'Chuck': The Wookiee with the golden gun
Oct 16, 2007, 09:51 AM | by Kate Ward
Categories: Mini TV Watch, Television
Maybe there just wasn't enough Chellie in last night's episode for me to think otherwise, but I'm beginning to think I may have misjudged Shuck last week. Though their budding romance seemed a bit contrived, the last few minutes of last night's show proved that Yvonne Strahovski and Zachary Levi actually do have quite a bit of chemistry. Not only did we see Sarah perform quite well at a Newlyweds-esque game at Chuck and Ellie's apartment, but it also seemed she might be finally letting go of Bryce. After all, she did imply that she was quite happy in her current setting. But how heartbreaking was it to see Chuck fruitlessly begging Sarah to tell him something true about herself? Of course, she ultimately refused, but the look on her face — and her quiet confession that her real middle name is Lisa — indicated that it's not that easy for Sarah to maintain an emotional barrier between Chuck and herself.
Perhaps all I needed was a little romantic rival to help me become a true believer in Shuck. And this rival came in the form of yet another gorgeous spy named Karina (they must grow on trees in Chuck's world). But if Karina made anything clear during last night's episode, it's that Sarah has a difficult time separating work and her personal life. Sure, we get that Sarah may harbor a little crush for our title guy, but being that her last relationship was with Bryce, should we assume that Sarah is pulling an Angelina by falling for her coworkers? Or are her feelings for Chuck more genuine?
Either way, Sarah had to divert her attention away from Chuck this week in order to rein in Karina, an agent who, according to Sarah, tends to seek trouble. And judging by the way she greeted Sarah in her swanky apartment (a "hello" would have done just fine), I would say our CIA agent has her fit to a T. But Karina wanted more from Sarah than just a good ol' chick fight — she needed her help locating and stealing a supposed drug diamond in Malibu.
But Karina couldn't resist ruffling Sarah's feathers before the mission began. The agent attempted to seduce Sarah's "boyfriend," but instead opted to just inform the Nerd Herder of Sarah and Bryce's former relationship. And Karina's tactics definitely worked: Though Chuck probably should have realized that Karina was trying to turn him against Sarah, you couldn't blame the guy for being upset. After all, not only did Sarah bend the truth about her connection to Bryce, but her usual obsession with trust made the lie all the more hypocritical and egregious.
But alas, feelings had to be put aside in order to save the world, and Sarah, Karina, Chuck, and Casey took off to the Malibu beach house that held the diamond and its owner, named Peyman (or Senõr Wookiee, depending who you ask). Chuck — dressed like he stepped off the set of Miami Vice — and the two women managed to find themselves face-to-face with the diamond, and quickly hatched a successful plan to steal the rock. While the threesome fled the scene, Chuck proved he was tired of trusting a secretive Sarah, and opted to give the diamond to Karina, against Sarah's wishes. Of course, Chuck chose unwisely, and the black bikini-clad Karina made like a bizarro Ursula Andress and ran into the water to board a nifty jet ski, leaving Shuck high and dry.
Speaking of Honey Ryder, is it me, or did last night's episode seem to have quite a few 007 inspirations? Not only did Sarah and Karina mimic good and bad Bond girls, respectively, but we even had a villain with a golden gun. Scratch that — a Wookiee with a golden gun. And Peyman put the weapon to good use when holding Sarah and Casey hostage for the diamond, which — as Chuck discovers via his brain/computer — was actually being used as collateral for a terrorist organization. But thanks to a FedEx package, and Karina's eventual turnaround, the diamond got back into the government's hands, and the terrorist network subsequently fell apart.
Though last night's show definitely lived up to expectations, there wasn't nearly enough Casey and Captain Awesome to provide laughs to a relatively emotional episode. I understand that Morgan is intended to be Chuck's comic relief, but Joshua Gomez's schtick is beginning to wear a little thin, particularly when the rest of the cast is so incredibly strong.
What do you think, Popwatchers? Are you growing tired of Morgan? What exactly do you think happened in Prague between Casey and Karina? When do you think Sarah will finally realize that she's digging our title character? And finally, what do you think Captain Awesome was up to while Chuck & Co., were busy saving the world?
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