Five Chunks of CHUCK

Versus The Curse


1. Chuck, you are not cursed...you are an idiot

Casey is right Chuck...you really are a moron at times! My brother often playfully teases me with the comment that I am "the dumbest smart person he knows"... it makes me laugh but for this week I am handing the award to Chuck, especially how he was written in the episode.

In my opinion, the writers of this ep really pooched it on this one! There is no way that after everything Chuck and Sarah have been through that Chuck wouldn't give Sarah the chance to help him get Ellie & Devon back. Surely by going into a foreign country & tearing it apart just to save Chuck should have earned Sarah some credit with our favourite nerd.


Only a real MORON would upset this lady...


Chuck's intention of going out and sacrificing himself to save his loved ones from the Bartowski curse is so lame because of the simple fact; "Chuck being Chuck" has made his mark on the lives of all within Team Bartowski/Carmichael Industries. Sarah didn't call Chuck "her home" because it sounded cool to say; but because she genuinely felt he has enriched her life and gave it more more meaning than if she was just a spy... she now has a husband and a family. Chuck leaving to save Ellie & Awesome with the Omen Virus without telling Sarah was selfish; for starters she agreed with Chuck and like I said Ellie & Awesome are her family too and she deserves a say in how the team gets them back.

It made watching the episode a really frustrating experience; in some ways it was like watching my favourite soccer (Football/Futbol) team Arsenal when they are having a bad day. They are so skillful and have the talent to breakdown any threat but often fall into the trap of not being patient or logical when things go against them, they can lose confidence.  Translation they are a smart team but have a tendency to panic and play dumb... sound familiar?


2. Sarah Bartowski (Walker): Great Spy...Better Wife!

Some nerds have all the luck!

Let's see in this episode Chuck lied to Sarah, Chuck went against Sarah's expressed wishes and then let the Omen Virus out into the world...did I miss anything?

Yet after all this Sarah showed up at the warehouse with Casey laying the smack down & putting boots to CIA asses as only they can...after all "rescuing Bartowski's is their business". Despite all Chuck put her through with this...she still doesn't like anyone trying to hurt Chuck as Robin Cutting's pistol-whipping indicates. I have said it before and I will say it again Sarah has come along way since entering the Burbank Buy More. She is a caring, understanding, loyal and (lucky for him) forgiving wife and partner to Chuck...but she's still scary enough that threats to hunt him down (and possibly shoot him) need to be taken seriously.

Like all great partnerships there is give and take where one has to be understanding of the other; in this episode Sarah came through for Chuck. In Family Volkoff it was Chuck who saved the day with his inspired prenuptial agreement.

Sarah is right, fate doesn't rely on curses or luck but on the choices we make; Chuck and Sarah choose each other and to be awesome together (eventually in Chuck's case)...no stupid Bartowski curse can stand up to that!



Chuck was fortunate Sarah CHOSE to kiss him rather than kick his ass!




3. Morgan gets schooled in spycraft...by Alex!

Well done Alex, it seems the Casey apple didn't fall far from the tree! The show played out its own nature versus nurture experiment here and results seems to favour nature!

In a tense situation with the rest of the team relying on them we have Morgan, a spy who has been trained by the 3 best agents the CIA & NSA and joining him is Alex, a civilian who has not been trained but is John Casey's (Alex Coburn) daughter. So which of these two is the best spy under pressure?  Alex McHugh is of course; she is calm but serious in a very tense situation where as Morgan was over-eager as usual!

Casey already is so proud of his daughter but seeing Alex keep Morgan on leash whilst keeping the mission on-track despite the difficult situation in which she found herself would have elicited a very special grunt of approval from the Colonel.


4. Beckman & Casey- NSA dynamic duo

It was really cool to see some Casey & Beckman together in the same place rather than different sides of the video screen. This kind of thing happens less and less since Team Bartowski became Carmichael Industries. I just love the way the two play off each other. Being a Soccer fan, a lot of attacking partnerships in the game are built on a combining a good tall player and a good small player together. The bigger player usually provides strength and presence and the shorter player provides pace, trickery and skill. Maybe just maybe Fedak and Schwartz subscribe to this same theory with Casey and Beckman!

I mean we have this huge hulking bear of a man who loves nothing more than imposing his dominance on terrorists or beating the stuffing out of insurgents... yet this lady of small stature can bring him to heel with just a look. Such is Casey's respect not just for her rank but also for the way she conducts herself. She respects Casey as well...not many Generals have so much time for a Colonel they command but Beckman has shown her loyalty to Casey and the team in the past and in this episode in particular.

The meeting at the empty bar over a bottle of contraband Nicaraguan spirits (my guess is rum?) was a stroke of genius; the General drinking out the bottle was a very nice touch. These two grizzled veterans reminiscing of tough times in which the strongest bonds are forged.  How lucky Chuck and Sarah are that these two people are willing to risk so much to help out the Bartowski family.

Both Beckman and Casey have distinguished military careers and service records with the US government; Casey also has a civilian daughter but neither will leave Chuck and Sarah in the hour of need. Despite the protests the two have made about the Chuck/Sarah relationship in the past both Casey and Beckman will fight to ensure Chuck and Sarah are safe now and in the future.

Chuck's behaviour in this episode has driven the General & Colonel to drink... more!!

5. Never Forget your P.A.N.T.S.

 How I love a good acronym; Zoom gave us Operation Toes In The Sand (or T.I.T.S.) and Curse gives us the key to all great nerd-spies... P.A.N.T.S (or Private Artifacts Never To Share)!!

I love the little touches of Chuck's nifty nerd neurosis; one of the many reasons why Chuck is my broski! Though the smoking hot wife is a pretty good reason too!

Chuck knows the only man he can trust with his P.A.N.T.S is Morgan; and the bearded one did come through for his best bud thanks in part to a huge assist from Alex (which I discussed earlier).

On a side note I never thought Alex would want to get a look at what is inside Chuck's P.A.N.T.S? I wonder if this hurt Morgan a little and I hope for Alex's sake Sarah doesn't find out; Sarah could well be the jealous type. See how much fun I am having with this acronym...it is just so cool!!

Finally my favourite part of the episode didn't actually happen on screen... it was on reflection that I thought wouldn't it be cool if we see Sarah in Chuck's P.A.N.T.S?... 

What?! I was talking about a photo of Sarah Walker (Bartowski) in Chuck's Private Artifacts Never To Share. What did you all think I was talking about?  Ok maybe I was thinking that too!! ;-) These 'shipper tendencies are pretty hard to fight!!

I told you this acronym is cool... I have so many more jokes I could use but I think I need to leave it at that!

Till next time guys..

Have a happy and (most importantly) safe holiday season!




If this doesn't get in Chuck's P.A.N.T.S... nothing will!




PS: I am so looking forward to the next Chuck ep and I am quite bullish about it...Shaw is gonna get it! Why am I bullish? To paraphrase the words of Michael Hutchence "They can never tear Charah apart"!

PPS: I am betting the General puts down the recalcitrant Shaw...for good! C'MON BECKMAN