by Jenn Kim
And we’re back!! After last week’s disappointing episode (stilted dialogue, disjointed scenes, and a maddeningly frustrating Orion plot), we come back to the fun, fast-paced sweet Chuck we all know and love.
Tricia Helfer guest-stars as Agent Alex Forrest, the no-nonsense CIA agent who is assigned to assess whether Sarah’s personal feelings for Chuck get in the way of her professional job as Chuck’s handler. Helfer has displayed some serious acting chops on BSG by playing a Cylon with sensitive, complex human emotions, and tonight she performed the inverse by playing a real-live human with absolutely no semblance of a soul. Seriously, Agent Forrest is COLD, as she’s 100% business and disdainful of any display of human connection. She tells General Beckman that Sarah should no longer be Chuck’s handler because of Sarah’s attachment to him, and General Beckman (foolishly) listens by telling Sarah her services are no longer needed, assigning Agent Forrest as her dubious replacement.
Which goes to show how crappy a handler you can be if you don’t have a heart. Agent Forrest’s apathy towards Chuck and his well-being causes her to overlook the fact that Chuck has been captured by members of the same terrorist group the CIA has been targeting. If not for Sarah’s Chuck-intuition and overall awesomeness, the CIA would have one less human-intersect in their ranks.
I liked this episode because it touched upon the importance of Sarah and Chuck’s connection without overplaying the romantic side. We see Sarah’s protectiveness for Chuck kick in even more than usual, and enjoy the pay-off when we observe that a handler is most effective if a strong bond, romantic or otherwise, has developed with her asset. (See Alias and Dollhouse). A pointed reminder that there’s a place for compassion, loyalty and love even in the most professional of jobs. (Geez, Agent Forrest, even a frackin toaster knows THAT. **Zing!)
Some more Chuck thoughts:
- “The world revolves around the sun, Charles. Not you.”
- The scene with Casey and Agent Forrest cleaning their guns: so sexual I feared Casey might get pregnant from it.
- I so did not appreciate seeing Agent Forrest straddling Awesome. I hope Ellie realizes that Awesome was merely a victim of circumstance.
- “You two are a match-made in a very frightening part of heaven.”
- Did anyone else get a warm fuzzy feeling when Casey said Sarah was the best damn partner he ever had? *Smile.
- So…did the CIA pay for Sarah’s Porsche?
- Chuck was the second show in four days to have a “look at how funny the characters are when they get accidentally high” plot device. Though I think Dollhouse scored more points, if only for Reed Diamond’s hilarious performance.
- I think Sarah could take Agent Forrest. Sure Six has Cylon blood, but Sarah has love on her side.
- Man! Sarah and Chuck were TOTALLY going to make-out before Chuck’s dad opened the door.
- Next week: Scott Bakula!!! Scott Bakula!!! My childhood crush on Dr. Sam Beckett is finally rewarded!!
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About Jenn Kim: When she’s not questioning her decision to enter lawyer-hood-dom, Jenn enjoys stalking celebrities and getting over her totally rational fear of zombies. She also idolizes Joss Whedon, and is crossing her fingers that Nathan Fillion and NPH will accept her friend requests.
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When she's not questioning her decision to enter lawyer-hood-dom, Jenn enjoys stalking celebrities and getting over her totally rational fear of zombies. She also idolizes Joss Whedon, and is crossing her fingers that Nathan Fillion and NPH will accept her friend requests. 
I'm so pissed that General Beckman actually listed to that foolio Forrester! I bet she falls for Chuck herself…but that Chuck REJECTS HER butt and then he and Sarah go through another, you know, few years of angst-emotion riddled love-hateness for our entertainment before they live happily ever after. Yea, or something like that.
oh, and by the by, "…even a frackin toaster knows THAT."…you are a wordsmith genius.
haha i hate to take credit for the phrase "frackin toaster" when i got it from almost every episode of battlestar galactica. but yes, the writers of bsg are certainly wordsmith geniuses.
"Did anyone else get a warm fuzzy feeling when Casey said Sarah was the best damn partner he ever had?"
Ooh! Me! ::waves hand:: In fact, there may have been undignified-but-happy whimpering. And the expression on Casey's face… ::sigh::
I also loved the running gag of the phrase "Special Agent Carmichael" turning on the Beckman Batphone in Chuck's room. I think they're going to have to change the activation command now that Devon knows it.
The only thing I found distracting this week was watching Sarah's constant height changes. Yvonne is a tiny woman, and they kept putting her on boxes and staircases to keep her in shot with Adam, Zach, and Tricia. There was a scene between Sarah and Alex that I can't really remember the dialogue from because my brain kept sticking on the fact that Yvonne looked like she was as tall as Tricia when I know she's not. (Yes, I notice details like that. It can be pretty annoying sometimes.) [/nerd]
Yvonne and Tricia are exactly the same height 5'10.
Warm/fuzzy here, too. And the scene between Casey and Forrest had me simultaneously in lust and in stitches. Also disappointed that Ellie assumed the worst about Awesome after giving him a free pass for his bachelor party and telling him she trusted him; I hope Chuck can convince her that Awesome was unconscious in most of those photos. I was wondering who Chuck and Ellie's dad was going to be, after seeing Captain Sheridan as Awesome's dad. Scott Bakula, huh? That's … er, awesome.
Speaking of Bakula, the baby I was nannying this morning (pic on my blog) made a noise that sounded like "Oboy" so my first reaction was "Sam? Is that you?"
baby is absolutely adorable. oh how i miss sam's post-leap "ohhhh boooys"!
and re: comment below: funny, i was going to mention the reverse stereotype when i wrote about the handler relationship, but i got lazy and tired. poor excuse, but yeah…point well taken. i love that sarah is the protector/savior of the relationship; she kicks ass, and i love that chuck is comfortable enough in his manhood to not be threatened by it.
Forgot to say above… in all the reviews I've read of CHUCK I've never seen the reverse stereotype mentioned. Chuck is usually the damsel (dude?) in distress being rescued by Sarah.
hah i didn't notice the inconsistency, though i was surprised at how small sarah looked in comparison to alex. though come to think of it, the entire main cast of chuck is pretty darn tall. (zachary levi is…6'4"? so awesomely tall)
excellent review, as per usual jennster. indeed, i feared that casey would have been converted towards the "very frightening part of heaven" with little miss cylon (and gotten pregnant, for sure) but thank goodness he pulled through – saying that sarah was his best partner ever and whatnot! squee. i also think that reed diamond's "oh man thats like so heavy. makes my arms tiiired" is the best line on any tv show this year – but chuckles gave him a run for his money with the adorable giggling.
and yes, sarah and chuck were SO gonna make out! and how sweet is it that the last thing she was gonna do in burbank was find out where chucks dad was! i seriously did think that the ellie tension was gonna put chuck over the edge, and that he would finally tell ellie the truth – but i guess we still have (hopefully) a few more seasons for that to develop.
woohoo for dr. sam beckett next week! anyone else think that chevy chase is looking very rough?? haha.
Nice review. I have to admit that I've only seen a couple episodes of Chuck but this review piqued my interest again. I'll have to keep an eye out for these little nuances…
thanks.
hopefully the show won't get cancelled before you get a chance to really love the show.