TVSquad

(S02E18) It's time for Chuck to assert some authority. It's time to go over General Beckman's head and turn to the Commander in Chief.

"Dear Mr. President: You probably don't know me, but let me start by saying I love America and I've been happy to be of service to the NSA. However, recently, I've had some questions about my place. My rights, actually. Sir, you're a lawyer. Do I have any rights at all, like privacy? Like the ability to keep my family out of my work? Not that I'm complaining, but..."

Yes, I think Chuck is in a tough spot. Things have become too close for comfort, mixing up Chuck's spy biz with his family life.




Last night, Ellie and Devon were collateral damage and by the end of the episode, Chuck had reached a new level of frustration with his double life. What are the assets to being an asset?

You knew it was a bad sign when General Beckman invaded Chuck's home (via PC) and proceeded to expose just how much the Intersect has been under the government's microscope. Holy Patriot Act, Batman! Is this legal? Chuck has no privacy whatsoever. He has been virtually drafted against his will and seems to have no say in his life anymore.

The General unilaterally decided to issue a 49B. Chuck had no idea that a 49B meant Agent Alex Forrest (a name that purposely evoked Glenn Close's name in Fatal Attraction) was sent to evaluate Sarah's performance, but quickly was named Chuck's new handler. Sarah was dismissed and ordered back to Langley.

It was cold, which suited guest star Tricia Helfer, who has specialized in playing uber-bitch lately. Make that gorgeous, hot and lethal uber-bitch. I was a little surprised that she and Sarah never actually got into a physical battle because they seemed to be heading in that direction. Still, while Forrest was a by the book type, completely unconcerned about hurting Chuck (or anyone in his life), she was pretty lax in keeping track of the asset when Chuck was kidnapped to the Dubai bank vault. She was also too much a one-note character for me.

The mission was to plant a bug in bad guy Amad (pseudonym Harry Lime, Orson Welles' character in The Third Man). That meant getting security access by stealing Devon's key card. Using Awesome's bachelor party – which Jeff, Lester and Morgan horned in on and convinced Chuck to stage at the Buy More (the Buy More?!) – as a cover, Forrest turned party girl (working the pole) to get Devon in a vulnerable position. Despite Chuck's best efforts to protect his future brother-in-law, Devon was manipulated by Forrest and even shot with a tranquilizer gun.

Chuck proved his loyalty to Devon, not to mention his bravery, by pretending to be Awesome when the bad guys stormed the courtyard. The nitrous oxide face off in the vault turned out to be sort of dumb, but at least it gave Sarah the chance to save the day. And with Chuck and Casey's intervention, she was reassigned to Chuck. Goodbye, Agent Alex.

If all that action wasn't enough, the most important development was Chuck confiding in Sarah about his MIA father. When she believed she was heading back to D.C., Sarah did an unauthorized CIA search for Stephen J. Bartowski.

The last scene of the episode was Chuck staring in wonder at the man who answered the door of an old trailer, and speaking one word, "Dad."

Between what that will mean and Ellie's broken heart about Awesome's supposed indiscretion, there's a lot to be resolved for the Bartowski clan in the weeks ahead.