(S02E08) "You already broke my heart, is it necessary to shoot it as well?" - Chuck to JillIt must be a Thanksgiving thing because Monday night TV was tremendous. And as I mentioned in my post of thanks, I'm grateful to my DVR because in addition to enjoying this Chuck episode, I also gorged myself on How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and Samantha Who, all of them excellent installments. How lucky can you get?
Well, if you're Chuck, you only get so much luck. Of all the girls in all the world, why did his first love, the lovely Jill, have to turn out to be a spy? Make that a bad girl spy.
Poor Chuck was just getting some serious booty, when the damn truth came out about Jill, the intersect kicked in and Jill, the Fulcrum agent, code name Sandstorm, emerged. We learned much of her badness in the last episode. In this one, we learned along with Chuck, if he and Jill had a shot at a future together.
The gravitron of the title was the set piece for a carnival scene in which Chuck faced peril -- again. In typical Chuck style, the nerd used his guile and quirks to save his skin. Thank goodness for that Stanford education because Chuck is often facing down the barrel of a gun.
The carnival setting was very Alfred Hitchcock -- Strangers On A Train -- as well as Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai, with the hall of mirrors scene. In the scene at the top of the ferris wheel, Jill pulled the seduction scene just the Sarah said she would, and still Chuck fell for it. I love Chuck, but does he have to always seem to be such a romantic dope? There are times when you just want to smack him. Of course, Sarah warns him later not to lose that soft, mushy center, but there are times when I wish he'd be more circumspect.
Ultimately, Chuck's affinity for all things geeky -- as indicated by his having read the Castle manual which looks like a very large copy of the Bible -- he's able to double cross the Fulcrum agents who have double crossed him to gain entry into the Castle in the first place. Before all that, though, we had Jill strapped to a lie detector, a la Meet the Parents. Yes, there were a lot of movie references in this episode, which I love.
Even the final encounter between Jill and Chuck had movie overtones. Chuck let Jill believe that he would let her get away -- and he said he might have if she hadn't threatened to kill Sarah -- but would he really have gone off with her? Would Sam Spade let Brigid O'Shaughnessy play him for a sap in The Maltese Falcon? No, she was bad and she had to pay. So, too, does Jill.
Big Mike enlisted Morgan into the "lonely bastard patrol" at Buy More -- with Jeff and Lester -- locking them in the store to keep the Black Friday merchandise from being robbed. When faced with a plastic, microwave turkey dinner, Morgan opted to make a break to get a real turkey, even if it is in Ellie's garbage (a Seinfeld moment). Before he can get out, though, he gets trapped in the electric door (Young Frankenstein), then when he's finally on the other side of the glass, Morgan and Lester's goodbye pays homage to the scene from The Wrath of Khan between Spock and Kirk, only without the tears.
How funny was it that Morgan salivated over the sight of a roast turkey, not Ellie's oh-so-attractive, clingy sweater? It was great that the Awesomes canceled and Chuck's friends could share Thanksgiving with his family. Only where was Casey? Come on, Sarah was there. That was the only moment that bothered me all night.
Chuck' Show & Cast Photos
- CHUCK Adam Baldwin as Major John Casey stars in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Adam Baldwin as Major John Casey stars in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Michael Clarke Duncan as Colt and Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker star in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski and Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker star in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski and Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker star in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski, Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker and Michael Clarke Duncan as Colt star in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski stars in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski stars in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski and Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker star in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC CHUCK Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker stars in the episode "Chuck vs. the First Date." Airs Monday, September 29, 2008. NBC
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-25-2008 @ 1:00AM
Daniel said...
I think the ending was actually kind of poor; I mean there was a few nice one-liners, but beyond that I was disappointed.
First of all, if Jill didn't think there was a chance for her and Chuck (as evidenced by the "Negative" lie detector result), why would she ask him to run off with him?
Secondly, and more importantly: if I recall correctly, it was Sarah who started chasing Jill with a gun ... I mean, wouldn't it be kind of weird if Jill wasn't pointing a gun back at Sarah? Chuck's reason for locking her up seemed kind of flimsy (not that she didn't deserve to be locked up, but he said it was only because of one reason). More on that point: it seems very un-Chuckly for Chuck to have trapped Jill after Jill agreed to trust him. So ... Jill was going to shoot Sarah, who had been chasing her, but then she didn't, so she deserves to be arrested.
How long is the prison sentence for ... idk, treason? i guess life?
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11-25-2008 @ 1:45AM
ussilov said...
dude,dan, are you serious? why would she ask him to "run off" with her? probably the same reason she had when she double crossed him(twice)a few moments before. and i believe the penalty for treasons hangin',"Chuck! get a rope!" lol! just bustin' yer whatevers bro. one person i saw missing at dinner was morgans girlfriend, or did they split and i not notice?
11-25-2008 @ 4:13AM
Cyantre said...
Wow, it's great having someone review the show that picks up on all of these movie and TV references. It's like Psych with all of the 80's references. Great review and lots of cool information. Thanks Allison.
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11-25-2008 @ 8:53AM
Key Rick said...
Made me sad that Casey was not at the Thanksgiving table, too. Psyched, though, next episode looks Casey oriented; him against his mentor.
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11-25-2008 @ 8:55AM
JND said...
Three words- UNLEASH THE CASEY!!!!
I cannot wait for next week's episode.
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11-25-2008 @ 9:23AM
Michelle said...
@ussilov - Morgan said that Anna was out of town with her parents, during the whole "I'm not invited?" bit...
Man, this show just keeps getting better and better.
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11-25-2008 @ 10:17AM
Mike said...
All in all I was pretty 'meh' about the whole episode. Caught the Star Trek II reference, and loved both "unleash the Casey" and "you're under arrest - and I'm breaking up with you". Other than that, not so much.
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11-25-2008 @ 11:13AM
George said...
Something you didn't address that I really liked: the subtle suggestions (perhaps misdirection, perhaps not) that the Awesomes are somehow associated with Fulcrum. Consider the following:
1. Chuck wonders who else close to him will turn out to be a spy.
2. The Awesomes are coming to town at the very same time as Fulcrum's "Leader", possibly suggesting that one of them is "Leader"... which turns out not to be the case.
3. The Awesomes, who we learn are also doctors, cancel their Thanksgiving plans shortly after "Leader" is shot. Could they be providing emergency aid to "Leader"?
4. Looks like no, unless they'd already escaped / hadn't arrived by the time Sarah and Casey reached the Fulcrum medical facility.
I think there's still major potential for interesting developments.
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11-26-2008 @ 1:19PM
Dan said...
Awesome points...we really don't know much about Awesome, and his awesomeness would definitely make him a good spy. He's a Dr., so he's cleary smart enough...
11-25-2008 @ 12:53PM
S said...
Does anyone know what happened to Anna? I haven't seen her in any of the episodes lately.
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11-25-2008 @ 1:00PM
S said...
..and I'm talking about in the cast, not necessarily in the story line.
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11-25-2008 @ 1:04PM
Kim said...
I liked the ending. Although Chuck didn't get the girl, he did get closure with the relationship on his terms. Good for him!
I'm looking forward to next week. Casey is one of my favorite characters and it's about time we get to learn a little more about him. Did anyone notice that his mentor is being played by the same actor who was Sydney Bristow's mentor Marcus Dixon in Alias?
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11-25-2008 @ 3:01PM
ac said...
Anyone else love Big Mike saving Casey's ass in the end?
Also as to why Casey wasn't at dinner: He is Casey. Does Casey seem like the type to sit down with friends for a nice dinner? No, he in his apartment cleaning his gun probably.
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