Chuck Versus the Fan - Otherwise Known As, Which Season is the Best?
So. The general view is that season 2 is the be-all-to-end-all of Chuck and that season 3 was a steaming pile with a few highlights here and there. Personally, I do think season 2 was the best and season 3 was the weakest. But! I want to see if that holds up when watching the show and not just thinking back on it, as people tend to romanticize the past and criticize the present, myself included.
So, I’m going to watch the show in its entirety with as few preconceptions as possible, as though it were the first time. During that time, I'll recap/picspam each episode and give it a score from 1 to 10, and average the season totals together to get a view of which season was best in more black-and-white terms. I’ll also give a more subjective view on the season as a whole and how the arc worked and whatnot.
I’ll be starting with…
click small pics for bigger versions!
PILOT
We open on some guy gearing up for some serious espionage.
Serious spy work
Morgan, thank you disembodied voice for IDing him, continues his routine while Chuck, thank you Morgan, reflects that this is definitely a bad idea. He’s uncomfortable with the plan.
“Plan? What plan? This is SURVIVAL.”
And I laugh out loud at Morgan’s “serious” voice. But, someone’s coming? They’ve been compromised! Morgan immediately ducks out the window, clutching to his makeshift rope while Chuck pleads with him not to leave him there. While it’s obvious that this is a fake-out, it’s still fun to watch, in combination of the fast editing (it gives the scene a more suspenseful, action-y feel) and the performances - even though they’re just voiceovers, they’re pitched perfectly to the tone of the scene.
Da daaa! The intruder is some mildly irritated and confused woman who slightly resembles Chuck (and Lisa, the gift shop girl on Scrubs), and here we see that we’re really peeking into some domestic situation and not a high-stakes mission. I immediately smile at the TRON poster on the wall - another awesome little clue into Chuck’s personality.
♥ Nice shot by the way, McG
Poor Chuck, escaping from his own birthday party (as I’m laughing my ass off at Morgan struggling outside), but hey, at least his sister Ellie looks fantastic!
Annoyed but fan-tas-tic
I love when exposition and relationships are brought up in a way that feels as natural as possible. It’s hard to do and, very often, just feels like, well, exposition. I always cringe when I hear a character say “sis” because, being someone with siblings, it just feels unnatural - I have never, and would never, call either of my sisters “sis” (oddly enough, I’ve called my younger sister “babe” since I can remember. I’m guessing it came from baby). But I understand that some people do actually talk like that so I can’t fault writers for using it. And here, it’s necessary because it quickly lets us know that Ellie is Chuck’s sister. And Morgan’s little compliment to her, in combination with Josh Gomez’s fanboyish delivery, establishes that Morgan has a thing for her. So, good job writers!
Anyway.
We’re given more info about Chuck (and Morgan) in that he doesn’t know anyone that Ellie has invited, establishing that he doesn’t really have any friends other than the bearded buffoon clinging to that sheet for dear life, while also establishing that he’s a bit socially awkward. ‘Cause he is hiding in his room, planning escape, after all.
We also find out that Ellie is a doctor, since all the friends she invited are doctors. We ALSO find out (damn, Schwartz and Fedak, a minute in and you’re already painting detailed portraits of the characters! *high five*) that of the two, two being Chuck and Morgan, Chuck is the more “cool” one, since Ellie’s friends get his jokes. And Zac Levi just emits that vibe in his delivery.
Definition of cool
But. Ellie has invited real, live women. For him. So he needs to move his ass to the party.
But not Morgan (another nice peek into Morgan and Ellie).
Chuck, reluctantly, gets up off the floor (WOW, he is tall. And that’s coming from a girl who’s 5 ft. 9) and asks Morgan if he needs a hand. Morgan stands up and, as I’m dying from laughter, tells him he’s fine. It’s a simple enough gag but I love it.
XD
And here we have the perfect opening for the show. It establishes three of the lead’s personalities and relationships quickly and effortlessly while also setting the tone of the series. There’s already a balance of action (even in just the fake-out we’re given a nice glimpse) and comedy that fits very well, and lets us know that the writers are very good at switching tones on a dime.
So, Ellie drags Chuck through their Echo Park apartment to the women pit she’s made for him outside. Along the way we bump into Captain Awesome (but, please, don’t call him that). And I gotta’ say, his character is also perfectly and immediately shown; your stereotypical, run-of-the-mill jock who is good at everything and knows it, but with a twist - he seems like a genuinely good guy.
Just look at that insanely blurry smile :D It screams, “I actually care about you and want to help you find a girl instead of sit around and make fun of you like any other stereotypical jock would do in my shoes.” Or, you know, something like that.
And we see where he got the nickname from as he’s got some girls for Chuck and they are awesome.
Poor Chuck looks like a rabbit in headlights. I say rabbit since they’re slightly more twitchy than deer. All these girls surrounding him like predators with their chipmunk voices (wow, lotta’ animal stuff going on in this recap right now) are clearly making him uncomfortable.
Evidence: awkward tie fiddling
They question his wardrobe, asking if he’s in some sort of costume (I guess for his birthday? I don’t know) and he tells them that he works for the Nerd Herd (ala the Geek Squad). But he doesn’t really wanna’ do that. Those darn fonts, slowin’ down his five-year plan. Though, I’m sure it would go faster if his poor fingers weren’t so chafed but duty calls (yeah, I had to).
I love how awkward and uncomfortable he is, it’s a nice contrast to the scene with Morgan and Ellie where he was clearly much more at ease. I also love seeing these girls’ reactions to his job and gaming habits. It’s so stereotypical but, sadly, true.
The subject is quickly changed to where he matriculated. Stanford. Well, technically. Damn, Chuck’s pretty smart, huh? The most chipmunk-y girl of all went there too (go class of ’02!). I doubt she majored in engineering like Chuck. But, not to worry, she used to know this great guy who was an engineer too! He ran track and was a gymnast too. Oh, yes. Chuck’s pretty sure he’s an accountant now.
Smash cut to DC and some bloodied up guy in a suit crashing onto a white floor in a large white room. Thanks to some helpful text, we find out he’s Bryce-great-guy-Larkin.
He quickly scurries and slides to an extremely dated computer at the end of the room, called the Intersect Computer, and begins typing frantically with his bloody little digits as he shoves some sort of wedgey thing (technical term) in the disc drive. It established a link and NotAnAccountant puts on some, blood free, shades. Hey! He looks like the drummer from That Thing You Do! You know, the one nicknamed Shades! Looks like GreatGuy's got a new alias in this recap.
He mutters a cool phrase, “It’s hard to say goodbye” (okay, so, not that cool. But he’s all bloodied and badass and has shades on - he’s clearly cool. Plus, he’s got the doctor girl all excited, so he gets extra points there) and presses enter on the keyboard.
Thousands of images begin to flicker on every wall of the room, including the ceiling and floor. We hear the emergency “security breach” announcement blare in the background while the camera zooms in so close that we can see every pore on Shades’ face the images reflecting off of the computer screen onto his glasses. I’m guessing they're are doing something but can’t be really be too sure. Oh, well, he sure looks cool.
Awkwardly zoomed in Evidence
His little computer is transferring the data, aka the images, from the computer onto it's awesome little self. Meanwhile…
Shade’s biggest fan is still talking to Chuck. She asks if he has a girlfriend. Uh, no. He did, a while back at Stanford. Yeah. Her name was Jill. They met freshman year. Which was a while back. Bryce!fan looks completely disinterested and slightly weirded out. But Chuck starts to ramble about the day he met Jill. An economics class, a walk across the quad, a dropped bag, and a head bump (kind of like in a cartoon). Ah, young love.
Young, rambly love
He's really going at it for a while, completely oblivious to the fact that Shades!fan is getting pretty bored. And here we have another peek into the man that is Chuck. He's clearly still very much in love with his ex, Jill. Or, at the very least, still very much in like with her. And, seeing as they had so much in common (as they also did with Shades), I'm guessing she was a geek too. As was, despite his cool appearance, Shades. Interesting.
Ellie checks in with Captain Awesome, who's been spying (see what I did there?) on Chuck during his encounter with the opposite sex.
Even he sees that this is a bad idea
I'm still not quite sure how to interpret how involved Ellie and her boyfriend are with ensuring that Chuck gets, at the very least, a phone number from one of these girls. I mean, I get it; Chuck is at least, what, 25? Absolute youngest (yeah, I know he’s 26 in the pilot but it’s my first time, remember?). So they want to help him meet someone before he's the newest 40-Year Old Virgin, minus the whole virgin part. So, more like the 40-Year Old Single Guy. And, I’m sure, more importantly, they want him to be able to get over Jill and move on.
So, Chuck continues rambling and we find out (again, nice job with the exposition) that Jill ended up with Bryce and all Chuck got was a train ride home. He finally looks up from the spot he was fascinated with during his spiel with a damn adorable look on his face to find that the chipmunk-voice girl has gone. Actually, all of the girls have gone. Poor Chuck. He looks so uncomfortable that it’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable.
Slide back over to Shades and he’s got agents banging on the door. He quickly attaches a small device to the side of the Intersect Computer and switches it on; the countdown begins and he takes off his coat (he’s also san shades now). We know exactly what’s coming but I can’t help but feel as though I’ll be underwhelmed - TV budgets and all. And this is a pilot so it’s not like serious money was shelled out for this, given it might never get off the ground.
The agents continue to bang on the door, completely unaware of the little surprise Shades has for them. He makes a run for it seconds before the bomb detonates. And the explosion is, surprisingly good. I mean, for TV, it’s good. But, special effects aside, this entire sequence is so well put together that I really can’t complain.
Shades immediately makes a run for it, taking out numerous agents with some snazzy martial arts moves (and some things I’m sure he learned in those gymnastics classes). The editing is slick and the stunt work is, again, surprisingly good and not just for a TV show. There’s one maneuver that’s particularly impressive. Bryce takes out one agent and, while in the middle of a run, sees another agent heading his way. He immediately drops to the floor and slides under a table, kicking a chair right into the approaching agent’s legs.
Okay, so it's less impressive in still-form
It’s a creative move on the part of the stunt coordinator and it makes me excited to see what other fun stunts they'll bring to the table. All that from a kicked chair. What can I say? I’m a fan of action movies and TV shows, so if the action can be done in a creative way that feels right for the scene and looks cool? That’s pretty damn awesome in my book.
He takes out one more agent before jumping and climbing his way up onto the stairs (it looks more impressive than it sounds). And, as he continues his escape-of-awesomeness (nice parallel to the opening), I’m just noticing his appearance; shaggy hair, a white shirt, tie, and black pants. It’s probably not intentional but it’s a great parallel to Chuck. Of the two, Shades’ is the more adult outfit by far but they are technically both uniforms. But enough of my seeing symbolism where there is none - now there are even more agents chasing after Shades - with guns!
He takes a breather on the landing of a staircase, pulling out the transfery-computer from before. Damn, Apple should patent this thing and sell it; they’d make a killing! Oh, the puns.
Shades pulls up his email contacts and scrolls through. The agents bust down the door and take a shot but Shades is too quick. He makes it to the roof and utilizes some parkour skills to make it to next one, which an enemy agent attempts…but ends up breaking his legs. Or, at least, something like that. He’s in pain, that’s all that matters. Shades is not just cool, my friends, he’s got some serious skills just like Xena. He makes his way to the ground, American Gladiators style, and continues to scroll through his contact list.
But he makes one fatal mistake: he turns around to make sure he’s not being followed. And in that moment, a shot is fired. And Bryce (it’s a serious moment, people, I’m just showing some respect) falls to the ground, computer-of-awesome still in hand. The camera cuts to a big guy in a suit, gun in hand. He immediately barks at the fallen Bryce not to move which, in all honesty, seems just more than a little redundant, Mr. Big Guy.
*Sigh* Honestly
He inches closer to Bryce, who tells Casey (thanks, Bryce) that he’s too late. Bryce hits send and the computer works it magic before fizzling out. Very much like Bryce. But, just before the computer’s display dies, we see the person Bryce sent the data to and it’s…Surprise! It’s Chuck! Again, a great sequence. It quickly lets us know that Bryce is, er, was, a badass and whatever the hell the Intersect Computer contained was pretty damn valuable. I mean, it was worth Casey killing over. Although, I get the vibe, mainly from Casey’s cold and detached demeanor, that this was not his first kill.
Cut back to Chuck’s chafed hands as he unbandages them, looking forlorn. Ellie brings him a beer while Morgan and Captain Awesome (I really want to know his real name) start the clean up in the background. Chuck is appreciative for the party, even if he didn’t have a very good time, as well as for Ellie’s tasted-like-eight seven-layer dip. Ellie starts to comfort Chuck (and I smile at the sibling love) saying she needs to tell him something. He dryly responds, “It really was eight layers?” but gives a little smile at the end.
♥
Even at this point in the pilot, I am really liking Chuck! Which is good, considering he is the titular character and all. His deadpan wit (and nervous babbling) is extremely endearing. Anyway. Ellie shares the wisdom of never talking about an ex to a girl, even if they ask. Which is kind of courteous regardless of the sex of the person you’re talking to. Chuck is being depressing when he does that; Stanford was five years ago, he needs to move on. But Chuck is a bit touchy; they’ve had this conversation many times, it would seem. And here we have another glimpse into the Chuck/Ellie relationship. It’s typical sibling fare but Ellie feels especially maternal for an older sister. It’s really impressive to see how the writers and the actors are infusing the characters with these little traits so early into the show.
Chuck leaves, tired of the conversation. Morgan quickly takes his place, much to Ellie’s chagrin, and tries to strike up conversation. Ellie just ignores him and sips her beer. And I laugh again.
Cut to Morgan playing Gears of War while Chuck watches. After a minute, Chuck's computer blips: it’s an email from Bryce. And now, after such good exposition (good in that it didn’t make me sit there and roll my eyes at how ‘exposition-y” it was), we get the forced exposition in Morgan explaining to Chuck who Bryce is. Chuck is all “Yeah, Morgan, I think I remember Bryce…” which kind of makes up for it. They both check out the email: it’s a zrk file. Chuck opens it and his screen goes black, with some odd text appearing after a moment,
"The terrible troll raises his sword."
At Morgan’s request, Chuck explains what the weird little sentence means. Back at Stanford, he and Bryce programmed their own version of the old text-based video game, Zork using a TRS-80.
‘Cause they were really cool
Now if only Chuck could remember what was in his hero’s satchel (the weapons that he would use to kill the Terrible Troll).
‘Cause he’s still really cool
And Morgan’s going home - it’s that time. Chuck remembers his weapon of choice (the nasty knife) and immediately after he punches in the answer, his screen begins to show thousands of images, one after another, at a rapid pace. His expression quickly turns from confusion to something more like a zombie. There are so many images that Chuck ends up staring at his computer through the entire night (utilizing a pretty cool effect) passing out only when the last image fades (and his alarm rings) at 7:01 AM.
Finally! The plot begins! Not that it wasn’t entertaining until now, it’s just nice to see the premise of the show unfolding.
Chuck is pulled out of his coma by Morgan, who looks pretty worried. But Chuck is…well, Chuck’s brain is having a little trouble rebooting. Morgan sounds like he’s talking in slow motion and Chuck can still see all those images floating around in front of him. His brain finally decides to cooperate and he sees his little buddy. Chuck takes a moment to survey his computer from where he’s sitting (I love the “I AM A PROFESSIONAL NERD” post-it). But I guess he doesn’t connect that weird email to his brain fry-up because as he stands up he asks Morgan if he spiked the punch (Jesus, he is a GIANT. Or Josh Gomez is kina’ short. Or both). Morgan replies, in some snazzy ADR work (I just love it when it doesn’t remotely line up with their lips :D) that he, in fact, did. Another little character quirk.
Cut to Chuck showering, in a very nicely-sized shower I might add, listening to the traffic report. As he’s listening, however, he sees an image from the night before flash before his eyes, followed by several new images, closing with the first one again. He looks extremely confused and slightly concerned but quickly shrugs if off and continues with his nicely-sized shower.
I don't know how this got here
As Chuck and Morgan walk to his car, Morgan is babbling away about videogames but Chuck has a really splitting headache so he’s not feeling it. Oh, and if Morgan could drive that would be great. Morgan is thrilled to drive the company car even if it’s sitting on plastic and not chrome. Chuck just wants his little buddy to do him a favor and stay off the 5 because the cops are in a phased…deployment…Both Chuck and Morgan pause a beat, looking equally confused by what just came out of Chuck’s mouth. They quickly shrug it off and head into work. Which just so happens to be the best song in the world, it was the best song in the woorld
Buy More! Ya’ know, like Best Buy! Except everything is green instead of blue and the computer guys wear grey ties instead of black (for what it’s worth, I think the grey actually looks better). Another little clue into the man that is Chuck just from this introduction to the Nerd Herd. He is clearly the authority in this strange microcosm so that means that he is the most mature and responsible. Though, given the people he’s working with, that’s not hard to accomplish. But the point still stands (now I wanna’ push a big, shiny button and quote The Lion King).
Like this guy
Chuck goes through his little spiel about a computer virus called the Irene Demova virus (yes, yes, it’s named after the Serbian porn star). Morgan fried their display version of the Prism Express laptop last night by entering Miss Demova’s site. Just keep making Chuck look like the most mature one there, writers. Well, Chuck wasn’t lying; the computer fizzles faster than, well, a computer fizzling. But, ladies and gentlemen, please just ignore dirty Uncle Morgan.
The Dirty Uncle switches on the wall of TVs causing Chuck to have another…um…moment?...when a news report comes on about a General Stanfield, who is going to be arriving in LA tomorrow night. After Chuck’s brain reconnects with the outside world, he blurts out, “He’s already here. He landed last night.” But when questioned as to who “he” is, even Chuckles doesn’t know. Poor Chuck; by now I’d start to think I was losing it if I were him, which, judging by his face, he might be thinking too.
Cut to the Directorate of National Intelligence in Washington D.C. and two people bickering over Shades in some dark room that looks like it was blown up recently. Some short redheaded woman (who looks just like Sister Mary Robert from Sister Act) is blaming the CIA for this - Shades, was after all, a CIA agent. Graham (thanks, Sister Mary Roberts) is blaming Sister - it was the NSA’s job to find him. Turns out Casey (an NSA agent) was supposed to question Bryce, not kill him. But Casey's pretty happy with the way things turned out. I guess he doesn’t like the CIA. I smell future hijinks!
Hijinks face holy shit, he has beautiful eyes
Mom and Dad agents start bickering but Mom quickly shuts Dad up - Major Casey (well, damn) is heading up the investigation. And, at Major Casey’s request, we get some more exposition. The Intersect Computer came into being after 9/11 when the CIA and NSA were told to play nice and share. So, they stored all of their information in that one computer, all of it encrypted onto those images. The computer processed the data and pieced things together that a human being couldn’t. So, basically, it was pretty invaluable.
Casey tells Mom and Pop (though they’re all basically the same age) that he’s heading to LA since that’s where Shades sent the info to (gotta’ love trace signatures). Meanwhile…
Some blonde woman has entered the Buy More and appears to be on the prowl. I wonder who she’s set her sights on.
But Chuckles is busy on the phone so Morgan spots her first. And I smile as he calls her Vicki Vale and then chuckle as Chuck starts to sing that little song in my lj-cut and then burst out laughing as he double takes and drops everything, including the phone. At this rate, I think Chuck is my favorite character, which, again, is good, considering the show is mainly about him.
They exchange witty banter (though Chuck is in rabbit mode for the first half of said exchange) and Blondie makes fun of our dynamic duo’s names. To be fair, I can’t remember the last Chuck or Morgan I’ve met. But, she’s not there to make fun of the geeks, er, more like nerds, you know, Nerd Herd - her cell phone is busted. But it’s quick fix! Hurray! Sarah (she gave her name) looks pretty attracted to Chuck as he fixes her phone and I have to agree, he’s pretty damn charming in this scene even though the hair stylist is clearly trying to make him look ugly.
Before Chuck and Sarah (and the Dirty Uncle himself) can exchange another word, a very anxious father runs up to the Nerd Herd desk, his daughter in tow (and in a ballerina outfit). He shot the entire recital but now it won’t play back…oh, boy, no tape. Morgan groans when Dad (not to be confused with Dad agent) says he doesn’t need one ‘cause it’s digital, but Chuck is much nicer about it, in that he, you know, tells him he still needs digital tape instead of rolling his eyes.
And what follows is the sweetest thing in the entire episode. He takes one look at the daughter’s sad face and has The Wall (being the wall of TVs) cleared. He apologizes to Sarah but she seems pretty okay with his departure, I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s so adorable that it makes my heart hurt.
He has Anna (he said her name during the Demova thing) record Ballerina in front of the Wall so that it looks kind of like a recital. Only, Ballerina is a little nervous - she’s usually in the back row (Chuck asks her why in the most adorable voice ever) because she’s too tall; she blocks the other ballerinas. But Chuckles shares a secret with her as Sarah watches from the desk - real ballerinas are tall (I’ve figured it out. It’s that damn smile of his).
So the dance is recorded and everyone claps and cheers, as it was pretty adorable. Unfortunately, before Chuck can it make back to the Nerd Herd desk (and, more importantly, Sarah) he is confronted by a very irritated short, bald Asian man, named Harry. But Harry does not want to hear Chuck’s excuses for using the Wall; time is Buy More dollars. While Chuck didn’t realize they had their own currency, he apologizes for the commotion buy Harry yells at him and tells him he’ll never be assistant manager. He bumps into Chuck all aggressive-like and I laugh at how the top of his head barely comes up to Chuck’s shoulder. Apologies to shorter people out there, that was wrong of me.
But he is tiny
And here is the villain of the Buy More world. The spy world will, undoubtedly, have numerous so it’s only fitting that the “normal” (did you see the people he has to work with?) world has a nemesis of some kind.
Harry chased Sarah away, but not to worry! She left Chuck her card. Her card that…Morgan is sniffing.
Why is Chuck friends with this guy?
Cut to Chuck and Morgan walking home (to Chuck’s home) and Morgan keeps asking Chuck why he wouldn’t call Sarah.
“Because I live on planet Earth, Morgan - why are you following me home?”
They stand there for a moment, thinking about the reason Morgan is following him (his computer still has a case of the Demova’s. Yeeeah.) before heading inside. But they get a little more than they were expecting to see.
Chuck begs for them not to take the computer and they gingerly place it on the floor before assuming a karate stance. Chuck and Morgan stare at each other in bewilderment and fear and I have to give both Zac Levi and Josh Gomez props for make that moment feel real - no mugging, no selling it to the cheap seats. Well, then Morgan decides to throw a plate at the burglar. Which I guess is pretty real too. But the thief blocks it, sending it right back at the duo and straight at Chuck’s chest. So Morgan tries again with a candle. This time it hits Chuck right in the netherlands. Morgan tries again (you can see where this going) and grabs a vase, quickly swinging it over his head, ready to throw. That is, until it smashes against Chuck’s skull. Poor Chuck.
Morgan yells at him to do something and Chuck shoots him a look that "angry" does not begin to do justice (so much for them not mugging, but it has me laughing my ass off so it works).
Chuck inches his way towards the burglar, demanding the computer be given back. And, well, they give it back. As Chuck is trying to cling onto his baby for dear life, our friend in black does the good ol’ “sweep the leg” maneuver, causing Chuck to fall over. While Chuck is still midair, Ninja kicks him across the room and catches the computer as Chuck lands on a small table/shelf thing, crushing it.
And that makes for fun, creative stunt number 2. Good job, stunt coordinator! Ninja puts the computer on a shelf behind them and gets ready for the next round. Morgan grabs a golf club from the set by the door (I’m guessing those belong to Captain Awesome) and charges in defense of his friend. But Ninja snatches the club and begins to wave it around with their kung-fu skills. Morgan, in true best friend fashion, doesn’t back down.
“Okay, look, he’s not that good of a friend.” Holy crap! Josh Gomez has a tattoo!
Bravery is always rewarded. So, naturally he gets clubbed across the room and lands on Chuck. So that they’re 69ing. I just love highbrow humor. I’m being sarcastic, I totally laughed over that.
Immediately after Morgan lands on Chuck, the shelf (that Morgan hung) falls over and Ninja quickly escapes and jumps into a car that I would kill a man to own. As they speed away they pull off their ninja mask, revealing their true identity and it’s…what’s this? It’s Sarah! Again, extremely predictable, but it works (even though the ninja was clearly a man). ‘Guess Graham sent someone to LA to get the data back in case Casey gets trigger happy again.
The next day, Chuck has a couple of his fellow Nerds take a look at his destroyed computer. Poor thing was…murdered. The older of the Nerds goes on to freak the living crap out of Chuck by hypothesizing that Chuck was the “unwitting target of a ninja [(woo hoo!)] vendetta” and he’ll return tonight to strangle Chuck with his nunchucks. Chuck thinks Jeff’s idea is just super, really outside the box. Jeff then proceeds to be even creepier by winking at Chuck. Twice.
As I’m chuckling (and shuddering at the same time), Chuck decides now’s a good time to go buy some new locks over at Large Mart. I love that it’s already abundantly clear that Chuck is the only normal person on that entire staff.
Question to all the West Coasters out there - what did you think of when you saw Large Mart? The name, clearly, is a play on Wal-Mart but the interior looks more like BJ’s to me. Is BJ’s just an East Coast thing? What “bulk” store do you guys have?
So, Chuck is wandering the store, trying to find locks, when he stumbles upon some random man. Like any person who isn’t very shy, he asks the man where he can find tho-…and then he has another little moment. But this time he doesn’t blurt out what it was that he saw for the audience’s benefit. He does, however, turn a few shades paler and quickly moves away from the man with a foreign accent. As he tries to look as casual as possible (despite the mumbling “Oh, my God” to himself), he can’t help but notice that the redheaded stranger is staring at him rather menacingly. Oh, and he got a pretty big wrench. Chuck decides to keep heading down the aisle, suspicious that he's being followed. Sure enough, when he stops walking, so does RedHairedMan. Chuck has a mini panic attack and RedHairedMan replaces his wrench with the biggest staple gun I’ve ever seen.
Chuck makes an awesome “scared” noise (wonder if that was him or a sound effect. Probably a sound effect) before looking back - yup, he’s still there. Chuck then decides to make a run for it, the instinct to stay alive much stronger than that of looking sane, but is blocked by a line of those little cars that carry all the bulk junk. He proceeds to freak out a bit and goes back and forth between staring at RedHairedMan to the giant staple gun. This whole scene would be absolutely ridiculous if it weren’t for the music; it’s sounds sort of like old Hollywood, scary movie music (kind of like the classic “Reee! Reee! Reee!”), and gives the scene a sense that Chuck really is in terrible danger of being stapled to death.
Having made his escape, Chuck tries to tell one of the employees he literally runs into about the guy (with a kind of Terminator vibe, as he puts it) he saw because he’s trying to do something bad (what exactly, Chuck doesn’t know). The woman points RedHairedGuy out based on Chuck’s description and he’s being all happy and smiley with the cashier. And as the employee walks away, leaving Chuck to feel absolutely insane, the store is suddenly crowded with shoppers. Which only makes Chuck feel even more insane. But RedHairedMan shoots him a sinister look from afar. And! He’s got a gun! Chuck was right!
Surprise.
Meanwhile, Sarah is in the Buy More parking lot, watching Chuck as he goes back to work. She’s on the phone with Graham; he tells her to leave, it’s over. The NSA is stepping in to clean up the mess the CIA made, since, after all, Bryce was with them before he burned them. Sarah is less than thrilled to hear that the NSA has sent Casey. I smell even more future hijinks! But she’s not having it; she demands twelve hours (and already her accent is beyond noticeable) and hangs up. On her boss. I guess you can get away with that in the CIA.
Chuck is at the Nerd Herd desk, head down, mumbling to himself that he’s losing his mind, when someone with very feminine hands steps up and rings the bell. Chuck’s hand immediately shoots to the ringer and he scolds Morgan (now then, Chuck, didn’t anyone ever tell you what happens when you assume?), telling him now’s not a good time. But when he feels the hand in question, he realizes that it is definitely not his little buddy, but none other than…
Sarah!
She flirts her ass off and Morgan keeps popping up in the background (and I laugh every time) to answer for our titular Nerd as he’s a little too nervous to do it himself. That is, until Chuck shoots him a glare or two; then he shimmies off screen or goes to the aid of an imaginary customer. But, the important thing is, they have a date! But, oh, no! Casey is watching Sarah’s every move. Complications are already a’ risin’.
Chuck arrives at home to find Ellie and Captain Awesome (c’mon! What is his name?!) relaxing on the couch in their scrubs. He tells them not to freak out but he has some news. Morgan runs in and jumps onto Chuck’s side, clinging with both his arms and legs, and fills them in on Chuck's date. And I laugh again. Ellie is shocked, her boyfriend thinks it’s awesome (as he is wont to do with most things, I take it) and we get a montage!
It’s a fun little peek into just how differently Chuck and Sarah are in preparing for their night. Sarah is, of course, prepping for a mission and Chuck is, of course, getting ready for a date. It’s another reminder of the balance the show intends to play with tone, as well as the spy and normal worlds. Ellie wishes Chuck good luck on his date and reminds him to not mention Jill (after adjusting his shirt and other motherly things). He is well prepared and she's happy for him, “Aces, Charles. You’re Aces.”
It’s a “Dad quote”, as Chuck puts it, and it’s an interesting little seed that I hope the writers will touch on sooner rather than later, as it immediately makes me question their relationship with their parents, what happened before we came into their lives as viewers. If what I’m thinking is right (which I honestly was already thinking about during my real first viewing) then it also explains Ellie’s maternally-skewed relationship to her brother.
As Chuck heads off into the sunset, Morgan is staring at Ellie as though she were God’s gift to the world. He tries to make small talk but she immediately shoots him down and tells him to just go home.
Sarah is on the phone with her boss once more; she’s questioning Chuck’s involvement in all of this - he seems like a nice guy. But Graham, logically I suppose, assures her that nice guys aren’t sent government secrets and Sarah asks him what to do should he try to run. She opens the door to her date as Graham answers,
“Kill him”
D:
and it’s a surprisingly intense moment. Yvonne Strahovski gives the perfect reaction to Graham’s coldly detached (complete with a “duh” shrug) answer and Chuck’s amazingly sweet smile (and flowers). The fact that she looks genuinely scared of that possibility, on top of Graham’s tone, make it seem like a true potential outcome. As a viewer, even though we know that Chuck is not going to die, it’s, as I said, an intense moment and that is due, in very large part, to the performances - they’re all so good at what they do that it makes all the difference.
When we get back from our commercial break, the mood is much lighter - Chuck and Sarah are sipping some snazzy drinks and chatting away (again, great ADR work! Chuck must’ve taken ventriloquism classes ‘cause as he tells Sarah that he lives with his sister and her boyfriend all I see is him grinning away). He’s being cool, and charming, and very funny (which is good because Sarah is not funny, though, sadly, not a cannibal either) and it’s a nice change. He’s clearly much more comfortable talking with a girl one-on-one than he is with three or four at once.
The conversation turns to Sarah and her ex (he’s why she moved from DC to LA. Gee, I wonder who he could be), Bruce. Oh, yeah, no idea who she's talking about there. Chuck immediately pokes fun at her for dating a “Bruce” and Sarah asks him about his past. Chuck starts to talk about Jill but quickly turns it into another witty moment. Sarah laughs (as do I) and tells Chuck that she likes him. And I believe her.
The pair head to their next destination and we find out that Sarah doesn’t listen to music. So, she’s not funny and she doesn’t listen to music - talk about the worst date ever, right, Chuck? Chuck?
But he’s too busy having another of his little moments when he sees the license plate of one of many vehicles being given a police escort drive by. He looks a bit dazed at first but quickly recovers, telling Sarah he’s had much worse dates. In fact, this one time, in 11th grade…we don’t get to hear the rest of their banter as we see that Casey is watching them like a hawk. He orders his goons to keep Chuck alive but tells them they can kill the “CIA skirt.” Oh, boy.
Um, that gun isn't loaded
Chuck and Sarah enter a club while the awesome music blares and we can see that they are genuinely having a good time. That’s right, they - Sarah included. This is going to be harder for her than she thought. Sarah spots Casey and his goons and thinks fast, pulling Chuck onto the dance floor. I get it, cover of the crowd and all that. She dances all sexy-and-steamy-like while Chuck just kind of bounces and looks uncomfortable.
Sarah amps up the heat a bit and now Chuck looks as though he can’t believe he’s dancing with her and that she’s dancing like that with him. It’s a good thing he doesn’t notice that she’s taking Casey's goons out one-by-one with her knives and karate moves while she shakes her groove thing.
When the only one left is Casey, Sarah pulls Chuck from the crowd and drags him out of the club, demanding the keys to his car. But it’s sort of company policy that only Nerds drive the Nerd Herd mobile (I love his brain keychain). She doesn’t have time for corporate hierarchy; she pulls out some weird stick and uses it to unlock the car. Sarah yells at him to get in, but he just stands there, confused.
He finally ducks in as Casey and his goons speed down the road to their location and is, understandably, a bit more than confused as Sarah drives away from the big black van. In reverse. What? There wasn't enough time to turn around.
Chuck, despite the panic and general freaking out, is surprisingly calm, asking who those men are, what do they want, etc. But then the NSA agents ram into the Nerd Herd mobile and Chuck begins to go into full-on panic mode (can you blame him?). But, after a second, he’s back to being calm. It’s subtle, I suppose, but it’s a nice little hint that Chuck is more cut out for this lifestyle than we, and perhaps even he, would initially have thought; though, he of course, is completely unaware of what’s going on at the moment.
Sarah asks him which way to turn and when. He decides that she should turn left (*grins like an idiot*) in five seconds. Since he’s facing the back of the car and she’s facing the front, Sarah asks him to clarify whose left he means, all while Casey has his goons ramming the crap out of the car. When Chuck hesitates with an answer, she makes a split-second decision and turns, I’m guessing in the wrong direction, and they end up driving down some stairs (and past a couple of stoners)
“Whooa. Computer emergencyyy.”
Sarah stops in the middle of the road and tells Chuck that those men are NSA agents and they’re after him. Chuck begins to ramble about why they can’t be after him but then decides that none of that is really Sarah’s problem.
But that is.
Casey’s Goon Mobile rams straight into Chuck’s car and send them spinning a few feet. Sarah hurries Chuck out as the Goon Mobile turns around, hoping to get in another shot. They make a run for it but Chuck trips over a giant scrap of metal (that's what you get for pulling him like that, Sarah). Sarah stands her ground and activates the emergency blockade (via the handy “Emergency Blockade” button) the building they’re nearby has with one of her knives. The blockades shoot up just in time and the Goon Mobile rams straight into the one Sarah is behind as she ducks for cover.
The entire sequence, from the moment they get into the car to the moment Casey's van rams into the blockade, is just as - if not more - impressive than all the previous action sequences in the pilot. The adrenaline is pumping full flow the entire time, and, best of all, there isn't one singular element that I can point out that makes this sequence - it's everything; the music, the editing, the directing, the acting, the practical and special effects - everything comes together to form a chase that I think any big-budget action movie would be proud to call their own. I had high hopes from Bryce kicking a chair, so you can only imagine how over-the-moon I am now.
Chuck is shocked that Sarah survived and immediately runs to her side. Sarah calls for an emergency air evacuation and grabs Chuck. They head onto the roof of the nearest building (and I smile as Chuck climbs the last step with his hands) and Sarah asks Chuck about Bryce. He is shocked that Sarah knows about Bryce, doubly so upon hearing that he’s a CIA agent. Sarah explains that he went rogue and asks Chuck if they’d been in contact recently. Chuck tells her that Bryce sent him an email. And he opened it. And saw all of the pictures it contained. Sarah looks shocked (and just a little bit worried).
She asks Chuck if he backed up his hard drive and he tells her his computer crashed a week ago (nice reaction from Yvonne and nice little timeline detail from the writers). But Chuck is no fool; her reaction immediately makes him question whether or not it was safe for him to see those images. But instead of answering his question, Sarah tells Chuck that she may have to aim her gun at him “so, just don’t freak out.”
Chuck asks her why but, before she can answer, the pair are joined by Casey. He demands that Sarah cut the crap and give Chuck to him. Now. He belongs to the NSA.
Sarah immediately brandishes her gun and points it straight at Chuck; the CIA gets him first. Casey pulls his gun on Sarah but she threatens to shoot Chuck should Casey come any closer. Naturally, at this point, Chuck’s freakin’ out. Casey, however, is much more calm. If Sarah shoots Chuck, he’ll just shoot her and then go out for some pancakes (I laugh).
Chuck decides that now’s a good a time as any to run but stops after only a few seconds. He sees more images, including the general, a building, RedHairedMan, and a bomb. He turns on the spot and tells the two agents, “They’re gonna’ kill him.” Casey asks who he’s talking about and Chuck gives him an answer, telling them that something is very, very wrong with him; he’s remembering things that he shouldn’t know.
For example, there was a Serbian (Serbian? Is he a fan of Miss Demova?) demolitions expert at the Large Mart that day (so, he waited a week to show Jeff and the other Nerd his computer?). That’s kind of odd, wouldn’t you say?
I love just how freaked out Chuck is while he explains all of this to them. Zac Levi is very good at giving just the right amount of scared or nervous depending on the scene. I know I keep using this word to describe the cast, but they’re all very good at making the moment feel real; they never give too much or too little. It’s very encouraging for the rest of the show.
Okay, so it loses something in still form
Chuck explains some extremely classified information to Sarah and Casey (and we find out that his latest Intersect-thingie ((they haven't used the word "flash" yet! It's my first time!)) was caused by a hotel within view) that he couldn’t possibly know or have pieced together if he really were an innocent civilian. Casey immediately turns his gun on Chuck, now believing that he was working with Bryce. I mean, the guy not only knows all of this intel, but he knows that there's a bomb in some building ready to blow a general sky high; what other logical explanation is there? But Sarah tells Casey that Chuck opened the email.
She tells Chuck that those images were encoded with secrets, government secrets and if he saw them then he knows them (so Shade's glasses were keeping him from truly seeing them, then). Casey puts it together fairly quickly, thinking aloud as he realizes that all of the government’s secrets are in Chuck’s head.
Which means that Chuck is the computer.
Sarah’s wording freaks the living shit out of Chuck (as it would me) and she tries to talk him down and get the information about this bomb out of him. Chuck calls them crazy and Casey shares with him the little known fact that they’re the good guys. I can see how Chuck’s a bit terrified though, seeing as the good guys had pointed their guns at him at some point. But, even if he wanted to, he can’t help them; they should call Bryce instead. Sarah yells that Bryce is dead and she and Chuck exchange pained looks. Casey is clearly not one for dwelling on emotions as he fires off a shot into the air, breaking up their little moment and demanding that Chuck cooperates.
Another successful scene, in my book. Their characters are becoming more and more clear and the viewer can already begin to piece together how these three will interact in the future. Sarah is obviously more nurturing and patient than her older, male counterpart and Casey is clearly more concerned with following orders, shooting first, and asking questions later. Though, his killing Bryce also shows that he's not opposed to going off orders should the mission require it. Those hijinks I keep smelling? Oh, yeah. They're getting smellier.
But the general is already on the stage. SerbianTerminator, disguised as a waiter, pushes a little dining cart to the center of the room, leaving it there as the General gives his speech. And the climactic stage is set.
The trio burst into the hotel, prepared to go find the bomb, when Sarah reminds Casey that now Chuck is too valuable to bring anywhere near an explosive. So Casey decides to shove him onto the floor (lucky for them he didn’t hit his head or anything) and tells him to stay there but tell them where the general is. And he calls him “Johnny Commodore”. Anyone get that reference? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t. Sarah clarifies for our favorite Nerd that they need the fastest way to get to that room. Chuck jumps up from the floor and makes a run for it. Sarah and Casey follow.
They end up cutting across the floor by running through a fancy little pool (the kind you stare at and appreciate aesthetically, not the kind you swim in) in the middle of the hotel. Oh, those hijinks. They make it to the room and it is packed. This is going to be a little complicated. After a minute of surveying the floor, Chuck finds the bomb. Casey pulls him over, Sarah close behind, and they open the lid to uncover a hell of a lot of C4 with a connecting laptop resting on top, counting down.
‘Can’t disconnect the cables or the laptop - either one would auto-trigger the bomb. The rest of the room catches on to what’s happening and the evacuation starts. Sarah asks Chuck if he can remember anything else about the bomb. Judging by his face, he has no freakin’ clue. But before he can give an answer, the horrifying sound of Journey’s Any Way You Want It fills the air. And, despite my feelings about the band, I burst out laughing when it’s revealed that it was Chuck’s cell phone ringing. He sheepishly answers while the agents get a better look at the bomb. Who could be calling Chuck now? Especially if they think he’s on a date.
Surprise! It’s Morgan. Man, this guy is clingy! Chuck must have known him for a long time; familiarity and loyalty are the only explanations I'd buy at this point as to why he's still friends with him.
Even Chuck is sick of this bullshit
Chuck tries to shoo Morgan off but he wants details about the date. You know, during the date…but, who could blame him? Ellie’s out with the Captain, he’s just laying on Chuck’s bed (oh, yeah; you read that right), his computer has a case of the Demova’s so he just figured he’d check…The Irene Demova virus!
Chuck hangs up on Morgan and joins the two agents in front of the bomb, ready to take action. Casey is not letting that happen. After all, that bomb is not an Xbox and Chuck’s not an X-Man. But Chuck is a Nerd and that bomb is made from a Prism Express laptop. Casey is still skeptical but Sarah is confident in Chuck. He uses the laptop’s DOS override to introduce Mr. Bomb to Mr. Internet and enters Miss Demova’s name into a no-name search engine (guess Google wasn’t interested, huh?). And we get a short but funny exchange between Chuck and Casey when Casey thinks Chuck is searching for porn and Chuck quickly shushes him with a little “Nn!” noise and finger wag.
He enters Miss Demova’s website and shuts his eyes. The countdown only has one second left! What’s going to happen!?
Da daaa! The laptop sparks and fizzles and the bomb is diffused! And the trio’s expressions are priceless.
Chucks is happily shocked and relieved that he just diffused a real bomb and I have to say, Zac Levi is probably the best actor I’ve seen at playing “relieved to be alive”. But the sort of laughing-about-it-but-so-fucking-relieved relieved. Sarah looks amused and impressed and Casey just looks annoyed but I’m beginning to think that’s his default setting. Chuck’s relief quickly fades - what if he had been wrong? Bring on the nausea. Just don’t puke on the C4.
I love it when a show introduces a seemingly unimportant element early on in the story, usually for a laugh, and then it turns it out to be crucial to the plot in the end. It’s often used, of course, but it’s also often unsuccessfully used, in my humble opinion. Here, though, the initial gag felt seamless (and was genuinely funny) and it didn’t feel forced when it was brought back as the tool to save the day. It also showcases that Chuck brings an important element to the spy world - the perspective of a normal guy. Well, an incredibly smart normal guy. Even without the computer in his head, he’s able to see things that two seasoned agents couldn’t, because of his normal life, and figure out a plan. It’s just one part that makes this so enjoyable.
Now outside, Casey and Sarah both demand that Chuck go with them, though, separately of course. Sarah is convinced that this was not a fluke; Chuck can help them with bigger missions. Casey agrees but he thinks they should drop him in a psych tank - he’ll tell them what they need to know. But Sarah is concerned about Chuck’s wellbeing as well as his family and friends. Casey, predictably, could give two shits.
See, guys! They're total opposites! It's crazy!
Chuck walks in on the conversation and demands that his family and friends be left out of all this. He reminds them that he’s the one remembering all their secrets; they need him. Which means they have to listen to him. And right now? Right now, Chuck’s going home. But instead, he sits on the beach, contemplating everything he’s just been through. He’s there all night, interrupted from his thoughts by Sarah as she (having watched him from afar the entire time) joins him as the sun rises, the alternative ballad filling the background. It’s a bit cliché but it works.
Chuck tells her that he doesn’t know why Bryce chose him to send the data to. They both think on that in silence for a moment before Chuck asks what they’re going to do with him. Sarah tries to paint as nice a picture as possible: for now, he’ll go back to his old life and they’ll protect him while he works with them. Call me paranoid, but “for now” makes me a little nervous for Chuck's future. He arrives home and Ellie and Morgan rush him. They were extremely concerned; he was gone all night. But he can’t tell them a thing about it. According to Sarah, the best way to keep them safe is to tell them nothing. Instead, he just pulls the two of them in for a very awkward hug. Captain Awesome walks by, he’s got an early morning procedure, and sees them all hugging. He immediately gets in on that.
Awesome. (I really like him XD)
Back on the beach, Sarah just needs Chuck to do one more thing for her.
"Trust me, Chuck."
Well, maybe he’d have an easier time trusting you if you told him the truth. She sits on her bed and looks at the flowers Chuck had given her. That is, before she looks at pictures on her phone. Of her and Bryce. On vacation together. In 2005. Oh, boy.
The next day, Chuck finishes his application for the assistant manager position at the Buy More. He walks that fateful walk to his manager’s office as Titoli (from A Fistful of Dollars) blares away in the background. It’s funny enough, I guess. He walks by Harry who tries to intimidate him and Chuck makes the funniest “tough guy” face I’ve ever seen.
Chuck passes by Morgan and gives him a, “Seriously?” look. Morgan is standing, stoically, by one of the TVs. Remember how I said the music was “funny enough”? Well, now I’m laughing like a moron as Morgan turns down the volume on the TV and the music goes with it. Call me easily amused, but I love gags like that XD
Chuck nervously hands in his application (his manager doesn’t even look away from his computer) and begins the whole “this is why I want the job and this is why you should hire me” speech. His manager tells him to save it for the interview. And go train the new guy.
Chuck scurries off and looks for this new co-worker. Hmm…I wonder who it could be.
Casey gives him a snarky smile and a flick of his name tag while Chuck just looks confused (and slightly like “you’ve gotta’ be kidding me”). And some awesome music begins to play - it’s alternative/techno-y. It gives the scene this sort of dream-like, surreal, feeling and helps the viewer to get into the mindset that Chuck must be in upon seeing Casey there.
Before Chuck can make it over to him, he spots a customer walking past him. Gee, who could this be?
Shocking, I know
He smiles at her and glances down at her shopping basket, noticing her ring in the process. It triggers another little Intersect file and Chuck sees Sarah kicking the crap out of two men before shooting them both and the camera that’s recording her, ring visible on her finger in the footage.
As Chuck walks past her, the camera zooms in on his face as he stares directly into it,
“Don’t freak out.”
And that concludes one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen. Usually pilots are pale, poorly written ideas for what a show could be, but this? This was a great introduction into the life of Chuck Bartowski and the life he will now, however unwittingly it made be, lead. This show feels like it's straight out of the 80's and I mean that as a very high compliment. The characters were all very well established; only a few feel a bit 2D (Captain Awesome, Morgan, and Casey, for my money’s worth). While a couple fell a little flat, the jokes were funny, the action sequences were extremely impressive, and this show sports of one the most charismatic, talented casts I’ve seen in one place in quite a while.
So, Pilot receives an impressive 8 out of 10.
So, I’m going to watch the show in its entirety with as few preconceptions as possible, as though it were the first time. During that time, I'll recap/picspam each episode and give it a score from 1 to 10, and average the season totals together to get a view of which season was best in more black-and-white terms. I’ll also give a more subjective view on the season as a whole and how the arc worked and whatnot.
I’ll be starting with…
click small pics for bigger versions!
PILOT
We open on some guy gearing up for some serious espionage.
Serious spy work
Morgan, thank you disembodied voice for IDing him, continues his routine while Chuck, thank you Morgan, reflects that this is definitely a bad idea. He’s uncomfortable with the plan.
“Plan? What plan? This is SURVIVAL.”
And I laugh out loud at Morgan’s “serious” voice. But, someone’s coming? They’ve been compromised! Morgan immediately ducks out the window, clutching to his makeshift rope while Chuck pleads with him not to leave him there. While it’s obvious that this is a fake-out, it’s still fun to watch, in combination of the fast editing (it gives the scene a more suspenseful, action-y feel) and the performances - even though they’re just voiceovers, they’re pitched perfectly to the tone of the scene.
Da daaa! The intruder is some mildly irritated and confused woman who slightly resembles Chuck (and Lisa, the gift shop girl on Scrubs), and here we see that we’re really peeking into some domestic situation and not a high-stakes mission. I immediately smile at the TRON poster on the wall - another awesome little clue into Chuck’s personality.
♥ Nice shot by the way, McG
Poor Chuck, escaping from his own birthday party (as I’m laughing my ass off at Morgan struggling outside), but hey, at least his sister Ellie looks fantastic!
Annoyed but fan-tas-tic
I love when exposition and relationships are brought up in a way that feels as natural as possible. It’s hard to do and, very often, just feels like, well, exposition. I always cringe when I hear a character say “sis” because, being someone with siblings, it just feels unnatural - I have never, and would never, call either of my sisters “sis” (oddly enough, I’ve called my younger sister “babe” since I can remember. I’m guessing it came from baby). But I understand that some people do actually talk like that so I can’t fault writers for using it. And here, it’s necessary because it quickly lets us know that Ellie is Chuck’s sister. And Morgan’s little compliment to her, in combination with Josh Gomez’s fanboyish delivery, establishes that Morgan has a thing for her. So, good job writers!
Anyway.
We’re given more info about Chuck (and Morgan) in that he doesn’t know anyone that Ellie has invited, establishing that he doesn’t really have any friends other than the bearded buffoon clinging to that sheet for dear life, while also establishing that he’s a bit socially awkward. ‘Cause he is hiding in his room, planning escape, after all.
We also find out that Ellie is a doctor, since all the friends she invited are doctors. We ALSO find out (damn, Schwartz and Fedak, a minute in and you’re already painting detailed portraits of the characters! *high five*) that of the two, two being Chuck and Morgan, Chuck is the more “cool” one, since Ellie’s friends get his jokes. And Zac Levi just emits that vibe in his delivery.
Definition of cool
But. Ellie has invited real, live women. For him. So he needs to move his ass to the party.
But not Morgan (another nice peek into Morgan and Ellie).
Chuck, reluctantly, gets up off the floor (WOW, he is tall. And that’s coming from a girl who’s 5 ft. 9) and asks Morgan if he needs a hand. Morgan stands up and, as I’m dying from laughter, tells him he’s fine. It’s a simple enough gag but I love it.
XD
And here we have the perfect opening for the show. It establishes three of the lead’s personalities and relationships quickly and effortlessly while also setting the tone of the series. There’s already a balance of action (even in just the fake-out we’re given a nice glimpse) and comedy that fits very well, and lets us know that the writers are very good at switching tones on a dime.
So, Ellie drags Chuck through their Echo Park apartment to the women pit she’s made for him outside. Along the way we bump into Captain Awesome (but, please, don’t call him that). And I gotta’ say, his character is also perfectly and immediately shown; your stereotypical, run-of-the-mill jock who is good at everything and knows it, but with a twist - he seems like a genuinely good guy.
Just look at that insanely blurry smile :D It screams, “I actually care about you and want to help you find a girl instead of sit around and make fun of you like any other stereotypical jock would do in my shoes.” Or, you know, something like that.
And we see where he got the nickname from as he’s got some girls for Chuck and they are awesome.
Poor Chuck looks like a rabbit in headlights. I say rabbit since they’re slightly more twitchy than deer. All these girls surrounding him like predators with their chipmunk voices (wow, lotta’ animal stuff going on in this recap right now) are clearly making him uncomfortable.
Evidence: awkward tie fiddling
They question his wardrobe, asking if he’s in some sort of costume (I guess for his birthday? I don’t know) and he tells them that he works for the Nerd Herd (ala the Geek Squad). But he doesn’t really wanna’ do that. Those darn fonts, slowin’ down his five-year plan. Though, I’m sure it would go faster if his poor fingers weren’t so chafed but duty calls (yeah, I had to).
I love how awkward and uncomfortable he is, it’s a nice contrast to the scene with Morgan and Ellie where he was clearly much more at ease. I also love seeing these girls’ reactions to his job and gaming habits. It’s so stereotypical but, sadly, true.
The subject is quickly changed to where he matriculated. Stanford. Well, technically. Damn, Chuck’s pretty smart, huh? The most chipmunk-y girl of all went there too (go class of ’02!). I doubt she majored in engineering like Chuck. But, not to worry, she used to know this great guy who was an engineer too! He ran track and was a gymnast too. Oh, yes. Chuck’s pretty sure he’s an accountant now.
Smash cut to DC and some bloodied up guy in a suit crashing onto a white floor in a large white room. Thanks to some helpful text, we find out he’s Bryce-great-guy-Larkin.
He quickly scurries and slides to an extremely dated computer at the end of the room, called the Intersect Computer, and begins typing frantically with his bloody little digits as he shoves some sort of wedgey thing (technical term) in the disc drive. It established a link and NotAnAccountant puts on some, blood free, shades. Hey! He looks like the drummer from That Thing You Do! You know, the one nicknamed Shades! Looks like GreatGuy's got a new alias in this recap.
He mutters a cool phrase, “It’s hard to say goodbye” (okay, so, not that cool. But he’s all bloodied and badass and has shades on - he’s clearly cool. Plus, he’s got the doctor girl all excited, so he gets extra points there) and presses enter on the keyboard.
Thousands of images begin to flicker on every wall of the room, including the ceiling and floor. We hear the emergency “security breach” announcement blare in the background while the camera zooms in so close that we can see every pore on Shades’ face the images reflecting off of the computer screen onto his glasses. I’m guessing they're are doing something but can’t be really be too sure. Oh, well, he sure looks cool.
Awkwardly zoomed in Evidence
His little computer is transferring the data, aka the images, from the computer onto it's awesome little self. Meanwhile…
Shade’s biggest fan is still talking to Chuck. She asks if he has a girlfriend. Uh, no. He did, a while back at Stanford. Yeah. Her name was Jill. They met freshman year. Which was a while back. Bryce!fan looks completely disinterested and slightly weirded out. But Chuck starts to ramble about the day he met Jill. An economics class, a walk across the quad, a dropped bag, and a head bump (kind of like in a cartoon). Ah, young love.
Young, rambly love
He's really going at it for a while, completely oblivious to the fact that Shades!fan is getting pretty bored. And here we have another peek into the man that is Chuck. He's clearly still very much in love with his ex, Jill. Or, at the very least, still very much in like with her. And, seeing as they had so much in common (as they also did with Shades), I'm guessing she was a geek too. As was, despite his cool appearance, Shades. Interesting.
Ellie checks in with Captain Awesome, who's been spying (see what I did there?) on Chuck during his encounter with the opposite sex.
Even he sees that this is a bad idea
I'm still not quite sure how to interpret how involved Ellie and her boyfriend are with ensuring that Chuck gets, at the very least, a phone number from one of these girls. I mean, I get it; Chuck is at least, what, 25? Absolute youngest (yeah, I know he’s 26 in the pilot but it’s my first time, remember?). So they want to help him meet someone before he's the newest 40-Year Old Virgin, minus the whole virgin part. So, more like the 40-Year Old Single Guy. And, I’m sure, more importantly, they want him to be able to get over Jill and move on.
So, Chuck continues rambling and we find out (again, nice job with the exposition) that Jill ended up with Bryce and all Chuck got was a train ride home. He finally looks up from the spot he was fascinated with during his spiel with a damn adorable look on his face to find that the chipmunk-voice girl has gone. Actually, all of the girls have gone. Poor Chuck. He looks so uncomfortable that it’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable.
Slide back over to Shades and he’s got agents banging on the door. He quickly attaches a small device to the side of the Intersect Computer and switches it on; the countdown begins and he takes off his coat (he’s also san shades now). We know exactly what’s coming but I can’t help but feel as though I’ll be underwhelmed - TV budgets and all. And this is a pilot so it’s not like serious money was shelled out for this, given it might never get off the ground.
The agents continue to bang on the door, completely unaware of the little surprise Shades has for them. He makes a run for it seconds before the bomb detonates. And the explosion is, surprisingly good. I mean, for TV, it’s good. But, special effects aside, this entire sequence is so well put together that I really can’t complain.
Shades immediately makes a run for it, taking out numerous agents with some snazzy martial arts moves (and some things I’m sure he learned in those gymnastics classes). The editing is slick and the stunt work is, again, surprisingly good and not just for a TV show. There’s one maneuver that’s particularly impressive. Bryce takes out one agent and, while in the middle of a run, sees another agent heading his way. He immediately drops to the floor and slides under a table, kicking a chair right into the approaching agent’s legs.
Okay, so it's less impressive in still-form
It’s a creative move on the part of the stunt coordinator and it makes me excited to see what other fun stunts they'll bring to the table. All that from a kicked chair. What can I say? I’m a fan of action movies and TV shows, so if the action can be done in a creative way that feels right for the scene and looks cool? That’s pretty damn awesome in my book.
He takes out one more agent before jumping and climbing his way up onto the stairs (it looks more impressive than it sounds). And, as he continues his escape-of-awesomeness (nice parallel to the opening), I’m just noticing his appearance; shaggy hair, a white shirt, tie, and black pants. It’s probably not intentional but it’s a great parallel to Chuck. Of the two, Shades’ is the more adult outfit by far but they are technically both uniforms. But enough of my seeing symbolism where there is none - now there are even more agents chasing after Shades - with guns!
He takes a breather on the landing of a staircase, pulling out the transfery-computer from before. Damn, Apple should patent this thing and sell it; they’d make a killing! Oh, the puns.
Shades pulls up his email contacts and scrolls through. The agents bust down the door and take a shot but Shades is too quick. He makes it to the roof and utilizes some parkour skills to make it to next one, which an enemy agent attempts…but ends up breaking his legs. Or, at least, something like that. He’s in pain, that’s all that matters. Shades is not just cool, my friends, he’s got some serious skills just like Xena. He makes his way to the ground, American Gladiators style, and continues to scroll through his contact list.
But he makes one fatal mistake: he turns around to make sure he’s not being followed. And in that moment, a shot is fired. And Bryce (it’s a serious moment, people, I’m just showing some respect) falls to the ground, computer-of-awesome still in hand. The camera cuts to a big guy in a suit, gun in hand. He immediately barks at the fallen Bryce not to move which, in all honesty, seems just more than a little redundant, Mr. Big Guy.
*Sigh* Honestly
He inches closer to Bryce, who tells Casey (thanks, Bryce) that he’s too late. Bryce hits send and the computer works it magic before fizzling out. Very much like Bryce. But, just before the computer’s display dies, we see the person Bryce sent the data to and it’s…Surprise! It’s Chuck! Again, a great sequence. It quickly lets us know that Bryce is, er, was, a badass and whatever the hell the Intersect Computer contained was pretty damn valuable. I mean, it was worth Casey killing over. Although, I get the vibe, mainly from Casey’s cold and detached demeanor, that this was not his first kill.
Cut back to Chuck’s chafed hands as he unbandages them, looking forlorn. Ellie brings him a beer while Morgan and Captain Awesome (I really want to know his real name) start the clean up in the background. Chuck is appreciative for the party, even if he didn’t have a very good time, as well as for Ellie’s tasted-like-eight seven-layer dip. Ellie starts to comfort Chuck (and I smile at the sibling love) saying she needs to tell him something. He dryly responds, “It really was eight layers?” but gives a little smile at the end.
♥
Even at this point in the pilot, I am really liking Chuck! Which is good, considering he is the titular character and all. His deadpan wit (and nervous babbling) is extremely endearing. Anyway. Ellie shares the wisdom of never talking about an ex to a girl, even if they ask. Which is kind of courteous regardless of the sex of the person you’re talking to. Chuck is being depressing when he does that; Stanford was five years ago, he needs to move on. But Chuck is a bit touchy; they’ve had this conversation many times, it would seem. And here we have another glimpse into the Chuck/Ellie relationship. It’s typical sibling fare but Ellie feels especially maternal for an older sister. It’s really impressive to see how the writers and the actors are infusing the characters with these little traits so early into the show.
Chuck leaves, tired of the conversation. Morgan quickly takes his place, much to Ellie’s chagrin, and tries to strike up conversation. Ellie just ignores him and sips her beer. And I laugh again.
Cut to Morgan playing Gears of War while Chuck watches. After a minute, Chuck's computer blips: it’s an email from Bryce. And now, after such good exposition (good in that it didn’t make me sit there and roll my eyes at how ‘exposition-y” it was), we get the forced exposition in Morgan explaining to Chuck who Bryce is. Chuck is all “Yeah, Morgan, I think I remember Bryce…” which kind of makes up for it. They both check out the email: it’s a zrk file. Chuck opens it and his screen goes black, with some odd text appearing after a moment,
"The terrible troll raises his sword."
At Morgan’s request, Chuck explains what the weird little sentence means. Back at Stanford, he and Bryce programmed their own version of the old text-based video game, Zork using a TRS-80.
‘Cause they were really cool
Now if only Chuck could remember what was in his hero’s satchel (the weapons that he would use to kill the Terrible Troll).
‘Cause he’s still really cool
And Morgan’s going home - it’s that time. Chuck remembers his weapon of choice (the nasty knife) and immediately after he punches in the answer, his screen begins to show thousands of images, one after another, at a rapid pace. His expression quickly turns from confusion to something more like a zombie. There are so many images that Chuck ends up staring at his computer through the entire night (utilizing a pretty cool effect) passing out only when the last image fades (and his alarm rings) at 7:01 AM.
Finally! The plot begins! Not that it wasn’t entertaining until now, it’s just nice to see the premise of the show unfolding.
Chuck is pulled out of his coma by Morgan, who looks pretty worried. But Chuck is…well, Chuck’s brain is having a little trouble rebooting. Morgan sounds like he’s talking in slow motion and Chuck can still see all those images floating around in front of him. His brain finally decides to cooperate and he sees his little buddy. Chuck takes a moment to survey his computer from where he’s sitting (I love the “I AM A PROFESSIONAL NERD” post-it). But I guess he doesn’t connect that weird email to his brain fry-up because as he stands up he asks Morgan if he spiked the punch (Jesus, he is a GIANT. Or Josh Gomez is kina’ short. Or both). Morgan replies, in some snazzy ADR work (I just love it when it doesn’t remotely line up with their lips :D) that he, in fact, did. Another little character quirk.
Cut to Chuck showering, in a very nicely-sized shower I might add, listening to the traffic report. As he’s listening, however, he sees an image from the night before flash before his eyes, followed by several new images, closing with the first one again. He looks extremely confused and slightly concerned but quickly shrugs if off and continues with his nicely-sized shower.
I don't know how this got here
As Chuck and Morgan walk to his car, Morgan is babbling away about videogames but Chuck has a really splitting headache so he’s not feeling it. Oh, and if Morgan could drive that would be great. Morgan is thrilled to drive the company car even if it’s sitting on plastic and not chrome. Chuck just wants his little buddy to do him a favor and stay off the 5 because the cops are in a phased…deployment…Both Chuck and Morgan pause a beat, looking equally confused by what just came out of Chuck’s mouth. They quickly shrug it off and head into work. Which just so happens to be the best song in the world, it was the best song in the woorld
Buy More! Ya’ know, like Best Buy! Except everything is green instead of blue and the computer guys wear grey ties instead of black (for what it’s worth, I think the grey actually looks better). Another little clue into the man that is Chuck just from this introduction to the Nerd Herd. He is clearly the authority in this strange microcosm so that means that he is the most mature and responsible. Though, given the people he’s working with, that’s not hard to accomplish. But the point still stands (now I wanna’ push a big, shiny button and quote The Lion King).
Like this guy
Chuck goes through his little spiel about a computer virus called the Irene Demova virus (yes, yes, it’s named after the Serbian porn star). Morgan fried their display version of the Prism Express laptop last night by entering Miss Demova’s site. Just keep making Chuck look like the most mature one there, writers. Well, Chuck wasn’t lying; the computer fizzles faster than, well, a computer fizzling. But, ladies and gentlemen, please just ignore dirty Uncle Morgan.
The Dirty Uncle switches on the wall of TVs causing Chuck to have another…um…moment?...when a news report comes on about a General Stanfield, who is going to be arriving in LA tomorrow night. After Chuck’s brain reconnects with the outside world, he blurts out, “He’s already here. He landed last night.” But when questioned as to who “he” is, even Chuckles doesn’t know. Poor Chuck; by now I’d start to think I was losing it if I were him, which, judging by his face, he might be thinking too.
Cut to the Directorate of National Intelligence in Washington D.C. and two people bickering over Shades in some dark room that looks like it was blown up recently. Some short redheaded woman (who looks just like Sister Mary Robert from Sister Act) is blaming the CIA for this - Shades, was after all, a CIA agent. Graham (thanks, Sister Mary Roberts) is blaming Sister - it was the NSA’s job to find him. Turns out Casey (an NSA agent) was supposed to question Bryce, not kill him. But Casey's pretty happy with the way things turned out. I guess he doesn’t like the CIA. I smell future hijinks!
Hijinks face holy shit, he has beautiful eyes
Mom and Dad agents start bickering but Mom quickly shuts Dad up - Major Casey (well, damn) is heading up the investigation. And, at Major Casey’s request, we get some more exposition. The Intersect Computer came into being after 9/11 when the CIA and NSA were told to play nice and share. So, they stored all of their information in that one computer, all of it encrypted onto those images. The computer processed the data and pieced things together that a human being couldn’t. So, basically, it was pretty invaluable.
Casey tells Mom and Pop (though they’re all basically the same age) that he’s heading to LA since that’s where Shades sent the info to (gotta’ love trace signatures). Meanwhile…
Some blonde woman has entered the Buy More and appears to be on the prowl. I wonder who she’s set her sights on.
But Chuckles is busy on the phone so Morgan spots her first. And I smile as he calls her Vicki Vale and then chuckle as Chuck starts to sing that little song in my lj-cut and then burst out laughing as he double takes and drops everything, including the phone. At this rate, I think Chuck is my favorite character, which, again, is good, considering the show is mainly about him.
They exchange witty banter (though Chuck is in rabbit mode for the first half of said exchange) and Blondie makes fun of our dynamic duo’s names. To be fair, I can’t remember the last Chuck or Morgan I’ve met. But, she’s not there to make fun of the geeks, er, more like nerds, you know, Nerd Herd - her cell phone is busted. But it’s quick fix! Hurray! Sarah (she gave her name) looks pretty attracted to Chuck as he fixes her phone and I have to agree, he’s pretty damn charming in this scene even though the hair stylist is clearly trying to make him look ugly.
Before Chuck and Sarah (and the Dirty Uncle himself) can exchange another word, a very anxious father runs up to the Nerd Herd desk, his daughter in tow (and in a ballerina outfit). He shot the entire recital but now it won’t play back…oh, boy, no tape. Morgan groans when Dad (not to be confused with Dad agent) says he doesn’t need one ‘cause it’s digital, but Chuck is much nicer about it, in that he, you know, tells him he still needs digital tape instead of rolling his eyes.
And what follows is the sweetest thing in the entire episode. He takes one look at the daughter’s sad face and has The Wall (being the wall of TVs) cleared. He apologizes to Sarah but she seems pretty okay with his departure, I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s so adorable that it makes my heart hurt.
He has Anna (he said her name during the Demova thing) record Ballerina in front of the Wall so that it looks kind of like a recital. Only, Ballerina is a little nervous - she’s usually in the back row (Chuck asks her why in the most adorable voice ever) because she’s too tall; she blocks the other ballerinas. But Chuckles shares a secret with her as Sarah watches from the desk - real ballerinas are tall (I’ve figured it out. It’s that damn smile of his).
So the dance is recorded and everyone claps and cheers, as it was pretty adorable. Unfortunately, before Chuck can it make back to the Nerd Herd desk (and, more importantly, Sarah) he is confronted by a very irritated short, bald Asian man, named Harry. But Harry does not want to hear Chuck’s excuses for using the Wall; time is Buy More dollars. While Chuck didn’t realize they had their own currency, he apologizes for the commotion buy Harry yells at him and tells him he’ll never be assistant manager. He bumps into Chuck all aggressive-like and I laugh at how the top of his head barely comes up to Chuck’s shoulder. Apologies to shorter people out there, that was wrong of me.
But he is tiny
And here is the villain of the Buy More world. The spy world will, undoubtedly, have numerous so it’s only fitting that the “normal” (did you see the people he has to work with?) world has a nemesis of some kind.
Harry chased Sarah away, but not to worry! She left Chuck her card. Her card that…Morgan is sniffing.
Why is Chuck friends with this guy?
Cut to Chuck and Morgan walking home (to Chuck’s home) and Morgan keeps asking Chuck why he wouldn’t call Sarah.
“Because I live on planet Earth, Morgan - why are you following me home?”
They stand there for a moment, thinking about the reason Morgan is following him (his computer still has a case of the Demova’s. Yeeeah.) before heading inside. But they get a little more than they were expecting to see.
Chuck begs for them not to take the computer and they gingerly place it on the floor before assuming a karate stance. Chuck and Morgan stare at each other in bewilderment and fear and I have to give both Zac Levi and Josh Gomez props for make that moment feel real - no mugging, no selling it to the cheap seats. Well, then Morgan decides to throw a plate at the burglar. Which I guess is pretty real too. But the thief blocks it, sending it right back at the duo and straight at Chuck’s chest. So Morgan tries again with a candle. This time it hits Chuck right in the netherlands. Morgan tries again (you can see where this going) and grabs a vase, quickly swinging it over his head, ready to throw. That is, until it smashes against Chuck’s skull. Poor Chuck.
Morgan yells at him to do something and Chuck shoots him a look that "angry" does not begin to do justice (so much for them not mugging, but it has me laughing my ass off so it works).
Chuck inches his way towards the burglar, demanding the computer be given back. And, well, they give it back. As Chuck is trying to cling onto his baby for dear life, our friend in black does the good ol’ “sweep the leg” maneuver, causing Chuck to fall over. While Chuck is still midair, Ninja kicks him across the room and catches the computer as Chuck lands on a small table/shelf thing, crushing it.
And that makes for fun, creative stunt number 2. Good job, stunt coordinator! Ninja puts the computer on a shelf behind them and gets ready for the next round. Morgan grabs a golf club from the set by the door (I’m guessing those belong to Captain Awesome) and charges in defense of his friend. But Ninja snatches the club and begins to wave it around with their kung-fu skills. Morgan, in true best friend fashion, doesn’t back down.
“Okay, look, he’s not that good of a friend.” Holy crap! Josh Gomez has a tattoo!
Bravery is always rewarded. So, naturally he gets clubbed across the room and lands on Chuck. So that they’re 69ing. I just love highbrow humor. I’m being sarcastic, I totally laughed over that.
Immediately after Morgan lands on Chuck, the shelf (that Morgan hung) falls over and Ninja quickly escapes and jumps into a car that I would kill a man to own. As they speed away they pull off their ninja mask, revealing their true identity and it’s…what’s this? It’s Sarah! Again, extremely predictable, but it works (even though the ninja was clearly a man). ‘Guess Graham sent someone to LA to get the data back in case Casey gets trigger happy again.
The next day, Chuck has a couple of his fellow Nerds take a look at his destroyed computer. Poor thing was…murdered. The older of the Nerds goes on to freak the living crap out of Chuck by hypothesizing that Chuck was the “unwitting target of a ninja [(woo hoo!)] vendetta” and he’ll return tonight to strangle Chuck with his nunchucks. Chuck thinks Jeff’s idea is just super, really outside the box. Jeff then proceeds to be even creepier by winking at Chuck. Twice.
As I’m chuckling (and shuddering at the same time), Chuck decides now’s a good time to go buy some new locks over at Large Mart. I love that it’s already abundantly clear that Chuck is the only normal person on that entire staff.
Question to all the West Coasters out there - what did you think of when you saw Large Mart? The name, clearly, is a play on Wal-Mart but the interior looks more like BJ’s to me. Is BJ’s just an East Coast thing? What “bulk” store do you guys have?
So, Chuck is wandering the store, trying to find locks, when he stumbles upon some random man. Like any person who isn’t very shy, he asks the man where he can find tho-…and then he has another little moment. But this time he doesn’t blurt out what it was that he saw for the audience’s benefit. He does, however, turn a few shades paler and quickly moves away from the man with a foreign accent. As he tries to look as casual as possible (despite the mumbling “Oh, my God” to himself), he can’t help but notice that the redheaded stranger is staring at him rather menacingly. Oh, and he got a pretty big wrench. Chuck decides to keep heading down the aisle, suspicious that he's being followed. Sure enough, when he stops walking, so does RedHairedMan. Chuck has a mini panic attack and RedHairedMan replaces his wrench with the biggest staple gun I’ve ever seen.
Chuck makes an awesome “scared” noise (wonder if that was him or a sound effect. Probably a sound effect) before looking back - yup, he’s still there. Chuck then decides to make a run for it, the instinct to stay alive much stronger than that of looking sane, but is blocked by a line of those little cars that carry all the bulk junk. He proceeds to freak out a bit and goes back and forth between staring at RedHairedMan to the giant staple gun. This whole scene would be absolutely ridiculous if it weren’t for the music; it’s sounds sort of like old Hollywood, scary movie music (kind of like the classic “Reee! Reee! Reee!”), and gives the scene a sense that Chuck really is in terrible danger of being stapled to death.
Having made his escape, Chuck tries to tell one of the employees he literally runs into about the guy (with a kind of Terminator vibe, as he puts it) he saw because he’s trying to do something bad (what exactly, Chuck doesn’t know). The woman points RedHairedGuy out based on Chuck’s description and he’s being all happy and smiley with the cashier. And as the employee walks away, leaving Chuck to feel absolutely insane, the store is suddenly crowded with shoppers. Which only makes Chuck feel even more insane. But RedHairedMan shoots him a sinister look from afar. And! He’s got a gun! Chuck was right!
Surprise.
Meanwhile, Sarah is in the Buy More parking lot, watching Chuck as he goes back to work. She’s on the phone with Graham; he tells her to leave, it’s over. The NSA is stepping in to clean up the mess the CIA made, since, after all, Bryce was with them before he burned them. Sarah is less than thrilled to hear that the NSA has sent Casey. I smell even more future hijinks! But she’s not having it; she demands twelve hours (and already her accent is beyond noticeable) and hangs up. On her boss. I guess you can get away with that in the CIA.
Chuck is at the Nerd Herd desk, head down, mumbling to himself that he’s losing his mind, when someone with very feminine hands steps up and rings the bell. Chuck’s hand immediately shoots to the ringer and he scolds Morgan (now then, Chuck, didn’t anyone ever tell you what happens when you assume?), telling him now’s not a good time. But when he feels the hand in question, he realizes that it is definitely not his little buddy, but none other than…
Sarah!
She flirts her ass off and Morgan keeps popping up in the background (and I laugh every time) to answer for our titular Nerd as he’s a little too nervous to do it himself. That is, until Chuck shoots him a glare or two; then he shimmies off screen or goes to the aid of an imaginary customer. But, the important thing is, they have a date! But, oh, no! Casey is watching Sarah’s every move. Complications are already a’ risin’.
Chuck arrives at home to find Ellie and Captain Awesome (c’mon! What is his name?!) relaxing on the couch in their scrubs. He tells them not to freak out but he has some news. Morgan runs in and jumps onto Chuck’s side, clinging with both his arms and legs, and fills them in on Chuck's date. And I laugh again. Ellie is shocked, her boyfriend thinks it’s awesome (as he is wont to do with most things, I take it) and we get a montage!
It’s a fun little peek into just how differently Chuck and Sarah are in preparing for their night. Sarah is, of course, prepping for a mission and Chuck is, of course, getting ready for a date. It’s another reminder of the balance the show intends to play with tone, as well as the spy and normal worlds. Ellie wishes Chuck good luck on his date and reminds him to not mention Jill (after adjusting his shirt and other motherly things). He is well prepared and she's happy for him, “Aces, Charles. You’re Aces.”
It’s a “Dad quote”, as Chuck puts it, and it’s an interesting little seed that I hope the writers will touch on sooner rather than later, as it immediately makes me question their relationship with their parents, what happened before we came into their lives as viewers. If what I’m thinking is right (which I honestly was already thinking about during my real first viewing) then it also explains Ellie’s maternally-skewed relationship to her brother.
As Chuck heads off into the sunset, Morgan is staring at Ellie as though she were God’s gift to the world. He tries to make small talk but she immediately shoots him down and tells him to just go home.
Sarah is on the phone with her boss once more; she’s questioning Chuck’s involvement in all of this - he seems like a nice guy. But Graham, logically I suppose, assures her that nice guys aren’t sent government secrets and Sarah asks him what to do should he try to run. She opens the door to her date as Graham answers,
“Kill him”
D:
and it’s a surprisingly intense moment. Yvonne Strahovski gives the perfect reaction to Graham’s coldly detached (complete with a “duh” shrug) answer and Chuck’s amazingly sweet smile (and flowers). The fact that she looks genuinely scared of that possibility, on top of Graham’s tone, make it seem like a true potential outcome. As a viewer, even though we know that Chuck is not going to die, it’s, as I said, an intense moment and that is due, in very large part, to the performances - they’re all so good at what they do that it makes all the difference.
When we get back from our commercial break, the mood is much lighter - Chuck and Sarah are sipping some snazzy drinks and chatting away (again, great ADR work! Chuck must’ve taken ventriloquism classes ‘cause as he tells Sarah that he lives with his sister and her boyfriend all I see is him grinning away). He’s being cool, and charming, and very funny (which is good because Sarah is not funny, though, sadly, not a cannibal either) and it’s a nice change. He’s clearly much more comfortable talking with a girl one-on-one than he is with three or four at once.
The conversation turns to Sarah and her ex (he’s why she moved from DC to LA. Gee, I wonder who he could be), Bruce. Oh, yeah, no idea who she's talking about there. Chuck immediately pokes fun at her for dating a “Bruce” and Sarah asks him about his past. Chuck starts to talk about Jill but quickly turns it into another witty moment. Sarah laughs (as do I) and tells Chuck that she likes him. And I believe her.
The pair head to their next destination and we find out that Sarah doesn’t listen to music. So, she’s not funny and she doesn’t listen to music - talk about the worst date ever, right, Chuck? Chuck?
But he’s too busy having another of his little moments when he sees the license plate of one of many vehicles being given a police escort drive by. He looks a bit dazed at first but quickly recovers, telling Sarah he’s had much worse dates. In fact, this one time, in 11th grade…we don’t get to hear the rest of their banter as we see that Casey is watching them like a hawk. He orders his goons to keep Chuck alive but tells them they can kill the “CIA skirt.” Oh, boy.
Um, that gun isn't loaded
Chuck and Sarah enter a club while the awesome music blares and we can see that they are genuinely having a good time. That’s right, they - Sarah included. This is going to be harder for her than she thought. Sarah spots Casey and his goons and thinks fast, pulling Chuck onto the dance floor. I get it, cover of the crowd and all that. She dances all sexy-and-steamy-like while Chuck just kind of bounces and looks uncomfortable.
Sarah amps up the heat a bit and now Chuck looks as though he can’t believe he’s dancing with her and that she’s dancing like that with him. It’s a good thing he doesn’t notice that she’s taking Casey's goons out one-by-one with her knives and karate moves while she shakes her groove thing.
When the only one left is Casey, Sarah pulls Chuck from the crowd and drags him out of the club, demanding the keys to his car. But it’s sort of company policy that only Nerds drive the Nerd Herd mobile (I love his brain keychain). She doesn’t have time for corporate hierarchy; she pulls out some weird stick and uses it to unlock the car. Sarah yells at him to get in, but he just stands there, confused.
He finally ducks in as Casey and his goons speed down the road to their location and is, understandably, a bit more than confused as Sarah drives away from the big black van. In reverse. What? There wasn't enough time to turn around.
Chuck, despite the panic and general freaking out, is surprisingly calm, asking who those men are, what do they want, etc. But then the NSA agents ram into the Nerd Herd mobile and Chuck begins to go into full-on panic mode (can you blame him?). But, after a second, he’s back to being calm. It’s subtle, I suppose, but it’s a nice little hint that Chuck is more cut out for this lifestyle than we, and perhaps even he, would initially have thought; though, he of course, is completely unaware of what’s going on at the moment.
Sarah asks him which way to turn and when. He decides that she should turn left (*grins like an idiot*) in five seconds. Since he’s facing the back of the car and she’s facing the front, Sarah asks him to clarify whose left he means, all while Casey has his goons ramming the crap out of the car. When Chuck hesitates with an answer, she makes a split-second decision and turns, I’m guessing in the wrong direction, and they end up driving down some stairs (and past a couple of stoners)
“Whooa. Computer emergencyyy.”
Sarah stops in the middle of the road and tells Chuck that those men are NSA agents and they’re after him. Chuck begins to ramble about why they can’t be after him but then decides that none of that is really Sarah’s problem.
But that is.
Casey’s Goon Mobile rams straight into Chuck’s car and send them spinning a few feet. Sarah hurries Chuck out as the Goon Mobile turns around, hoping to get in another shot. They make a run for it but Chuck trips over a giant scrap of metal (that's what you get for pulling him like that, Sarah). Sarah stands her ground and activates the emergency blockade (via the handy “Emergency Blockade” button) the building they’re nearby has with one of her knives. The blockades shoot up just in time and the Goon Mobile rams straight into the one Sarah is behind as she ducks for cover.
The entire sequence, from the moment they get into the car to the moment Casey's van rams into the blockade, is just as - if not more - impressive than all the previous action sequences in the pilot. The adrenaline is pumping full flow the entire time, and, best of all, there isn't one singular element that I can point out that makes this sequence - it's everything; the music, the editing, the directing, the acting, the practical and special effects - everything comes together to form a chase that I think any big-budget action movie would be proud to call their own. I had high hopes from Bryce kicking a chair, so you can only imagine how over-the-moon I am now.
Chuck is shocked that Sarah survived and immediately runs to her side. Sarah calls for an emergency air evacuation and grabs Chuck. They head onto the roof of the nearest building (and I smile as Chuck climbs the last step with his hands) and Sarah asks Chuck about Bryce. He is shocked that Sarah knows about Bryce, doubly so upon hearing that he’s a CIA agent. Sarah explains that he went rogue and asks Chuck if they’d been in contact recently. Chuck tells her that Bryce sent him an email. And he opened it. And saw all of the pictures it contained. Sarah looks shocked (and just a little bit worried).
She asks Chuck if he backed up his hard drive and he tells her his computer crashed a week ago (nice reaction from Yvonne and nice little timeline detail from the writers). But Chuck is no fool; her reaction immediately makes him question whether or not it was safe for him to see those images. But instead of answering his question, Sarah tells Chuck that she may have to aim her gun at him “so, just don’t freak out.”
Chuck asks her why but, before she can answer, the pair are joined by Casey. He demands that Sarah cut the crap and give Chuck to him. Now. He belongs to the NSA.
Sarah immediately brandishes her gun and points it straight at Chuck; the CIA gets him first. Casey pulls his gun on Sarah but she threatens to shoot Chuck should Casey come any closer. Naturally, at this point, Chuck’s freakin’ out. Casey, however, is much more calm. If Sarah shoots Chuck, he’ll just shoot her and then go out for some pancakes (I laugh).
Chuck decides that now’s a good a time as any to run but stops after only a few seconds. He sees more images, including the general, a building, RedHairedMan, and a bomb. He turns on the spot and tells the two agents, “They’re gonna’ kill him.” Casey asks who he’s talking about and Chuck gives him an answer, telling them that something is very, very wrong with him; he’s remembering things that he shouldn’t know.
For example, there was a Serbian (Serbian? Is he a fan of Miss Demova?) demolitions expert at the Large Mart that day (so, he waited a week to show Jeff and the other Nerd his computer?). That’s kind of odd, wouldn’t you say?
I love just how freaked out Chuck is while he explains all of this to them. Zac Levi is very good at giving just the right amount of scared or nervous depending on the scene. I know I keep using this word to describe the cast, but they’re all very good at making the moment feel real; they never give too much or too little. It’s very encouraging for the rest of the show.
Okay, so it loses something in still form
Chuck explains some extremely classified information to Sarah and Casey (and we find out that his latest Intersect-thingie ((they haven't used the word "flash" yet! It's my first time!)) was caused by a hotel within view) that he couldn’t possibly know or have pieced together if he really were an innocent civilian. Casey immediately turns his gun on Chuck, now believing that he was working with Bryce. I mean, the guy not only knows all of this intel, but he knows that there's a bomb in some building ready to blow a general sky high; what other logical explanation is there? But Sarah tells Casey that Chuck opened the email.
She tells Chuck that those images were encoded with secrets, government secrets and if he saw them then he knows them (so Shade's glasses were keeping him from truly seeing them, then). Casey puts it together fairly quickly, thinking aloud as he realizes that all of the government’s secrets are in Chuck’s head.
Which means that Chuck is the computer.
Sarah’s wording freaks the living shit out of Chuck (as it would me) and she tries to talk him down and get the information about this bomb out of him. Chuck calls them crazy and Casey shares with him the little known fact that they’re the good guys. I can see how Chuck’s a bit terrified though, seeing as the good guys had pointed their guns at him at some point. But, even if he wanted to, he can’t help them; they should call Bryce instead. Sarah yells that Bryce is dead and she and Chuck exchange pained looks. Casey is clearly not one for dwelling on emotions as he fires off a shot into the air, breaking up their little moment and demanding that Chuck cooperates.
Another successful scene, in my book. Their characters are becoming more and more clear and the viewer can already begin to piece together how these three will interact in the future. Sarah is obviously more nurturing and patient than her older, male counterpart and Casey is clearly more concerned with following orders, shooting first, and asking questions later. Though, his killing Bryce also shows that he's not opposed to going off orders should the mission require it. Those hijinks I keep smelling? Oh, yeah. They're getting smellier.
But the general is already on the stage. SerbianTerminator, disguised as a waiter, pushes a little dining cart to the center of the room, leaving it there as the General gives his speech. And the climactic stage is set.
The trio burst into the hotel, prepared to go find the bomb, when Sarah reminds Casey that now Chuck is too valuable to bring anywhere near an explosive. So Casey decides to shove him onto the floor (lucky for them he didn’t hit his head or anything) and tells him to stay there but tell them where the general is. And he calls him “Johnny Commodore”. Anyone get that reference? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t. Sarah clarifies for our favorite Nerd that they need the fastest way to get to that room. Chuck jumps up from the floor and makes a run for it. Sarah and Casey follow.
They end up cutting across the floor by running through a fancy little pool (the kind you stare at and appreciate aesthetically, not the kind you swim in) in the middle of the hotel. Oh, those hijinks. They make it to the room and it is packed. This is going to be a little complicated. After a minute of surveying the floor, Chuck finds the bomb. Casey pulls him over, Sarah close behind, and they open the lid to uncover a hell of a lot of C4 with a connecting laptop resting on top, counting down.
‘Can’t disconnect the cables or the laptop - either one would auto-trigger the bomb. The rest of the room catches on to what’s happening and the evacuation starts. Sarah asks Chuck if he can remember anything else about the bomb. Judging by his face, he has no freakin’ clue. But before he can give an answer, the horrifying sound of Journey’s Any Way You Want It fills the air. And, despite my feelings about the band, I burst out laughing when it’s revealed that it was Chuck’s cell phone ringing. He sheepishly answers while the agents get a better look at the bomb. Who could be calling Chuck now? Especially if they think he’s on a date.
Surprise! It’s Morgan. Man, this guy is clingy! Chuck must have known him for a long time; familiarity and loyalty are the only explanations I'd buy at this point as to why he's still friends with him.
Even Chuck is sick of this bullshit
Chuck tries to shoo Morgan off but he wants details about the date. You know, during the date…but, who could blame him? Ellie’s out with the Captain, he’s just laying on Chuck’s bed (oh, yeah; you read that right), his computer has a case of the Demova’s so he just figured he’d check…The Irene Demova virus!
Chuck hangs up on Morgan and joins the two agents in front of the bomb, ready to take action. Casey is not letting that happen. After all, that bomb is not an Xbox and Chuck’s not an X-Man. But Chuck is a Nerd and that bomb is made from a Prism Express laptop. Casey is still skeptical but Sarah is confident in Chuck. He uses the laptop’s DOS override to introduce Mr. Bomb to Mr. Internet and enters Miss Demova’s name into a no-name search engine (guess Google wasn’t interested, huh?). And we get a short but funny exchange between Chuck and Casey when Casey thinks Chuck is searching for porn and Chuck quickly shushes him with a little “Nn!” noise and finger wag.
He enters Miss Demova’s website and shuts his eyes. The countdown only has one second left! What’s going to happen!?
Da daaa! The laptop sparks and fizzles and the bomb is diffused! And the trio’s expressions are priceless.
Chucks is happily shocked and relieved that he just diffused a real bomb and I have to say, Zac Levi is probably the best actor I’ve seen at playing “relieved to be alive”. But the sort of laughing-about-it-but-so-fucking-relieved relieved. Sarah looks amused and impressed and Casey just looks annoyed but I’m beginning to think that’s his default setting. Chuck’s relief quickly fades - what if he had been wrong? Bring on the nausea. Just don’t puke on the C4.
I love it when a show introduces a seemingly unimportant element early on in the story, usually for a laugh, and then it turns it out to be crucial to the plot in the end. It’s often used, of course, but it’s also often unsuccessfully used, in my humble opinion. Here, though, the initial gag felt seamless (and was genuinely funny) and it didn’t feel forced when it was brought back as the tool to save the day. It also showcases that Chuck brings an important element to the spy world - the perspective of a normal guy. Well, an incredibly smart normal guy. Even without the computer in his head, he’s able to see things that two seasoned agents couldn’t, because of his normal life, and figure out a plan. It’s just one part that makes this so enjoyable.
Now outside, Casey and Sarah both demand that Chuck go with them, though, separately of course. Sarah is convinced that this was not a fluke; Chuck can help them with bigger missions. Casey agrees but he thinks they should drop him in a psych tank - he’ll tell them what they need to know. But Sarah is concerned about Chuck’s wellbeing as well as his family and friends. Casey, predictably, could give two shits.
See, guys! They're total opposites! It's crazy!
Chuck walks in on the conversation and demands that his family and friends be left out of all this. He reminds them that he’s the one remembering all their secrets; they need him. Which means they have to listen to him. And right now? Right now, Chuck’s going home. But instead, he sits on the beach, contemplating everything he’s just been through. He’s there all night, interrupted from his thoughts by Sarah as she (having watched him from afar the entire time) joins him as the sun rises, the alternative ballad filling the background. It’s a bit cliché but it works.
Chuck tells her that he doesn’t know why Bryce chose him to send the data to. They both think on that in silence for a moment before Chuck asks what they’re going to do with him. Sarah tries to paint as nice a picture as possible: for now, he’ll go back to his old life and they’ll protect him while he works with them. Call me paranoid, but “for now” makes me a little nervous for Chuck's future. He arrives home and Ellie and Morgan rush him. They were extremely concerned; he was gone all night. But he can’t tell them a thing about it. According to Sarah, the best way to keep them safe is to tell them nothing. Instead, he just pulls the two of them in for a very awkward hug. Captain Awesome walks by, he’s got an early morning procedure, and sees them all hugging. He immediately gets in on that.
Awesome. (I really like him XD)
Back on the beach, Sarah just needs Chuck to do one more thing for her.
"Trust me, Chuck."
Well, maybe he’d have an easier time trusting you if you told him the truth. She sits on her bed and looks at the flowers Chuck had given her. That is, before she looks at pictures on her phone. Of her and Bryce. On vacation together. In 2005. Oh, boy.
The next day, Chuck finishes his application for the assistant manager position at the Buy More. He walks that fateful walk to his manager’s office as Titoli (from A Fistful of Dollars) blares away in the background. It’s funny enough, I guess. He walks by Harry who tries to intimidate him and Chuck makes the funniest “tough guy” face I’ve ever seen.
Chuck passes by Morgan and gives him a, “Seriously?” look. Morgan is standing, stoically, by one of the TVs. Remember how I said the music was “funny enough”? Well, now I’m laughing like a moron as Morgan turns down the volume on the TV and the music goes with it. Call me easily amused, but I love gags like that XD
Chuck nervously hands in his application (his manager doesn’t even look away from his computer) and begins the whole “this is why I want the job and this is why you should hire me” speech. His manager tells him to save it for the interview. And go train the new guy.
Chuck scurries off and looks for this new co-worker. Hmm…I wonder who it could be.
Casey gives him a snarky smile and a flick of his name tag while Chuck just looks confused (and slightly like “you’ve gotta’ be kidding me”). And some awesome music begins to play - it’s alternative/techno-y. It gives the scene this sort of dream-like, surreal, feeling and helps the viewer to get into the mindset that Chuck must be in upon seeing Casey there.
Before Chuck can make it over to him, he spots a customer walking past him. Gee, who could this be?
Shocking, I know
He smiles at her and glances down at her shopping basket, noticing her ring in the process. It triggers another little Intersect file and Chuck sees Sarah kicking the crap out of two men before shooting them both and the camera that’s recording her, ring visible on her finger in the footage.
As Chuck walks past her, the camera zooms in on his face as he stares directly into it,
“Don’t freak out.”
And that concludes one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen. Usually pilots are pale, poorly written ideas for what a show could be, but this? This was a great introduction into the life of Chuck Bartowski and the life he will now, however unwittingly it made be, lead. This show feels like it's straight out of the 80's and I mean that as a very high compliment. The characters were all very well established; only a few feel a bit 2D (Captain Awesome, Morgan, and Casey, for my money’s worth). While a couple fell a little flat, the jokes were funny, the action sequences were extremely impressive, and this show sports of one the most charismatic, talented casts I’ve seen in one place in quite a while.
So, Pilot receives an impressive 8 out of 10.