Bloggers Note: Seeing as I was on holiday last week, I am doing a supersized post of FCoC this week, encompassing both Bandit & Tips which are parts 2 & 3 of the first CHUCK story arc of the season.
1. Chuck and Morgan: a bro-mance put to the test?
Who would have thought that in the space of two episodes, TV's nerdiest bro-mance could go through the wringer like this; and who knew it would involve Morgan getting pantsed?!
I feel a bit silly as I seemed to be one of the few who didn't go into these episodes thinking that the Intersect glasses Morgan put on were corrupted with a virus! I was one of those who was conflicted with the "bearded bandit" getting the intersect, I actually would have preferred no intersect at all. But if you think about it Morgan's incessant curiosity allowed Chuck to dodge a bullet.
Morgan did get an intersect and gained new abilities...to augment his already established great spirit and big heart. But Morgan has always wanted to show everybody his worth as a spy and let's face it... he really is a little eager in general. The question I have is this...how much of Morgan's behaviour in Bandit & Tips is down to his character traits and how much is due to the virus in the intersect?
We have seen in series 5 so far how Morgan acquiring intersect skills has left Chuck struggling with his inadequacies of being de-intersected and as a rookie handler to Morgan; and without a doubt some of it is jealousy. However Chuck's sense of duty and responsibility comes into play here, he feels the intersect should be his cross to bear, as it may be too much for Morgan to take.
Some of us CHUCK fans can be a little harsh on Morgan, many still struggling to come to terms with what occurred in Chuck versus the Colonel. However, many of the the Bearded man's actions prior to and after this event have proven just how much Chuck means to him. Which is why the intersected Morgan's actions in these two episodes have been so upsetting...especially to Chuck.
By the end of Tips the friendship is very much still on...but I wonder now that Sarah has had a creative hand in the new look of her and Chuck's apartment;
- are there any game consoles left...
- and if not will she allow Morgan to set one of his up?
- As much as he loves Chuck and Sarah; will Morgan be able survive without gaming?
2. The Verbanski effect
This comes as a surprise to many other Chucksters out there, but I wasn't too sure a character like Gertrude Verbanski would be a good fit for CHUCK, I honestly thought the casting of Carrie-Anne Moss was a bit gimmicky for my tastes as well...Oh boy was I wrong, I have actually really liked it!
The Verbanski angle brings many new dynamics to CHUCK, a great potential love interest for John Casey, business competitor for Chuck (and Sarah) but in my opinion the most interesting is as female rival to Sarah for the "Kick-ass lady spy" title belt!
There have been other lady spies on the show before like Carina, Zondra etc. but Gertrude is the first to NOT actually be a friend (or Frienemy) of Sarah; she is a full-on rival who is actively seeking to put Carmichael Industries out of commission or beatdown (or worse) Sarah to win a bounty or contract. We all know it is no contest, Sarah is the most kick-ass spy out there but it is great for her just to have a worthy challenger step into the ring!
A lot of interesting potential with the character, I hope we see a bit more of her!
How about the Sarah-Verbanski smackdown towards the end of Tips...pretty awesome right!! All I can say is flying back from holiday a few days ago, none of the flight-staff with the airline I flew with looked as awesome as those two! Not to mention we didn't even get to see a well-choreographed fight scene either...ah well you win some, you lose some!
3. Devon + Buy More = More Awesome
I have never been a big fan of the secondary CHUCK plots that involve the Buy More; Don't get me wrong Big Mike, Jeff and Lester (and Skip and Fernando) are pretty awesome, but the introduction of Devon (aka Captain Awesome) to the Buy More crew has been an inspired move by the writers.
I mean it is funny how things fall in to place; I think the idea to bring Devon and the Buy-Morons together was necessitated (or at least fast-tracked) by Sarah Lancaster's (Ellie) limited availability thanks to real-life pregnancy and recent addition to her family. But the way Devon played off Jeffster and Big Mike in these two episodes was fantastic. I especially loved the Buy More ad flashback (I am old enough to remember BetaMax...barely), it seems as if this move has really paid off.
For Devon being awesome is a way of life, it is nice to see him struggle a little every now and again. It is even cooler that the Buy More in some strange way is helping him along on his journey into the unknown!
4. Half Moon: A great Charah Song
Everyone has at least one of these (and in my case it may just be closer to one hundred); a song that will always be associated with Chuck and Sarah. Each time you listen you will be reminded of a certain time and place on the show. For me "Half Moon" by Blind Pilot is one of those songs, I knew this from the first time I heard it!
The song itself is brilliant in its own right but combined with the moment where Sarah diffuses Chuck's crisis of confidence in his abilities both in the field and as a handler sends the song in the Pantheon of Charah songs in my humble opinion.
Sarah verbal affirmation of Chuck's growth is a really import moment for Chuck and I feel it allows the Chuckster to walk taller in a situation (sans intersect) that he is struggling to deal with, I just think the song really works.
Most of all it is showing further personal development of Sarah the person (and wife) which brings me to...
5. Sarah: The heart of Carmichael Industries?
I have often said that Sarah's development away from the spylife has been one of my favourite parts of the show and I am glad that it continued in these two episodes!
She is still willing to put her partner's feelings ahead of hers and play wingman (or is that wing-person) for Casey's romantic endeavours despite her dislike for Gertrude Verbanski!
She was also willing to swallow her pride and hire Verbanski Corp. to assist in the retrieval of Chuck and Morgan in Bandit. I doubt the old Agent Sarah Walker would have done these things; but even if she did...boy would she have been pissed off!!!
But now Sarah is the glue that holds this team together...she was the only one not to totally give up on Morgan, she realised just how deeply hurt by Morgan's actions Casey and in particular Chuck were. She continued to battle on the bearded one's behalf partly because she has grown to love him as a friend but mostly because she knew that if Chuck or Casey did anything to harsh they may never be able to forgive themselves afterwards. She did it by getting to the bottom of the intersect mess, Morgan owes her big time!!
As you guys realise by now I am a huge sucker for the Charah moments (even the little ones) and these eps had a few nice ones from Bandit's morning run in the park where she affirmed her eternal belief in Chuck to consoling a shattered Chuck reeling from the betrayal of his best buddy in Tips!
Not bad for a girl previously convinced she will never be a normal girl...probably because nobody that awesome could ever be normal!
Don't think I forgot the Charah kiss on the roof at the end of the Zorn mission, it could have been even hotter than the flaming wreck of the exploded chopper... Holy smokes!! ;-)
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