(S02E11) "This store has a very strict 'no bravery' policy." Chuck to Ned, gun-toting lunaticWere you expecting a cameo by Bruce Willis on Chuck tonight? I was. The moment I saw Reginald VelJohnson in cop blues as Al, I just expected that John McClane might turn up at the Buy More looking to buy an iPod for his daughter or maybe a toaster for ex-wife Holly.
Yes, the connection to Die Hard was a major theme, especially with the Buy More staff (and Chuck's family) being held hostage by Ned, a supposed down-on-his-luck schlub who ends a high speed chase through L.A. by driving his compact through the entrance of the store.
All that might have been an exciting enough episode, but no, the Intersect had to be activated. And that led to some pretty major developments in Chuck's relationship with Sarah.
Sarah was all set to have a blue Christmas, intensified by last week's appearance and subsequent abandonment (yet again) of her father. As she told Chuck, Christmas memories for Sarah involved a Salvation Army con job, not the happy, heartwarming invitation Chuck extends.
Then when Bing Crosby was singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and everyone was calling loved ones (Jeff called someone in State Prison; Lester called a phone sex line), Sarah had nothing...until Chuck called her. And he gave her his mother's charm bracelet as a Christmas gift.
You got to love Chuck's puppy-dog sweetness, his willingness to please. But did his seeing Sarah in action spoil his love for her forever? That would seem to be the question posed at the finale. Of course, once Chuck revealed to Mauser that he's the Intersect, he said too much.
For me, the answer is no way. Sarah did the right thing -- her duty -- by killing Michael Rooker's character, Mauser, the Fulcrum agent. He's apparently not just any Fulcrum guy; he claims that every other agent will be out to get him and when he's found, he'll tell them all about Chuck and seal his fate, as in KILL HIM.
Now, Sarah has a license to kill -- just like James Bond. Sure, her first moral move is to apprehend the bad guy and bring him to justice. However, in this instance, she had to kill Mauser. Her objective as stated over and over is to protect the Intersect. Mauser had to die. Whether Chuck can accept Sarah the way she is and what she's done, however, remains to be seen. I have more confidence in Morgan and Anna reconciling. What do you think?
Interesting points of interest:
-- It's been 20 years since Die Hard was released. Seems like yesterday.
-- Did you catch the Twinkies connection? In Die Hard, Al buys Twinkies at a 7-11 before the Nakamura building crisis. In Chuck, before the car crashes into the store, Big Mike (Al's cousin) takes a big bite of a Twinkie and so does Al.
-- Last week's show featured a high rise L.A. office building that some commentators thought was as homage to Die Hard's Nakatomi building. You guys were right about that connection.
-- Final Die Hard reference: the Christmas music and Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
-- Christmas at the Bartowskis includes a Twilight Zone marathon. I'm in!
-- Did you recognize Ned, played Jed Rees? He was one of the main aliens in Galaxy Quest.
-- Casey is never going to forgive Chuck to his little toe. Although did Ned, who was in fact a skilled marksman, mean to shoot John in the foot?
-- Drinking game: if you took a shot every time they used the phrase "friends and family," you were plastered after 20 minutes.
-- Poor Morgan: he finally does something brave and Anna comforts Lester. Of course, he missed her reaction after Lester kissed her.
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 2)
12-16-2008 @ 10:17AM
Richard said...
I usually watch Chuck before my wife gets home from work--she's not a Chuck fan. I told her, this episode was GOOD--this explains why everyone loves Chuck. I caught VelJohnson right away and, yes, I was looking for Bruce Willis. It was a great episode.
Reply
12-16-2008 @ 10:39AM
Eric D. said...
Yes, Ned meant to shoot Casey -- Fulcrum knew that Casey and Sarah were agents, so they orchestrated the hostage situation to get them out of the Buy More.
Jeff asked for "Prisoner Number XXXXX" -- also known as "Mom"...
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12-16-2008 @ 10:41AM
Aaron said...
Was Ned's name Ned Ryerson as in the insurance salesman from groundhog day? And VelJohnson wasn't just Al he was Al Powell, same name from Die Hard. Plus there was the "how you hangin in there partner" speach.
Die Hard is my favorite christmas movie, I love that they had so many references in this episode.
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12-16-2008 @ 2:04PM
Jussup said...
Yeah, I caught the Groundhog Day reference as well Aaron. This show makes me want to rewatch season one to see all of the references I missed the first time through!
12-16-2008 @ 10:42AM
jonashpdx said...
while the episode had a number of Die Hard references, don't forget the homages to that other Los Angeles Christmas classic, Lethal Weapon! Not only did they play Jingle Bell Rock over the opening and throughout the episode, but there was a pursuit and standoff in a Christmas tree lot and, hell, if you really stretch it, Casey got shot in the leg, just like Murtaugh would've done...
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12-16-2008 @ 10:49AM
Grover said...
for me, I saw Carl Winslow (Family Matters) right away... I am aware of the Die Hard connections... now.
Great ep, great show
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12-16-2008 @ 11:07AM
Ryan said...
Yeah I don't get Chuck. I mean sure he's probably not as desensitized to violence as I am, but he has been around guns, explosions, and death since becoming the Intersect so you'd think it wouldn't be such a BIG THING with him.
Okay, maybe he's reacting more to Sarah pulling that trigger. But again, so what? She's a trained agent and he knows that even if he wants to be in denial about it. And her #1 job is to protect the Intersect at all cost.
It's a bit unfair for Chuck to judge Sarah because of this. But then again, maybe he's only reacting to her lying to him. Which I can give him, but he was perturbed even before she lied to him, so...
BUT neither here nor there. Good episode. I like episodes when the whole cast are together and doing something. And while Emmett gets on my nerves, him talking about the deep sales in the store in front of the cameras was hilarious.
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12-16-2008 @ 11:10AM
Leah said...
Ned and Chuck? I think the writers are Pushing Daisies fans.
Great episode. Loved the Die Hard stuff. Sad that Chuck's vision of Sarah is broken. :(
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12-16-2008 @ 11:15AM
Gill Garcia said...
-- Did you catch the Twinkies connection? In Die Hard, Al buys Twinkies at a 7-11 before the Nakamura building crisis. In Chuck, before the car crashes into the store, Big Mike (Al's cousin) takes a big bite of a Twinkie and so does Al.
Totally loved that part! I had a good laugh and I was wondering if John MacLane was going to make an appearance! It was a good tie in with the store manager as well each saying their cousin would take care of the situation.
I heart this show!
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12-16-2008 @ 11:23AM
Wu Kong said...
Maybe it's because I'm old, but I'm surprised no one else pointed out Lt. Mauser is the name of the antagonist from the early Police Academy movies. That tipped off that he was going to be a villain from the start!
Regarding your comment on Chuck and Sarah, I think the main point is that while we (the audience) know why Sarah killed Mauser, Chuck does not. He was too far away and came upon them just as Mauser was surrendering. He didn't see or hear the part before where Mauser essentially taunted Sarah into killing him.
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12-16-2008 @ 6:50PM
GL said...
You are correct. Chuck only saw end of the sequence that led to the shooting.
12-16-2008 @ 12:09PM
Nathaniel said...
Wu got it half right, not only did he see a surrendering Mauser to a Cold blood killing Sara, but she then lied to him about it. If Sara told the truth and explained why she did it he wouldn't be having a problem with it. Overall though I think it is the lie that hurt more. I love he show but dangit I am starting to get mad that every time Chuck gets closer to having a real relationship with someone, BOOM! Something happens to destroy that progress.
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12-16-2008 @ 3:11PM
Greg said...
There's a reason they do that, you know. You need conflict.
As Joss Whedon always says, "happy couples equal boring TV."
It's the tension that keeps it interesting.
12-16-2008 @ 3:20PM
Nathaniel said...
Greg, I don't deny that.. Still doesn't mean I like it. I know they need to keep the yo-yo going but with this show the relationship is up front more so then any other I can think of, and Chuck is so likeable you want to see him win, and at least for me I see so much of me in Chuck its like I win too..
12-16-2008 @ 12:10PM
Manuel Reis said...
It was a "to Die Hard for" episode.
There was only one* thing missing: Let it Snow. Then, it would be Die Hard.
*Ok, two, but we all know that Bruce Willis is not willing to do a cameo on this show... Or is he?...
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12-19-2008 @ 6:49PM
Dorv said...
I didn't expect Willis, but I did kind of expect Johnson's character to make some kind of reference.
12-16-2008 @ 12:18PM
Kim said...
I think that Sarah's action were more about protecting Chuck, the guy she secretly loves, than the intersect, the guy she's sworn to protect. She became very emotional when Mauser told her that all Fulcrum agents would come after Chuck and kill him.
I can see how Chuck would have mixed feelings about seeing Sarah shoot the defensless Mauser. I agree that he didn't hear the conversation that led up to the shooting. Also, in the past, he has only seen Sarah use deadly force in defense of self or others, not in cold blood. Then, of course, Sarah lied to him so now Chuck believes that Sarah doesn't trust him with the truth. I think Sarah lied to him because she didn't want to be diminished in Chuck's eyes.
This was one of the best episodes of the season. I wish they would do more with the entire cast.
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12-16-2008 @ 5:00PM
gabbyd said...
yeah, i agree totally with ur analysis of the chuch-sara dynamic for this ep. i wanted for a meatier role for morgan tho..
12-16-2008 @ 12:45PM
Buttercup said...
Bruce Willis as Chuck & Ellie's dad - who's with me?
Reply
12-16-2008 @ 1:46PM
Manuel Reis said...
Yeah, that would be cool. But now it's (im)possible. Both the show and the movie are from the same universe.
How about if John McClane was one NSA agent, who was hired following the events we saw in Die Hard 4?