous music and “shakey-cam” are cheap tricks to ratchet up drama, but in Chuck’s case it works.

• Seriously, not one other person lives in Chuck’s apartment complex, that they even step outside once a cadre of police and CIA have shown up?

• Rebecca Romijn really doesn’t get to make much of an impression as Robin Cunnings, but at least they included the requisite sexy by putting her in a tank-top and utilizing gratuitous boob-shots.

• Most TV critics agree that NBC really dropped the ball by revealing ****’s eventual return in last week’s “next time” promo, so I doubt there’s any mystery to the prisoner in cell 164.7.  That being said, even if NBC hadn’t revealed the villain’s return last week, the suspense still would have been rather short-lived for anyone who caught this week’s “next time” promo.

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.06 "Chuck Vs. The Curse" Review

Chuck season 5 hacks out its fifth entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off" as Chuck and Sarah go  undercover (by literally uncovering) to retrieve the key to a deadly computer virus from a private commune as Casey and Lester fend for themselves from inside prison walls.

Continuing its roll and likely one of the stronger, funnier outings of Chuck season 5, "Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off" scrapes by with only a few minor quibbles.

After a certain period of loyalty to a TV show, particularly one that’s been through as much heartbreak and confusion as the five seasons of Chuck, we all come to terms with certain facts.  Chuck actually left us in quite a narrative pickle by the end of “Chuck Vs. The Business Trip,” with both Casey and Lester behind bars, though we know that the truncated last season wouldn’t waste more than an episode dwelling on the plot thread, with both out and largely back to status quo by the end of “Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off.”

We also have to accept that particularly given the rush to resolve Casey and Lester’s dilemma, and the episode’s plot at large, not everything will make perfect sense.  For instance, wouldn’t a known government agent like John Casey go to some militarized prison devoid of visitors, instead of winding up in the same cell block as Lester?  By the same token, would Lester really end up in a federal prison so quickly, and how could he be bailed out by Jeff dropping the charges after the trial and sentencing already occurred?  Could a bizarre religious sect really hide a terrorist military presence in California?

We forgive Chuck for these gaps in logic, partly out of pity, partly for not taking TV comedy too seriously, and partly the futility of raising these questions so late in the game.  Chuck is Chuck, and will entertain as best it can, which “Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off” mostly does

I like the return to form Chuck undergoes here (even if we never really saw this past Swordfish-inspiring "Piranha" identity) by relying on his tech-savvy hacking skills and cleverness to save the day, rather than some random flash of the Intersect.  Incredibly, “Hack-Off” made nary a mention of the plot device that set the entire series in motion, instead focusing on the lessons and skills the team has acquired through natural training.  We can’t know if Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak have any plan to re-introduce the Intersect in any way, but for now* there’s something to be said for the strength Team Bartowski acquires from ingenuity and teamwork over science, which speaks to the value of the series’ evolution as a whole.

(*) I say for now, in that previews for the next round of Chuck episodes (which I won’t spoil here) seemed to reveal an enemy that might prove difficult to defeat without at least SOMEONE Intersect-ing up.

The meat of “Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off” lies in the shadowy Decker (RIchard Burgi) tasking Chuck and Sarah to track down the key to unlocking a deadly computer virus in exchange for Casey’s freedom, for which they must find the virus’ creator in a private commune.  Chuck star Zachary Levi directed the episode, which carries with it plenty of the upbeat action and musically vibrant comedic flair that makes Chuck so watchable in the first place, even if not everything about the episode works.

I’m a bit puzzled by the narrative choice to make the commune a partial nudist resort, if only for the gag of seeing Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski frantically strip down to their pixelated birthday suits upon realizing the commune’s true nature.  Considering the joke only lasts a minute or so until everyone re-dons their robes and carries on as normal, the flurry of pixels seems a rather unnatural distraction.

It likely would have taken some rather complex camera work to hide everyone’s good stuff without the aid of non-diegetic censorship, but that only begs the question of why to even bother in the first place.  Perhaps a quick tease to sell in promos and fleetingly bump up viewership.

That nitpick aside, a few awkward story beats hamper the flow as well, most notably when Chuck and Sarah first infiltrate the camp (unbeknownst to them immediately discovered), share several conversations with the camp’s leader and even a drum circle before all of a sudden, the alarm rings, and then the woman decides to oust Chuck and Sarah to the camp.  What was she waiting for?  Similarly, it feels as if not every thread fit into the script elegantly, the way Gertrude and Sarah skulk around the hackers’ base, only for Gertrude to awkwardly blurt out that she indeed has real feelings for Casey.  Minor points I suppose, but a writer notices.

To that end, “Hack-Off” does manage to evoke some classic Chuck with Casey being behind bars, and Gertrude (Carrie-Anne Moss) as his replacement on the team.  Without the shared chemistry earned over the last few seasons, Gertrude feels very much like Casey of the earlier seasons, a cold professional grumbling at Chuck’s charming ineptitude and Sarah’s tolerance for it.  It’s been a while since we’ve had an active member of the team that questioned everyone’s methods, but so far Carrie-Anne Moss has felt right at home fitting in with the Chuck universe.

The B-story of “Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off” feels somewhat heavy-handed, particularly in the way Morgan so begrudgingly retreated upstairs to deal with Jeff and Lester, an almost meta-comment on how frivolous the Buy More stories have become. Still, even with Lester’s incarceration tying in to Casey’s struggle in prison, it’s hard to invest much in the tale knowing how invincible Casey is to the plot, and the PG-level threat NBC enforces on the prison culture.

It’s not Oz, after all. Still, it was entertaining to see Lester actually the one to thrive in prison, and at least we got a Community cameo (or two!) out of it.

We still don’t have much to go on with the ongoing CIA shadow conspiracy to eliminate (or frame) Team Bartowski, and with Gertrude’s brutal dispatch of Decker and his men , it will yet be an episode or two before anything new comes to light.

The moral of the story lies in Radzinsky, er…Colin Davis (Eric Lange)’s words during his incarceration, about getting sucked back into a life one never should have had in the first place.  Chuck’s desire to find a life outside the spy game has always provided the crux of his struggle, and “Hack-Off” presents a brief moment of doubt between Chuck and Sarah as he extrapolates how his re-kindled love of the tech game could re-shape Carmichael Industries’ purpose, leaving Sarah to wonder what, if any place she might have in that world.  The recurring question once again finds itself swept under the rug as Chuck and Sarah vow to step up their spy game in the wake of Decker’s foiled plot, but will surely resurface for the final episodes, if not sooner.

Chuck me, that was long.

And Another Thing…

• Owing to Zachary Levi's direction, I love the dart gag with Chuck and Sarah after leaving the prison, suddenly appearing on one another’s necks before the other can successfully point them out.
•  It’s likely that based on his appearance, Casey’s prison tormentor (played by Derek Mears, technically another Community cameo, Kickpuncher!) was implied to be of a white supremacist group, but for deniability’s sake at least one of his flock in the cafeteria scene didn’t fit that bill, let’s say.
• Was anyone else having LOST flashbacks with guards, and Eric Lange (LOST’s Ted Radzinski) running through the woods?
• I paused, and spent a solid minute laughing at Community’s Yvette Nicole Brown cameoing after Danny Pudi, a well-kept secret gag.
• Chuck realizes that his renewed hacking skills might be well channeled into his own tech company, but for Sarah’s sake, shouldn’t he consider that CIA analyst offer General Beckman’s been making for ages?
• An extraordinarily dark moment for Chuck, with Gertrude blowing up Decker without any afterthought, and I had to laugh at the transition from Decker’s brutal murder to Chuck’s usual indie-acoustic soundtrack.

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.05 "Chuck Vs. The Hack-Off" Review

Chuck season 5 zooms on its fourth entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Business Trip" as Chuck goes undercover as Morgan Grimes himself to flush out a deadly CIA assassin hunting his best friend at a Buy More retreat.  Definitely the strongest and funniest outing yet of Chuck season 5, "Chuck Vs. The Business Trip" will entertain, but deepen your sadness that only nine episodes remain for the plucky Carmichael Industries.

Expectation plays a funny role in the way we all perceive television, and “Chuck Vs. the Business Trip" provides a fine example of that.  For instance, almost two years ago I found myself walking down the street listening to Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” (come on, that’s an awesome song), and for whatever reason my brain made the connections to conjure that the song would make for a fine Jeffster performance, ably set during some kind of tropical Buy More retreat.  I even tweeted at Zachary Levi as such, innocently thinking it might make for a laugh.

So you can imagine my eyebrow lifting once I learned that “Chuck Vs. The Business Trip was to feature Chuck and Sarah attending an island-themed Buy More retreat, and our audience long overdue for a new Jeffster performance in the wake of their recent upset.  Of course none of this would come to fruition (and I certainly never saw Jeff having Lester arrested!), but it all plays into the idea of Chuck pleasantly subverting expectation.  With the exception of the more familiarly toned “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips” last week, Agent Bartowski’s “final” season has been hit & miss, which makes “The Business Trip” an all the more welcome surprise.

Near of every instance in which I found the story predictable took unexpected turns, which makes it all the more heartbreaking the series at large doesn’t have much life in it, even if our final Chuck episodes prove among the better.  For one, it bothered me to think that by now Chuck or Sarah wouldn’t think twice about a supposedly unstoppable assassin* falling for their telegraphed vulnerability and making one measly attempt to garrote his target.  Well, guess what!  Mistake realized, and incorporated into the plot!  I expected that Alex would come around on her feelings for Morgan by episode’s end.  Nope!  I even expected that the five assassins (Viper included)  receiving kill orders on Casey, Morgan, Awesome, Ellie and Alex (but not Chuck or Sarah) would unfold over the next few episodes, but nope!  Casey from the shadows, with a six-point kill!  Brutal, unexpected, and not swept under the rug like poor Emmett Milbarge.

In typical Chuck fashion, the issue of the week lies in Chuck and Sarah’s dreams of sharing normal lives with normal friends, an especially poignant notion given the unstable foundation of Carmichael Industries (and the approaching series’ end), though by the end its resolution landed far more elegantly than its trajectory.  The thread weaves its way in and out of the plot somewhat awkwardly, as neither Chuck nor Sarah find organic ways to further the point made by their less than normal lives, using either casual reference or Sarah’s misplaced awkwardness developing a friend in Jane (The Shield's Catherine Dent).  Instead of hammering the nail in the end, the resolution rather gradually slides in as the wonderfully warm (and stylistically shot*) ending scene of Chuck and Sarah realizing the relationships they’ve organically cultivated over the series, made much easier by the lack of forced spy-world secrecy.  Fans of The O.C. will surely find some warm feelings resurfacing for scenes so casually sweet.

The nerdier stories absolutely kill it this week as well, as removing Morgan’s Intersect leaves behind the side effect of Morgan remembering nothing about Star Wars, Indiana Jones or other pillars of his nerdy heritage.  We can’t be sure how long the joke runs of Morgan having to re-learn all the greatest in sci-fi hits, but God bless the writers for playing with the concept of which Star Wars trilogy to watch first.  Utterly ruining Star Wars for Morgan proved a hilariously cruel payback for Casey to inflict, made all the more funny by his sparing Morgan from ever knowing about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as a thank-you at the end.  Elsewhere Jeff and Lester’s C-story (or is that a D, after Ellie and Devon?) made for a few great subtle physical comedy moments for Lester, peering through windows, or shrugging off Sarah as he hooked carbon monoxide into the Buy More break room, but otherwise still lead us on.  Much like “Frosted Tips” gave us a taste of the straight-edge Jeff to unfold next time, now we can look forward to Lester behind bars presumably when new Chuck episodes resume in December.

And speaking of cliffhangers, “The Business Trip” sure leaves us with a whopper, as the consequences of Casey’s brutal assassinations immediately bring Decker (Richard Burgi) and the CIA to arrest the former agent for non-licensed murders.  It feels as if Chuck has increasingly come to rely on these cliffhanger lead-ins, but with such a limited run of episodes I’ve come to prefer that we avoid any episodes feeling too self-contained.

For me, “Chuck Vs. The Business Trip" has become the episode to beat for season 5, which continually seems to upswing.  I like nothing more than to be surprised, and the writers’ continued willingness to think on their feet sweeps me off of mine.

And Another Thing…

• Obviously we were thrown a few red herrings as to the identity of The Viper, but for at least ten  minutes I ran with the theory that the telling shot of Chuck and Sarah bookending their five new Buy More friends by the pool visually suggested that ALL five could be the assassins, team members V-I-P-E-R.  Instead, they went with David Koechner as a Furry.  And that’s fine too.
• I’m going to miss Morgan having the Intersect.  It may not have worked as well on a thematic level, but the “one last time” ninja star deflections reminded me that Morgan was much more willing to have fun with such a powerful tool.  Now that neither Chuck nor Morgan has it, do you think it will play into the rest of the series at all?
• Seriously, does NO ONE ELSE live in that block of apartments, that a baby yoga class can commandeer the entire courtyard?!
• Awhile back, Michael Ausiello of TVLine tweeted a blind item that a lead character would die before the end of his/her series’ finale episode, Chuck being one of the contenders.  My mind first went to Casey, but was anyone else unnerved by The Viper’s kill list projecting the word “TERMINATED” onto only Morgan’s face?
• A few months back I spoke with Robot Chicken co-creator Matthew Senreich, who faced a similar dilemma as Morgan in choosing which Star Wars trilogy to introduce his children to first, adding an extra laugh to the situation.
• Aww, no Yvonne Strahovski in a wet Nerd Herd uniform shot?
• As much fun as I found the sci-fi fingertip devices that served as lie detectors, I couldn't help finding fault with some of the logic and questions that granted people a "pass."  After all, most people passed by validating very abstract statements which had nothing to do with their culpability.  Or am I thinking too much?
• Was anyone else taken aback that Alex couldn’t believe Morgan’s spy stories, after all she’s seen?  I wonder what Mekenna Melvin would have to say about all this…

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.04 "Chuck Vs. The Business Trip" Review

Last week's Chuck episode "Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips" re-introduced Mekenna Melvin into the mix as Alex McHugh, daughter to John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and love interest to Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez), who found herself coldly dumped via text message from an Intersect-affected and unfeeling Morgan.  But surely we've not see the last of Alex, no?

We recently had a chance to speak to the Chuck star on what's to come for Alex in Chuck's *supposedly* final season, and just how she'll ever get over that brutal "DMPD'd" text message"  Will Alex sign up with Carmichael Industries looking to exact vengeance on her man, or re-learn to love the bearded bandit?  And what of her father's new love interest, Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss)?

Read on for answers to these and more, and don't forget to watch Chuck's fifth season Friday nights at 8pm on NBC!

TVOvermind:  Thanks for talking to us, I’m sure you have a busy schedule.  Have the 13 episodes wrapped already, or are you still filming?

Mekenna Melvin:  We’re still filming, we’re on 10 and 11.

TVOvermind:  Okay, getting pretty close to the end!  Must be exciting.

Mekenna Melvin:  Getting close to the end!  Kind of bittersweet.

TVOvermind:  So we’ve seen the first three episodes, and you don’t really pop until the third, “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips.”  So how often will we expect to see you in these thirteen episodes?

Mekenna Melvin:  My character has a pretty good arc this year, I’m really excited about it.

TVOvermind:  What’s in store for Alex this year?

Mekenna Melvin:  Well obviously there’s a lot more stuff in terms of Alex and Morgan’s relationship that’s explored, a lot of hilarious, funny stuff now that Morgan has the Intersect, and how that plays into their relationship, as well as her relationship continuing to develop with her father, and it allows her to get mixed up into some fun situations where maybe people have to help her!

TVOvermind:  That’s something I was always curious about, because Alex was made aware of the spy world eventually, but it wasn’t really clear how much she knew about the Intersect.  Now that it’s Morgan, is she up to speed on everything?

Mekenna Melvin:  As the season goes on, everything in smaller ways becomes more and more clear to her.  But you’re exactly right, she kind of understands what goes on, but she’s not in the inner circle, she doesn’t know all the exact facts.  But obviously, as the season goes on and Morgan having the Intersect, a million different things happen the more information she finds out as she goes.

TVOvermind:  In “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips,” Morgan definitely does some damage to the relationship, is that something that gets fixed quickly, or takes a bit of time to undo?

Mekenna Melvin:  It takes some time, you’ve seen the episode!

TVOvermind:  Right, those tips really did a number on all of us.  So, you have such a physical background, you’re a first degree blackbelt and everything, I’m sure you’d love to get your hands dirty with some of the missions and action sequences.  Will Alex ever join the team in any capacity?  Now that they’re freelance, Alex wouldn’t need any government clearance.

Mekenna Melvin:  You’re exactly right, I would love to, that’s something that’s so much fun.  I had a blast the first season I was on, where I got to do a teeny little thing with Adam [Baldwin] where I got to kick his butt, and that was my highlight, I feel like that season.  But I don’t know!  We’ll see.  We still have a few more episodes, she definitely gets into the mix a little bit, but not particularly in the spy world, if that makes sense without giving anything away, which is really difficult to do!

TVOvermind:  Obviously another thing going on with her father is the Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) thing, Casey’s new love interest.  What’s Alex’s take on that?

Mekenna Melvin:  You know, I think Alex just really wants her father to be happy

TVOvermind:  Does that ever come into conflict with Alex’s own mother, Kathleen?

Mekenna Melvin:  Hmm…couldn’t tell you!

TVOvermind:  So now that Casey doesn’t technically belong to the government anymore, he’s freelance, how does that change the relationship with Alex?  Is there less secrecy between the two?

Mekenna Melvin:  Well, it wouldn’t be Chuck if there wasn’t secrecy.  That’s what allows all the comedic elements in a lot of ways, so there’s definitely still secrecy.

Keep reading For Mekenna's favorite Chuck moments, and more on what's to come in season 5!

Chuck Interview: Mekenna Melvin Promises 'Crazy Twists' For Final Season

Chuck season 5 zooms on its third entry with this week’s "Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips" as our favorite spy team at Carmichael Industries faces the Intersect-ed Morgan Grimes himself when the bearded agent gets too big for his britches, and joins up with Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) at Verbanski Corp.  Easily the strongest outing yet of Chuck season 5, the series still feels just a few "zooms" shy of greatness.

I confess that I’ve always loved Chuck, in spite of its flaws.  The show exudes a warmth and love of geek culture that frequently transcends its missteps with action /adventure, and it’s hard to judge a series when NBC so often batted its fate around, unable to properly develop story arcs that brew over a full season.  Season 4 even represented a step in the right direction as far as adding some much-needed maturity to the series, in spite of some failed executions (cough, Vivian Volkoff).

When the news broke that Chuck had definitively received a thirteen-episode fifth season, I felt little else but relief, that a clear endpoint would allow tighter, more meaningful storytelling, something “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips” proves to a T, or tip, rather.  I didn’t love the first two episodes of the season, but appreciated rather that they set up the grounds to unfurl here, a long awaited conflict between Chuck and Morgan for who deserves the spotlight (or the Intersect) more.

It’s a classic hero team drama, perfected in series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, asking what becomes of the hero’s ineffectual friends after years of facing danger and needing rescue – does one rise to the challenge and work to become a hero in their own right, or continue relying on a superpower for protection?  I don’t know that Morgan quite earned his status as a badass by accidentally inheriting the Intersect, but that’s the conflict we’re presented with in “Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips.”  Their roles reversed, Morgan finally antagonizing Chuck for his years in the spotlight feels like an honest progression of the narrative, even if it’s cheapened by being a “Trojan Horse” of the CIA’s design.

The fact that Chuck’s last two episodes set up the thread, and continue the plot into at least next week imbues me with great hope for Chuck’s fifth season, which already feels much more tightly woven and designed.  In some cases even the little things make a world of difference, Chuck himself largely holding his own in combat against an Intersected Morgan, or Ellie effortlessly brought in to consult now that she’s connected to the spy world.  Timing, and confidence in an endpoint for both the character and series always make for better Chuck.

But what would Chuck be if not for side stories outside of Carmichael Industries and the spy life, or a sense of light-hearted fun?  It grows harder and harder to justify their position within the narrative, particularly when neither Jeff nor Lester and the rest of the Buymore show any true character development.  Captain Awesome relegated to baby duty doesn’t generate the most exciting of B-stories either, but by episode’s end his ability to advise Morgan on losing your identity in your work felt like an earned, and heart-warming connection.  I’m less than sold on the idea of a sober Jeff automatically reverting to complete milquetoast, but I’m willing to see where the story goes.

Less effective I found to be Casey’s flummoxed courtship or returning Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss), mostly because we’re being sold on the idea that Casey conveniently holds a long-standing rivalry and unrequited boyish affection for a character we’d never heard of.  Don’t get me wrong, Casey stories are at their funniest placing the brutish Adam Baldwin out of his element in awkwardly frustrating situations, I’m just not crazy about this development arriving so late in the game, and steamrolling any history with Alex (Mekenna Melvin)’s mother Kathleen, or other past loves.  Yes, Casey’s erotically charged fight with Gertrude certainly ranks among the more classic Chuck moments to mix action, humor and romance, but it feels unfair of Chuck’s writers to toy with their audience by introducing plot threads we barely have time to develop.

As I mentioned before, Morgan’s bad behavior coming as a result of the Intersect’s programming cheapens what had up until then felt like real drama, even if it connects back to the history between Chuck and Morgan and puts a sweet bow on an otherwise flaccid turn.  Even then, what was Decker and the CIA’s endgame, even if Chuck had received the defective Intersect?  To have his identity slowly deleted to become a more manageable asset?  Hopefully the remaining ten episodes of the series shed a little light on the larger plan at work here.

Chuck earned our faith on the strength of its first two seasons, and the more effective offerings of its notoriously uncertain third and fourth, and I for one remain confident Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak can bring it home with style in season 5.

And Another Thing…

• Great to have General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) back, and Morgan’s always uproarious interactions with her.
• I had a chance to speak with Mekenna Melvin (Alex) recently, which we’ll post next week, so we’ll be seeing plenty of her in the coming weeks, too.
• Hello, Yvonne Strahovski in the morning.  Yowza.
• Of COURSE there would a bullet-time reference for Carrie Anne-Moss.
• Did…Devon really make Morgan put on a gown for that examination?  In his home?

What did YOU think?

Chuck 5.03 "Chuck Vs. The Frosted Tips" Review

Tonight is the night when out long, national nightmare finally comes to an end.  Chuck is back for it's fifth and final(?) season tonight at 8:00pm ET/PT on NBC.  The show, with a small, but intensely devoted fanbase, has managed to propel it to a 13-episode fifth season, a fact that would have been roundly derided and laughed at had someone propsed such a thing during the first couple seasons.  Nonetheless, we Chucksters have thirteen more hours to enjoy the exploits of our favorite accidental spy and his coterie of spies, villains, and wonderfully cheesy musician sidekicks.

When we last left Chuck, our hero married Sarah, Volkoff was defeated, Vivian Volkoff gave Chuck all of Volkoff Industries' holdings, Chuck & Sarah bought the Buy More and Castle to start their own private espionage business, Ellie and Captain Awesome knew Chuck was a spy, and....there was something else.......oh yeah, Morgan is the Intersect!  It is against this backdrop and major changes to the series that the show returns in "Chuck vs the Zoom."  Do these changes pay off?  Unfortunately, not in this episode.

"Chuck vs the Zoom" concerns Chuck's adjustment to his new life as a private spy, a husband, but perhaps most importantly, not the Intersect.  As one could imagine, this isn't the easiest adjustment to make for Chuck who has defined his previous four years, but also, to a certain extent, his worth, by the fact that he was an ass-kicking, world-saving super spy.  It is when dealing with Chuck's feelings that the season premiere is its strongest.  Where it falls short, however, is in the world Chuck now finds himself in.

After last season's finale, I was concerned with Morgan receiving the Intersect and the show shifting from being Chuck-centric to Morgan-centric.  My concerns did not lie in the execution of the storyline as Josh Gomez has been great in the series and the writers have always had a great handle on whatever craziness they have created.  If this first episode of the final season is typical of what is to come this season, my concerns have now been reversed.  As I described above, the episode was still, thankfully, focused on Chuck.  It was in the execution of Morgan-as-Intersect that it failed.  This isn't a criticism of Josh Gomez' performance.  Not at all.  He's still as good as he always was.  There is just something about the tone that seems off.

As Alan Sepinwall points out, perhaps it is a matter of the difficulty in stunt doubling for Josh Gomez as opposed to Zachary Levi, or an attempt to make sure Morgan stays "goofy" despite having Intersect skills, but most of the Morgan scenes seem like the creative team felt they had painted themselves into a corner, and are now working to quickly extricate themselves from their predicament.  This feeling bleeds over into other areas as well as storylines left over from last season are quickly dealt with, and not always well.

This all sounds like I hated the episode.  I did not.  It is an episode of Chuck after all, and I always enjoy Chuck's flailing (lotion hands!), Sarah in lingerie (!) and Casey's grunting (even if it is over a denigration of Rush Limbaugh).  Perhaps the creators really only have a 10-episode end-story that needs to be stretched into thirteen episodes.  Perhaps, and this is the most likely, I just have too high expectations for one of my favorite shows that every one of its final episodes will be in the series' pantheon of great episodes.  I haven't seen the next two episodes yet, but Sepinwall assures his readers that all is right with the Chuck universe come episode three.  I sincerely hope so, because I want this show to go out on a high note.  Chuck Bartowski deserves nothing less.

Grade for this episode: B-

Chuck 5.01 "Chuck vs the Zoom" Advance Review

Chuck returns tomorrow and we have some sneak peeks from the premiere to get you in the mood for the final season of this spy caper. Warning light spoilers ahead.

The first episode "Chuck vs. the Zoom" sees the team adjusting to their new freelance spy life and to the new Intereset. They no longer work for the CIA, but instead have formed the spy for hire company 'Carmichael Industries.' This is a competitive market and will see them competing against other groups.This includes 'Verbanski Corp' which is run by guest star Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix). Moss will be playing Gertrude Verbanski, who also happens to have a past with Casey (Adam Baldwin) that looks set to complicate things further.

Without the protection of the CIA it will make the missions all the more dangerous as their resources will certainly be limited. There is a further element of danger as the new Intersect is one Morgan Grimes (Joshua Gomez).

Like Chuck (Zachary Levi) before him, Morgan has a lot of learning to do when it comes to using the Intersect effectively and he too will get left behind when they go on missions. There will be times when he is required to save the day; this will not be a smooth process and I'm sure they are going to have fun with how Morgan will adapt to his new skill set. As seen in one of the sneak peeks below Morgan has decided to ditch the term 'flash' and has adopted his own name; 'zoom.' Are you looking forward to seeing Morgan in this new role?

The season opener will see the team facing a rich thief (guest star Mark Hamill) and a conniving investor (guest star Craig Kilborn), who has stolen some money from some very dangerous people. Away from the new spy business we will see Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) taking things to a whole new level with yet another scheme, what could it be this time? We will also see Chuck ask for Morgan's help with a special surprise for Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), this sounds like it could have disaster written all over it but it is good to see that Chuck still wants to spoil his new wife.

Are you looking forward to the return of Chuck? How do you feel about the show ending? Let us know in the comments section.

Updated: Read our advance review of the Chuck season 5 premiere here.

For more on Chuck check out the show page and watch the season 5 promo and three sneak peeks below.

Chuck returns Friday, September 28 at 8/7c on NBC.

Chuck Season 5 Sneak Peeks

The premiere for the fifth and final season of Chuck may have been bumped back a week but that hasn't stopped the guest star news from flowing. One big piece of casting news that has been expected was who would get the role of Sarah's (Yvonne Strahovski) mother; particularly as Chuck's (Zachary Levi) is played by cult and sci-fi heroine Linda Hamilton. In true Chuck tradition they have scored a similarly impressive actress with former Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd.

As first reported by TVLine Ladd will first appear as Sarah's estranged mother Emma in episode 8, which should air in January 2012. As with all the paternal relationships in this show, this looks like it will be a complicated and strained one thanks to her abandonment of Sarah when she was young. The pair haven't seen each other in five years and it is unclear as to what kind of background Sarah's mother will have, though I think we can expect a shady element. Sarah has been reluctant to open up about her past and I'm sure that this will be further explored and explained when Ladd appears. Also with Sarah's mother making an appearance does that mean that we will be getting some more Gary Cole screen time as Sarah's father? Hopefully this will be a yes.

Cheryl Ladd is not the only big guest star from a cult background that has been cast and the role call for season 5 includes; Carrie-Anne Moss, Mark Hamill, Rebecca Romijn, Jeff Fahey, Eric Lange, Danny Pudi and Justin Lange. I'm sure that there will be more names added to this list as the season progresses. Who would you like see added to the list? Are there any previous guest stars that you would like to see return? What are your thoughts on this piece of big casting news? Let us know in the comments.

For a sneak peek at the new season check out the promo below.

Chuck returns for the fifth and final series Friday, October 28 on NBC.

Chuck Season 5 Casting News: An Angel to Play Sarah's Mother

Chuck star Zachary Levi is stepping behind the camera once again as he will be directing an episode of the fifth and final season of the spy show. We also have details of Yvonne Strahovski's (Sarah) Maxim cover shoot for the October issue that is sure to get some attention for Chuck's final push.

This is not Levi's first time pulling double duty on the NBC show as he has directed two episodes in the past; "Chuck vs the Beard" (season 3, episode 9) and "Chuck vs the Leftovers" (season 4, episode 10). An NBC spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Levi will be directing the fifth episode of season 5 and whilst the episode details are light, we do know a couple of very exciting things.

Firstly it will be one of the episodes where spy rival and possible John Casey (Adam Baldwin) love interest Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) will appear as Gertrude Verbanski. Verbanski runs a company that is very similar to Chuck's own private spy organisation, so the two will be vying for similar assignments that will be made complicated by Verbanski's past with Casey. The other guest star of this episode will be Community's Danny Pudi who will have something to do with Lester (Vik Sahay). The details of Pudi's cameo are pretty vague and it appears as if they have been filed as 'Top Secret.' The episode begins shooting next week and should air mid-November.

In other Chuck related news Yvonne Strahovski covers the latest issue of Maxim magazine and discusses the final season of the show. Strahovski explains that because Chuck and Sarah are now married "there’s a whole new dynamic between them." Hopefully this means that there will be a lot less insecurity between the pair in regards to their relationship this season. Could the possibility of expanding their family also be on the horizon? Strahovski is clearly very grateful to the Chuck fans that have watched and fought for the show to stay on air saying:

"I can’t believe we made it this far. We’ve been on the bubble ever since we started, but our fans have really pushed for us to stay on-air. It’s nice to know that we’re working toward a real ending that isn’t like, “Uh, maybe we’re coming back?""

You can head to the Maxim site to read the full interview where Strahovski also discusses her new film Killer Elite (that also stars Robert De Niro and Jason Statham). The site also features a slideshow of images (see above for an example) and there is a behind the scenes video of the photo shoot which reveals a risqué fact about the shooting location.

Chuck returns Friday, October 21 for its fifth and final season on NBC.

Chuck Star Zachary Levi Steps Behind the Camera Again for Season 5

The last season of Chuck has started filming and Comic Con gave some hints as to what we can expect from season 5 (for Clarissa's full report head here). TVLine has just announced some more big casting news that will have major consequences for John Casey (Adam Baldwin). Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss will be guest starring in a multi-episode arc as both a rival and a love interest for Casey. Warning spoilers ahead.

Moss will be playing Gertrude Verbanski, a former spy who also runs a private firm 'Verbanski Corp'. This company happens to be the biggest competitor to Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah's (Yvonne Strahovski) new business venture. Along with this business rivalry Verbanski has a history with Casey and even though she is both "ruthless and deadly" her weak spot might be with a certain former NSA agent. Baldwin hinted at Comic-Con that Casey might be in for a treat this season saying "Casey has either met his match, or his love match."

So far Casey has not had that much luck in the love department; Kathleen (Clare Carey) his fiance and mother of his daughter Alex (Mekenna Melvin) believed that he had been killed in action and only found out that he was alive and living under a different name at the end of last season. Casey has also had intimate relations with Carina (Mini Anden) another spy and former member of the CAT Squad. Casey's true love up until now is with his job and duty to his country, that and his Crown Victoria.

Hopefully Casey will find some happiness in this final season of Chuck and it sounds like Gertrude Verbanski could be just the right woman for him.

Other guest stars from much beloved film projects that have already been announced for this season of Chuck include Mark Hamill (Star Wars) who will be playing the villain in the premiere. As this is the final year of Chuck I think we can expect more fantastic guest stars to be announced as filming continues.

The final season of Chuck premieres on NBC Friday, October 5 with "Chuck vs the Zoom."

Chuck Season 5 News: Will Casey Find Love?

Before we plunge into the season finale of Chuck, make sure you're caught up by reading last week's recap.

The finale begins five days ago.  Chuck and Sarah start freaking out a week before their wedding.  Sarah is worried about sharing her intimate feelings in front of a crowd.  What about a dry run, Chuck suggests.  They'll be ready for anything if they practice before hand.  Smash cut to the ER.  Ellie and Devon place Sarah in an ice bath to slow down her heart rate and any possible tissue damage caused by the Norseman.  They need to find the antidote for whatever radioactive "poison" was used on her.  Sarah rouses and says Chuck looks worried.  "Don't freak out, because we're ready for anything," she tells Chuck before falling back asleep.  Chuck tells her that he will fix this, and that they will be together.

Chuck turns to Casey and says only Volkoff, the creator of the Norseman, will now how to save Sarah.  It could take weeks to get him out, so they'll have to break him out.  They go to the penitentiary, but Volkoff is gone.  Casey goes pale when he hears the voice of Clyde Decker, the man the government sends to kill the guy who's supposed to rub out other agents.  Decker tells them that a wash program has been initiated for Agent X and Operation Bartowski.  Chuck is ordered to stand down, but he refuses.  "You may be a hard ass," Chuck retorts to Decker, "but I am the Intersect."  Chuck smashes the monitor on which Decker has appeared.  "Let's move," he tells Casey as they depart.

Ellie calls Chuck to say Sarah's temperature is down but not stabilizing.  She's breathing on her own, but she still shows signs of deep radiation poisoning.  She has about twelve hours.  Chuck, Casey and Mary meet General Beckman.  She informs them that Decker is moving Volkoff, and they have an hour head start.  Chuck asks if they can they still get into Castle?  Beckman give them her Level 4 Clearance passkey so they can get in.  Chuck wants the Nighthawk super motorcycle even though he has never ridden a motorcycle, but he flashes the skills necessary and straps on the helmet.

Chuck hits the road, with Mary admonishing him for driving so fast.  Decker, transporting Volkoff in a large truck, tells his prisoner that he has come in peace.  The transfer is because they want to test him regarding Agent X.  Chuck comes up on the transport truck.  Decker tells Volkoff that his name is really Hartley Winterbottom, but Volkoff doesn't believe him.  Decker places a pair of glasses on Volkoff and he sees Intersect-like flashes.  Chuck tells Casey to "light it up," and the cycle fires guns that disable the truck.  Chuck rides into the back and releases Volkoff, but Volkoff doesn't know who he is.  When Decker comes to (he had been knocked out by the blasts from the Nighthawk), he tells Chuck that Volkof isn't Volkoff anymore: he's Hartley Winterbottom again.  Chuck locks Decker in the cell and tries to make his escape with Hartley, but he is nervous to get on the motorcycle.  Hartley holds tight as he and Chuck make their escape.

Hartley sees a picture of Ronald Reagan in Casey's apartment and wonders if he's still in charge.  "If only...," replies Casey.  Hartley wonders what he has been doing for the last thirty years, but Chuck doesn't have time to open that can of worms at the moment.  He needs Hartley to remember if there is an antidote.  Hartley explains that the Norseman was built alongside the Intersect.  "Peace with violence," he notes.  Chuck tells Hartley about Vivian, and that mistakes were made that made her Chuck's enemy.  Hartley, of course, agrees to help Sarah, and can mix up the antidote in no time.

While Sarah is asleep, Chuck holds her hand and flashes back to he and Sarah practicing their vows.  Sarah says that Chuck is a gift she never dreamed she could want or need, but will spend every day proving he is a gift she deserves.  Chuck is dumbstruck by her vows.  What she said was so perfect; he needs to rewrite his vows.  Ellie tells him that the antidote has bought Sarah some time, but her temperature is still rising.  Mary members that Volkoff was developing a next stage antidote called Lead Curtain.  Hartley remembers it, but it's in Moscow.  Ellie estimates that Sarah has maybe a day, so they have to be quick.   Chuck, Casey, Hartley and Mary leave the hospital, but are met outside by Decker.  Decker pulls his gun on Chuck, noting that he can't outrun a bullet.  Chuck flashes his Chuck Fu and disarms Decker and a couple of his men, but others use stun gums on him, dropping Chuck into submission.

Morgan tells stories of his and Chuck's childhood to an unconscious Sarah to show that Chuck never gives up.  Chuck is an interrogation room where he pleads to let him save Sarah.  Decker tells him that he is fired and the Buy More will be sold.  The whole operation is being shut down.  Decker then tries to put "suppression" glasses on Chuck to take the Intersect away.  Chuck tries to keep his eyes closed because he needs the Intersect to save Sarah, but agents pry them open -- the Intersect is gone. 

Casey then meets with Decker.  Casey is to convince Chuck and Mary that the mission is over.  No one can know about Hartley/Volkoff, Decker tells him.  Casey replies that he isn't going to abandon Sarah.  He knows that once he makes a move to leave, Decker can kill them all and say he was a hero.  Decker sneers that Casey will be an enemy of the state.  Casey answers that he isn't worried about being the bad guy.  He flips the table over on Decker, disarms two agents, grabs some guns, and frees Chuck, Mary and Hartley. 

Casey tells Chuck that he needs to get to Russia with Hartley to retrieve the super antidote.  Chuck says he doesn't have the Intersect anymore.  Casey says he is Chuck Bartowski, the second best spy he has ever worked with, and they need to save the best one.  Hartley will have to pretend to still be Volkoff: a conniving, manipulative monster.  Hartley is shocked to hear he was such a man.  He figures out that they didn't tell him earlier because he, Hartley as Volkoff, has turned Vivian into Volkoff herself.  

Casey gives Chuck new untraceable identities he had kept for an emergency so he and Sarah can disappear.  Is Chuck ever going to see his mom again?  "Not if everything goes right," she replies.  Morgan is told to take out the CIA agent guarding Sarah's room.  Ellie suggests Devon take the guy out, but Morgan protests, saying he is the active spy, so Devon should play "The Magnet" and distract the agent for Morgan's decisive blow.  Devon goes to the agent and talks to him while Morgan psyches himself up by cracking his neck and preparing a karate move.  When he stops though, scared by what he has to do, Devon sees the hesitation and punches the agent out himself.

Moscow.  Chuck and Hartley enter Volkoff Industries.  "It's very...stark," notes Hartley.  Chuck tells him to think angry thoughts and not say much.  He should tell the receptionist he is there to see Vivian.  Hartley hesitates, thinking hte plan will fail.  Chuck swears his plans always work, so why is Hartley freaking out?  Hartley responds, what does he say to a daughter he's never met?  A daughter he has set on such an disastrous path?  He's sorry, Hartley says, but he can't see her, and runs out.  The receptionist addresses Chuck in Russian and then English, asking him who he is.  He takes off his disguise and says he is Chuck Bartowski and would like to see Vivian Volkoff.  "What is this in regard to?" the receptionist asks.  "She wants to kill me," replies Chuck.

Chuck enters Vivian's office.  She can't believe Chuck showed up unarmed.  "Stupid, but bold," she coolly states.  Chuck asks for the super antidote.  He is there to plead for Sarah's life.  He is out of plans and clever tricks; the woman he loves is dying and he can only hope Vivian hasn't completely become this evil person.  Vivian pulls a gun on Chuck and says everything he has ever done has been to manipulate her.  Why should she believe her father is a good man now?

Hartley enters and apologizes to Vivian, but she doesn't want to hear it.  He made her his succession plan!  Chuck insists she is a good person, but Vivian replies that she killed Sarah in cold blood.  Chuck, sensing an opening, replies that Sarah is not dead yet: Vivian can still save her.  Vivian says she cant go back; she is Volkoff Industries now.  Chuck has an idea.  He gives her the new identities Casey gave him.  She and Hartley can disappear and be the good people they truly are.  Hartley protests, those identities are so he and Sarah can be safe, but Chuck doesn't care -- all that matters is Sarah's survival.  Hartley warns Vivian that if she pulls the trigger, she will lose herself forever.  "You can still change," Chuck tells her.

At the hospital, Ellie says her brother is cutting it close.  Outside, Mary, Casey and Morgan sit in a car, surveying Decker and his men surrounding the building.  Morgan says Chuck will think of something.  The CAT Squad then shows up.  Morgan called them when Sarah went into the hospital.  Decker gets radioed that something is arriving by air.  In parachutes Chuck.  He says he has the antidote and to let him in.  Decker's men pull their guns, but so too do Casey, Mary, Morgan(!) and the CATs.  Decker brings in more men to surround our heroes.  Chuck knows this move, but they have a move too, called The Magnet.  Chuck looks up and notes the dozens of Russian soldiers parachuting in, "care of Volkoff Industries."  "Russians," Casey shudders with horror, "so many Russians." 

Decker's men stand down.  "You really are a traitor," says Decker.  Chuck says he has the file on Agent X, Decker and everything else, so if Decker tries to stop Chuck or his family, Chuck will expose him and the whole program.  Decker tells Chuck that he is fires, but Chuck retorts that he quits.  Chuck bolts for Sarah's room.  Intercut are flashes of their practice exchange of rings, their practice first kiss, etc.  He gives Ellie the super antidote so she can administer it.  Chuck grabs Sarah's hand and prays, repeating "It's not too late" over and over.

But Wait...There's More on Page 2!!

Chuck 4.24 "Chuck vs the Cliffhanger" Recap

I'm sure all true Chucksters have heard the great news, but in case you didn't, Chuck has been picked up for a 13-episode final season debuting this September.  Further, the show is being moved to Friday nights at 8:00pm ET/PT and is being paired with NBC's new fairy-tale tinged drama Grimm, in an attempt to kickstart scripted programming on that night.  Of course, we Chuck fans would have loved a full 22-episode season pick-up, but I think a great thirteen episodes which give Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak a chance to wrap up the series in the way they want to is quite the blessing.  Especially because from what I hear about tonight's finale, there are going to be some EPIC stories to wrap up!

That's right, tonight's season finale "Chuck vs the Cliffhanger" is, apparently, aptly titled, with critics who have reviewed it already rather excited about the possibilities that are opened by episode's end.  Not as if we needed any more reason to watch, with Sarah possibly killed by Vivian Volkoff, the prospect of Chuck enlisting her father to help him defeat Vivian, and Chuck's desire to complete his father's work and fix Agent X.  Remember, the show airs at 8:00pm ET/PT tonight on NBC.

To get you in the mood for our favorite accidental spy's season finale, check out the clips below.  I'll be back tomorrow morning with my recap of "Chuck vs the Cliffhanger."  Enjoy!

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Chuck Sneak Peeks: Season Finale "Chuck vs. the Cliffhanger"

Chuck dodges more bullets than pretty much every other spy combined. The NBC show, which has a small but strong fan following, is reportedly in talks to get a 13 episode order for next season, according to TV Line.

The action comedy series, which stars Zachary Levi as unwitting spy Chuck Bartowski, has dodged the axe several times when it comes to cancellation. The chopping block perhaps came closest in 2009, when NBC delayed the renewal of the bubble series. Chuck fans decided to retaliate by buying footlong Subway sandwiches on the day of the premiere (Subway being a chain that had significant product placement in the series). It worked, and Chuck's been chugging along as the Little Show That Could ever since.

Star Yvonne Strahovski stated that she would be "surprised" if Chuck didn't get the pick up for a fifth season, though after Tuesday night's "Foxpocalypse" (which saw FOX canceling several bubble shows), fans were nervously hoping the Peacock network wouldn't do the same. Luckily, the spy series will live to fight on another day. The show will return "for at least thirteen episodes" in the next season, according to TVLine's Michael Ausiello.

Chuck's fourth season finale, "Chuck Vs. The Cliffhanger" will air on Monday, May 16.

Will NBC Renew Chuck for a Fifth Season? Likely

We're in the home stretch of this (final??) season of Chuck.  If you missed Chuck and Sarah's bachelor and bachelorette parties, read about the goings on here.

This week's episode begins with Mary Bartowski rappelling into a vault to snag Norseman killing device, but she shoots back up when Vivian Volkoff and Riley enter.  A scientist tells them that he has finished construction of the device.  Riley wants to test it, so he loads in the scientist's DNA and kills him with a high pitch sound that melts the scientist's brain.  Vivian wants to use the device immediately to eliminate Agent X, but Riley says Volkoff Industries needs a public face to inspire fear; she shouldn't get her hands dirty, yet.  She thanks him for his guidance.  After they leave, Mary rappels back in, but is stopped by Riley and Vivian. Riley introduces Vivian to Mary, aka Frost.

Over in Echo Park, Sarah wakes up and asks Chuck if he knows what they have to do today.  Nothing.  They have a day off from the CIA to focus on their wedding.  She's sorry they have so much left to do, but staging a coup is keeping her bridesmaids (the CAT Squad) from helping out.  That's OK, Chuck says, because Morgan, Ellie and Devon are picking up the slack. Sarah says everything is perfect and nothing could go wrong.  "Why did you say that?!?" Chuck asks.  Immediately, they hear a scream bellow from Morgan, who it turns out, is hanging upside down from a balcony.  Devon tells him to go limp and fall into his arms.  Instead, Chuck flashes, scales the building, saves Morgan and flips back down.

Morgan enters his apartment and finds Casey promising Alex he "will take care of it."  Morgan tells Alex he is very excited to have her as his very beautiful date to the wedding.  Casey is thankfully saved from the shmoopiness by a text from General Beckman.  "Oh no," says Casey before knocking on Chuck's door. Chuck recognizes Casey's look when he opens the door. Chuck and Sarah have a wedding to prepare.  "Your mom might not be able to make it," Casey informs him, "because she's been taken by Vivian Volkoff.

In Castle, Sarah and Chuck review files and try to figure out why Mary was going after Vivian.  Chuck flashes on a mine in Colombia that could be where Vivian is hiding out.  Sarah says she's ready to go, but Chuck says he needs his Best Man, too.  Chuck finds Morgan upstairs in the Buy More. Morgan wants to help save Chuck's mom, but needs him to do something more important: create a wedding video of Chuck and Sarah.  The problem is, Sarah has no childhood photos, so can Morgan Photoshop her in to some of the places she's been?  That should be no problem.  After Chuck departs, Big Mike, Jeff and Lester approach Morgan.  They have hours of Sarah footage. Morgan agrees to give the guys first cut in exchange for the footage.

Morgan enters Castle and tells Casey that he has taken care of his Best Man duties so he can go on the mission.  Casey tells him he's not coming.  With that, the team heads for Colombia.  Where do they start looking?  They follow heavily-armed security toward the mine, and sit down at a cafe.  With Casey providing watch, Chuck and Sarah follow some guards, take their clothes, then march Casey off in cuffs toward the mine.  Chuck refers to him as Chewy, but Sarah misses the Star Wars reference.  Chuck begins to explain, but cuts himself off by saying, "Oh, I love you, honey."  As they march into the mine, Casey says, "I've got a bad feeling about this," completing the Star Wars references.

They try to put Casey in a cell, but the head guard says they don't have the proper paperwork.  In a nice Terminator: 2 reference, they see Mary doing pull ups on a security camera.  Chuck tries to get in by saying he's trying to impress Sarah, so the head guard tells him to beat up his prisoner, a trick that has worked for him with the ladies before.  Chuck gives Casey a wide-eyed "Sorry buddy" look, and then punches Casey in the face...twice.  The guard is impressed, but then insults Sarah, leading Chuck to knock him out to defend her honor.

The trio get into Mary's cell, but she says she can't leave yet because she needs the Norseman.  Chuck and Sarah should head home and prepare for the wedding -- she'll just endure a couple rounds of torture and figure out a way to get free.  Chuck tells Sarah to stay with his mom while he goes with Casey to find the Norseman.  Casey finds it interesting that Chuck chose his mom over his fiancee.  He tells Chuck to remember: Sarah is the one he'll be waking up next to each day.

Chuck and Casey discover that the Norseman isn't there: Vivian is planning a meet-up to sell the device.  Vivian and Riley enter Mary's cell.  Riley wants Mary dead, but he wants Vivian to do it.  When Vivian trains her gun on Mary, Sarah pulls her gun on them, allowing Mary to disarm Vivian.  Chuck and Casey enter with word on the Norseman.  Vivian realizes that the man who betrayed her, Chuck, is the son of the woman that betrayed her father.  Chuck tries to tell her that he has much to explain about that, but she doesn't believe him.  Casey warns that the guards will be on to them soon, so he orders the team to leave, locking Vivian and Riley in the cell.

Sarah and Chuck drive in silence.  Chuck knows he messed up, but he was trying to keep everyone safe.  Sarah says she knows, but she feels he always keeps her safe except from his mom.  They get a text to come to Castle.  General Beckman wants them to disrupt the Norseman sale.  They will pose someone as a buyer who will purchase the device and just walk out with it.  Chuck notes that Vivian knows all three of them, so they can't do it.  Fortunately, Interpol had detained potential buyer Ettore la Barba, a bearded, 5'6" Italian arms dealer.  Does la Barba remind them of anyone?

Mary and Sarah bicker over who will assist Morgan on the mission.  Chuck asks if Mary knows about Agent X being Alexei Volkoff.  Sarah insists she and Chuck will handle Morgan while Mary provides back-up.  Mary begins to protest, but Chuck agrees with Sarah.  As a fight begins to erupt, Morgan steps in to tell Chuck that there may be an issue with the wedding video he was supposed to create.  Upstairs, Lester shows his Chuck and Sarah video to Ellie and Devon, who are horrified by Lester as a video auteur.  Perhaps they were disturbed by the random shots of Lester in a nude body-stocking with large, red lips over his crotch floating over images of Chuck and Sarah.

Downstairs in Castle, Morgan perfects his Italian accent, and is insulted by Casey for trying.  Morgan wonders why Casey has been so hard on him lately.  The Colonel admits that it is because of Alex.  He doesn't want to see Morgan hurt as it will destroy her.  If he can't protect Morgan, that would break a promise to his daughter.  Morgan says nothing will go wrong, and then immediately realizes he jinxed the mission.

But Wait...There's More on Page 2!!

Chuck 4.23 "Chuck vs the Last Details" Recap