- Episode Rating: 10
- Season 4 Rating: 9.22
- Series Rating: 9.24
I wouldn’t really consider Chuck one of my favorite shows – it’s pretty uneven – but when the highs hit they’re pretty high. This episode is a pretty good example of the highs this show can hit.
Chuck had been captured at the conclusion of the previous episode. It’s been a while since I saw that one, and my memory of this season’s villains and their motives isn’t 100% clear (Are these scientists working for Rossum? Probably, but I’m not looking that up right now). Anyway, the stakes are pretty high in this one, as unless Chuck flashes, these scientists will lobotomize him so that there is nothing between them and the intersect in his brain, which actually isn’t there anymore.
Sarah is on the hunt, and her desperate-to-find-the-love-of-her-life mode was pretty fun to watch. Fight scenes in this show are usually fairly interesting, and hers with the big bad in the pit in Thailand was entertaining. But the most effective scenes were the end when Sarah finally got to Chuck, who was still in his dream-state. Yvonne Strahovski was convincing in her emotion during this sequence, and her reunion with a finally-awake Chuck was about as moving a moment as this show has had.
I didn’t particularly care for the B story with Awesome trying to unlock the mysterious laptop left in Ellie’s dad’s car. Once they got to the conclusion it got interesting. Will Ellie and Awesome now get the intersect from watching the laptop screen? It’s been determined pretty clearly that Chuck doesn’t have it anymore, so I guess it’s someone else’s turn.
In the end, this isn’t a perfect episode. If I were to start this whole grading thing right now, this would probably end up as an 8 or a 9. But with the scale that I’ve had for years, this one is good enough for a 10. There was enough good in this episode to look past the mediocre or predictable. At the end of the day, if I connect with the episode’s main story, and it’s fun along the way, then it’s a 10. Maybe in another post I’ll go into more detail about my scale.
Other random notes from this episode:
- The rolling rug gag when they kidnapped the Thai contact in the opening was pretty nifty.
- Maybe I liked this episode so much because of the dream world themes running throughout during Chuck’s story. Inception, Eternal Sunshine … and Chuck?
- The Sienna product placement was almost enough to knock this episode down a whole point. One of the big pet peeves with this show is the product placement, with of course Subway being the worst offender.
- Thumbs up on the use of “Woman” by Wolfmother during Sarah’s fight scenes.
- The example in this episode isn’t really the greatest, because (1) it was in a dream, and (2) he was actually in danger and needed help, but I always get annoyed when characters, mostly Chuck, take phone calls during the worst times. When you fear for your life and are running through the forest, you don’t stop to look at your phone, see who it is, and then actually take the call. There have been other moments like that on this show. That’s what voicemail is for, call them back!
Chuck Season 4
- Chuck Versus the Anniversary: 8
- Chuck Versus the Suitcase: 9
- Chuck Versus the Cubic Z: 8
- Chuck Versus the Coup D’Etat: 9
- Chuck Versus the Couch Lock: 10
- Chuck Versus the Aisle of Terror: 10
- Chuck Versus the First Fight: 9
- Chuck Versus the Fear of Death: 10
- Chuck Versus Phase Three: 10