UPDATE: Here is what I had to say about this episode.
Here is what WB is saying about the episode:
Logline
Chuck and Sarah must find an assassin among the employees at a Buy More sales convention. Jeff shows a different side of himself. DAVID KOECHNER and CATHERINE DENT guest star.
Synopsis
Chuck and Sarah go undercover at a Buy More convention to hunt down an assassin whose mission is to take down the new Intersect. Meanwhile, Morgan must deal with the consequences of having the Intersect. At the Buy More, Jeff begins to show a very different side of himself. DAVID KOECHNER (The Office, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) and CATHERINE DENT (The Shield) guest star.
Comment below about your expectations, hopes, dreams, and what you thought of the episode once you've seen it.
BEST.EPISODE.EVER.PERIOD.
ReplyDeleteNinja? Or just hopes?
ReplyDeleteThat's no ninja.
ReplyDeleteI just hope that Sarah can get Chuck out of those wet clothes.
ReplyDeleteSEXY TIME!
ReplyDeleteits more likely for Morgan to have sexy times with Chuck now that they live together : )
ReplyDeleteI can't wait!!!
ReplyDeleteAdriaN`S....Please stop trolling, it really is not necesarry. I hope Phill Klemer is right and these up coming batch of episodes are awesome!
ReplyDeleteWORD, MediaSavant...WORD.
ReplyDelete#sexytimes
love this episode only 22 minutes in
ReplyDeleteYep... this episode sucked as much as I thought it would, minus a couple of scenes and the ending.
ReplyDeleteI liked this much more than the first three.
ReplyDelete"I liked this much more than the first three."
ReplyDeleteLame. So lame.
Although the normalcy stuff is stupid. I fail to realise what is supposed to be so great about being a "normal" Buy More employee.
ReplyDeleteSarah is like season 1 Chuck now.
I think it is 100% impossible for everyone to agree on an episode being good or bad, honestly. I actually loved this episode, last episode, and most of episode 2, but was meh on 1. This episode just had.. tons of fantastic character moments, though the villain was a bit cliched (oh noes, we're being lead off trail by the other Viper since it's actually a sect, blah blah), but I loved the bit with Jeff and Lester, and then Devon/Ellie/Clara.. the Casey/Morgan sparring back and forth and then obviously Chuck and Sarah.
ReplyDeleteSucks you didn't like it.. but we can't all like the same thing I suppose. =[
"This episode just had.. tons of fantastic character moments"
ReplyDeleteMost of them didn't feel natural. I don't buy the whole Sarah needing a friend crap. And man they were super stupid... this has to be the dumbest spy team ever. I think some of you just want sappy moments... and you sure got a lot of those.
But man, so lame. So, so lame.
I just threw up in my mouth thinking about this episode.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was great. So was Sarah getting wet. Casey had some funny lines.
ReplyDeleteAlex/Morgan makes me want to puke.
"Lame. So lame."
ReplyDeleteI really very much dislike the Morgan/Chuck bromance stuff. And whatever this was, it was fantastically light on that. Morgan might even move back in with Casey. And I like those two together.
I liked the character moments but the plot of the episode was too similar to Chuck versus the Muurder.
ReplyDeleteA recurring theme about Sarah is that she wishes she had a normal life.
Good for you? lol. It's the last season, so what if some of us want the sappy moments. We already know they're the worst spies in the world (last season.. how do you sneeze and give away your position like that? I mean really), so it's all about the emotional moments for characters.
ReplyDeleteAnd sure.. maybe Sarah wanting a real friend like Pinocchio wanting to be a real boy was a bit too out there and out of character.. I think deep down, she's starved for normalcy too, even though normalcy is overrated.
Ah well, not everyone has to agree obviously, but I certainly enjoyed it, the increase sexytimes, and Sarah in her Buy More outfit again.
Good ending, some humor and heart, decent but not stellar.
ReplyDeletePoints for some actual nods to logic though. Lester put a lot of people in serious danger with the carbon monoxide pipe so the arrest makes sense. As a freelancer Casey doesn't have the assumption of deadly license like he he did as a Marine and NSA agent, so it's currently just his word against Decker's on Viper and Co. Also on a more minor note for Alex not just taking Morgan back even though she seems to accept his douchery wasn't fully his fault.
I give this episode more credit for letting there be some repercussions to actions to set up further plot, and not just sweeping things under the rug, than for an actual great story.
Cor
I did laugh when Big Mike said "pineapple." Nice touch. And I have wanted Morgan and Alex to break up for many, many episodes... but that felt really forced.
ReplyDeleteThe baby was really cute, again. Cutest baby ever. And the ending actually felt like the show I love.
Last post was in reference to Razorback by the way. D: Everyone has different tastes though! So more power to ya!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, the Morgan/Chuck bromance is a bit tiresome, but it's alright when done in short spurts, which is how it was handled here. I just loved how Casey kept taking advantage of Morgan's gaffs in memory.
"I give this episode more credit for letting there be some repercussions to actions to set up further plot, and not just sweeping things under the rug, than for an actual great story."
ReplyDeleteYeah but this show has done that before... it's all swept under the rug in the following episode. But I did like the whole Casey killing the other team thing. And I actually liked Casey at the end.
Though, Casey knowing Star Wars? Come on. Did he Wikipedia it?
Wookieepedia?
ReplyDelete"...this has to be the dumbest spy team ever."
ReplyDeleteAside from some good moments for Chuck, they have always acted too stupid to function in most of any other shows spy realities. (Don´t know much about real spies, but I hope they are smarter.)
This ep was really low on being funny though. I guess hightened comedy makes the stupid stuff they do, seem less stupid.
And the Morgan/Chuck reminiscing in Frosted Tips was pretty sappy as well.
"And the Morgan/Chuck reminiscing in Frosted Tips was pretty sappy as well. "
ReplyDeleteBut felt within character. Very little in this episode felt like something that naturally progressed from previous episodes.
I predict that Casey will be in the same prison as Lester. Then we'll basically get an homage to My Bodyguard with Lester begging Casey for protection. Also, glad to see that Alex and Morgan are over. Sadly, I doubt it will stay that way.
ReplyDeleteI think Morgan should move back in with Casey and play video games with Sarah.
ReplyDeleteNext episode has a lot of potential. Hoping they dont blow it, but they'll probably find a way.
"I predict that Casey will be in the same prison as Lester. Then we'll basically get an homage to My Bodyguard with Lester begging Casey for protection."
ReplyDeleteHah!
Oh and I am watching this episode again right now and the funniest moment is when Chuck and Sarah almost have the sexy sex and Chuck goes "Here we go!"
Chuck is a very polarizing show and there seems to be two distinct groups among fans. The emotional/irrational "watching the show with heart" people who hated the Morgansect arc but loved this episode and the analytical/rational "watching the show with brains" people who loved the Morgansect arc and hated this episode.
ReplyDeleteIt also looks like most of these emotional and irrational fans are flocking in a network called "Tumblr".
Shippers, much like political conservatives, can often be the best people in the world... but I want to smother them in their sleep sometimes too. ;)
ReplyDelete@Razor
ReplyDeleteYeah, that had me laughing. That and it was an actual, passionate kiss which was stunning.
I liked this episode well enough. I laughed quite a bit but...
ReplyDeleteNORMALNORMALNORMALNORMALNORMALNORMALNORMALNORMAL
Please don't start doing this again every episode, show.
Sue, SARAH JUST WANTS TO BE NORMAL!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd can't we be both kinds of fans? I enjoyed what they did with Morgan's character with the "Morgansect" arc, yet I like the emotional bits too. D:
ReplyDeleteTrue, DR. There's a good chance all the stuff with potential repercussions just get undone in the next episode, in which case this one loses points with me. But at least it didn't just shove it aside immediately, so that's improvement over some episodes with plot holes the size of Utah.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess maybe Casey knows about Star Wars either from having Morgan as a roomie and hearing him yammer about it, or as research/surveillance on Chuck from back in the day and/or hearing Chuck and Morgan yammer about it all the time back then?
And if there's a Lester/Casey "My Bodyguard" homage, I'll be seriously entertained.
Cor
I like the romance stuff, or the sweet Chuck and Sarah stuff as much as anyone, but I want it to be good. Not just there...
ReplyDeleteSeriously, with the "Sarah wants to be all normal and stuff!" thing and how Clara kept popping up I half-expected C/S to talk about whether they want kids and when. At which point I'd groan because the shippers would go INSANE.
ReplyDeleteCor
Also, Kristin Newman... the force is strong WITH this one, not IN this one. What the hell?!
ReplyDeleteWorst episode ever. Plus, JAR-JAR RULES!
Cor, a friend of mine said the same thing. :)
ReplyDeleteWell "watching the show with brains" became increasingly difficult to do over the years. This is definitely not the first time the team acted rather dumb and any overarchingly mythology or reasoning behind the intersect project is so riddled with plotholes, that it´s quite frustrating to try and make sense of it.
ReplyDeleteSo as long as it is entertaining, fun and touching to watch, I´m good.
"So as long as it is entertaining, fun and touching to watch"
ReplyDeleteGood, then we agree. It sucked.
"Sue, SARAH JUST WANTS TO BE NORMAL!!!!!!"
ReplyDeleteLOL, this show turns into freaking Sesame Street anytime they try to get a point across.
I like this friend already. :D
ReplyDeleteCor
Oh, Sue. You're like the smartest person in here tonight. Let's snuggle.
ReplyDeleteEw, get outta here with that mushy noise. WE WANT MYTHOLOGY RAZORBACK.
ReplyDeleteI am also debating whether I should mention the terrible acting by one person in tonight's episode. This is one of those times when I feel like my opinion is going to be held back by my "involvement" in the show.
ReplyDeleteBut man, one person is lacking range.
Aw, let's not distract those who want to just cover their eyes and go "C is for Chuck and that's good enough for meeee". Because we shouldn't be critical because it's like kicking a puppy. Or something.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, the official synopsis for 5x05 doesn't mention anything about prison for Lester or Casey. Rugsweep FTW?
Cor
"Oh, Sue. You're like the smartest person in here tonight. Let's snuggle."
ReplyDeleteCool. You bring Community and I'll bring Parks & Rec and we'll get our laugh on.
Sarah sure is pretty...
ReplyDelete"But man, one person is lacking range."
ReplyDeleteThat Random Buy More Greenshirt #5. What a hack!
Cor
By the way, how long before some crazy shipper comes in here to tell me that I hate the show and should shut down the site?
ReplyDelete"I am also debating whether I should mention the terrible acting by one person in tonight's episode. This is one of those times when I feel like my opinion is going to be held back by my "involvement" in the show.
ReplyDeleteBut man, one person is lacking range."
I thought Josh and that girl that plays Alex were both weak tonight. Josh was actually kind of sucking last week too. No depth in their scenes to me.
I liked the stuff between Casey and Morgan.
ReplyDeleteThen the end where Casey kills everyone and Decker coming to arrest him.
Decker is turning into a pretty good villain so far.
Hope the next episode is better.
"Good, then we agree. It sucked."
ReplyDeleteYeah, if you weren´t touched, having fun or being entertained, I get why you thought it sucked. It was far from perfect, but I like the direction.
And there was some seriously stilted dialog and forced moments, but anything between Casey/Morgan, Chuck/Sarah or Ellie/Awesome is still more touching to me than any Morgan/Chuck moment ever could be. So I still liked this a lot more than the last three, which left me cold.
And I really liked the Jeff/Lester stuff. It may not make perfect sense, but I love that they found something new to do with them.
Josh wasn't so bad, but the girl who plays Alex.. I mean man, she's cute and all.. but I never feel anything 'emotional' when she's involved. D:
ReplyDeleteAND OH GOD RAZOR YOU HATE THE SHOW. GO AWAY Q_Q
Haha.
OMG. Why do you even watch Chuck since you sooooo obviously hate it sooooo much? It's genius! Every moment is pure genius! Chuck and Sarah are luv 4eva! And you can't say nice things at all about the show. This was the best episode yet!
ReplyDeleteYou should just shut down this site right now because you obviously don't appreciate the show at all. I don't even know why you bother. ChuckTV is so much better.
There. Beat them to the punch?
Cor
Absolutely loved that episode, best of the season.
ReplyDeleteSiemon
Magnus hates this show and the site should be shut down.
ReplyDeletehe thinks he could do a better job writing for the show.
He's always so negative.
"Josh wasn't so bad, but the girl who plays Alex.. I mean man, she's cute and all.. but I never feel anything 'emotional' when she's involved."
ReplyDeleteI just din't feel anything from either of them. They are supposed to be in love and this is how they act when they break up? I felt they both really undersold their scenes.
"But man, one person is lacking range."
ReplyDeleteCriticizing the acting should be fine, shouldn´t it? I mean everything else is fair game, so why not that?
Oh, I did love when Sarah said they were bringing in the big guns and teeny, tiny Beckman came walking down the stairs. Cheap joke but it made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteI did actually expect Ellie to come down the stairs, after Sarah announced the big guns. But I guess that wouldn´t have made sense, as Ellie told Sarah to get the CIA to remove the intersect from Morgan last week.
ReplyDeleteI think most of shipper fandom was so happy to see some sexytime--and in the first few minutes--that any critical thought disappeared.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Sarah and Chuck go on and on and on about being NORMAL is a fan fiction paradise. The shipper fanboys particularly get hard over Sarah getting dumb and domestic. They'll tell you over and over they like "strong female characters", but that's not what they really want. They want them domesticated and getting doe-eyed saying, "I want to have your baby."
I got the same negative vibe when they released that one scene. Sarah and Chuck haven't been normal from day 1. They got engaged and married knowing they aren't normal. Why would they suddenly be repeating over and over that they aren't normal as if it's a revelation.
I agree that the Casey stuff at the end was topnotch Chuck. I even liked Jeff turning in Lester because it was a cool twist.
I don't know where the stuff about Ellie needing to quit work again comes from other than--maybe--they need Ellie at home again for some future plot developments. It was inconsistent with what we saw of Ellie during the times when she became addicted to playing on dad's computer. That Ellie was a woman could identify with--someone who needed intellectual stimulation even though she had a baby. I hope we see that Ellie again. If they can pay this off by having her get more involved in Chuck's business, I might not mind. But, as someone who knows tons of women who return to work after having kids, I was a tad disappointed in her.
I probably didn't hate it as much as it appears Magnus did. But, its flaws were glaring.
I am kind of surprised that people are hating on this episode because I have that fling that it's just one of those episodes that you have to watch more then once. I mean I like it but I am just one person.
ReplyDeleteMagnus COULD write the show better. They might have to move it to a later time and/or pay channels though.
ReplyDelete"Seeing Sarah and Chuck go on and on and on about being NORMAL is a fan fiction paradise. The shipper fanboys particularly get hard over Sarah getting dumb and domestic. They'll tell you over and over they like "strong female characters", but that's not what they really want. They want them domesticated and getting doe-eyed saying, "I want to have your baby."
ReplyDeleteOMG, yes to all of this. Very well said.
Thanks, MediaSavant--you said it perfectly and helped define something I wasn't quite aware was bugging me on the episode.
ReplyDeleteBetween Sarah's sudden yearning to be "a real girl" and Ellie's suddenly yearning to be a stay-at-home mom, it wasn't really a good week for them as supposed strong female characters. Because that's counter to what we've seen from both of them before.
Cor
I guess the feminist in me was very annoyed.
ReplyDeleteWhat this episode taught is is that your woman needs to be barefoot, preggers, and chained to the stove.
Old Darth would have ripped this episode to shreds with me. It's days like this I almost miss that Canadian bastard!
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with wanting to be "normal" or wanting to "stay at home" more? No seriously. I'm a women in my late 20s who isn't married, doesn't plan to be anytime soon, don't want kids anytime soon either and I saw no problems with the way they wrote Sarah/Ellie.
ReplyDeleteWe know that Sarah her whole life has been anything but stable, so she yearns to have more of that stability. Doesn't mean she's not still a kick a** spy and female.
"What this episode taught is is that your woman needs to be barefoot, preggers, and chained to the stove."
ReplyDelete...and that's what all career-minded woman really, really want.
OMG--did you just discribe the last scene of the show?
Or shoved in a broom closet to hide courtesy of a decision by your ex and your dad, in the case of Alex. I really wish given the fact she impressively got the drop on Casey back in season 3 that she could get a chance to kick some butt somewhere, rather than just always be defined by the men in her life as Morgan's (ex) girlfriend and Casey's daughter.
ReplyDeleteAlthough she gets points back for not just gushing and telling Morgan it's OK, of course she loves him again.
Cor
"OMG--did you just discribe the last scene of the show?"
ReplyDeleteI think the brighter eyes in this fandom can probably start putting things together...
Recent Anon, if "traditional female" was consistent in character with what we've seen before from Ellie and Sarah, I wouldn't argue with the portrayal.
ReplyDeleteBut we've seen them generally presented as smart, assertive, ambitious, and independent women, and to see them presented in this episode as needy, clingy, and desperate to assume a more traditionally female role, it does leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Cor
For someone that claims to not be a fan of the "sappy crap", as I recall you loved the scene last season where Sarah was trying on her wedding dress and feeling like a princess. And you loved that entire First Bank of Evil episode, an episode that was just stupid and corny from beginning to finish. Then you blast this episode. I honestly sometimes think you just say things to differentiate from the majority.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, look... Nick no like that I think this episode no good. Nick so smart! Nick like! Nick better than me! Nick a major douchebag!
ReplyDeleteMind you, Nick thinks wrestling is awesome. So, that's the kind of person who loves this kind of sappy. Hey, when is Hulk Hogan fighting Macho Man?!
ReplyDelete"What's wrong with wanting to be "normal" or wanting to "stay at home" more? No seriously. I'm a women in my late 20s who isn't married, doesn't plan to be anytime soon, don't want kids anytime soon either and I saw no problems with the way they wrote Sarah/Ellie."
ReplyDeleteThe problem was consistency. I can see Sarah slowly coming to the decision to have a kid. One of the interesting aspects of the series is Sarah's transformation from spy to person.
I don't see why she suddenly decided she wanted a friend at the Buy More convention.
As for Ellie, it's just inconsistent. Last season, she was going buggy from the lack of human contact until becoming addicted to her dad's computer.
Ellie's a character that gets underserved. She's supposed to be really smart. The "Dad's computer" arc did her a great service by showing us that she has an intellect and using her intellect is important to her. I really liked those parts where they showed the conflict between being a mom and wanting to pursue this intellectual enterprise. Many a smart woman who has a baby goes through this.
In the real world, a doctor couple like Devon and Ellie would have an au pair already.
LOL. I was gonna comment something about why people continue to come here when they disagree with your reviews and whatnot. But that wrestling comment is genius. I'll give you points for that one...
ReplyDeleteNick, I think it's the difference between confident and insecure femininity.
ReplyDeleteSarah feeling like a princess in her wedding dress was an example of confident femininity. She was being girly and it made her feel great. For another example, women I kickbox with sometimes wear pink gear (me included, I have pink handwraps) it's basically assertively saying: "Yeah, I'm a girl, and I love it."
Sarah worrying about having "normal" friends or a "normal" life, or Ellie frantically needing to give up her job entirely to stay home with Clara, seem to be examples of insecure femininity. It's seeking an external validation of "I want traditional female things, so I'm a woman, right?"
Cor
Apart from Sarah´s normalcy yearnings being driven home with a sledge hammer, instead of any attempt at subtlety being used, I didn´t mind the idea that much.
ReplyDeleteSarah really hasn´t been that career oriented since she met Chuck. And she did get really into the wedding preparation last season. Her desire for a "Leave it to Beaver" house fit well with this too.
I don´t really like characters on tv shows yearning for a "normal" life, because normalcy is pretty abstract and wildly overrated as a concept to achieve happiness. I don´t get why people need to fit into any concept of normalcy to be happy or live the life they want. It works much better, if characters actually have something concrete that they want out of life, instead of some quest for vague and illusive normalcy, which defines nothing.
But I wouldn´t mind if Sarah started to wonder about making real friends or starting a family. And the show has always portrayed those to be higher goals than any career options for all characters.
That said, while Awesome stepping down to give Ellie what she wanted was sweet, I also didn´t like, that they made Ellie want to stay home. I loved that Awesome was a great stay at home dad and Ellie should have been happy about that as well. It fit with how both Ellie and Awesome had been portrayed through the pregnancy and since Clara was born. Ellie´s change of heart came out of nowhere.
Alex is not that well developed on her own and has always been more as foil for Morgan and Casey, which is sad, but it´s really not new.
Exactly, Cor. You nailed it. But then I am a very liberally minded male who grew up in a country where women are the dominant species. So, the American puritanical mindset, especially when so poorly executed, does bug me.... a lot.
ReplyDelete"In the real world, a doctor couple like Devon and Ellie would have an au pair already."
ReplyDeleteThey probably would, but Devon has been portrayed as being extremly excited by the pregnancy and all things baby. So I could definitely see him be happy with taking some time off to stay with his kid. And he did have to adjust. Ellie suddenly needing to stay home has not been developed at all. And didn´t make much sense. Maybe it is for plot reasons, like you said.
As for liking sappy stuff, I do. I do, when it is good.
ReplyDeleteCor--
ReplyDeleteLike that analysis.
Awelle--
The "pursuit of normalcy" as a TV character goal is interesting given that TV viewers are people sitting at home with nothing else to do while the characters they watch are cops, lawyers, spies, whatever who work 24/7 to do what they do.
If any character on TV actually had a normal life, we wouldn't be watching because we'd be watching people watch TV.
Thanks, DR. I'm a woman in what's probably something like a 90% rough-and-tough male-oriented field so I've kind of had to explain to myself and to others how you can be tough enough to work like that and still manage to be girly sometimes.
ReplyDeleteEllie spending time with Clara and loving being a mother isn't insecure femininity by any means. But entirely dropping her career, which has meant a lot to her previously, out of a sudden unexplained need to be a stay-at-home mom is, and at worst maybe makes Ellie look like the stereotypical neurotic female.
Cor
i didn't like the episode much. one thing i caught and it may mean nothing but when sarah lied and said she was mrs. grimes, she passed. casey commented and she looked kinda lost as she looked at chuck. also what was with casey and sarah keeping their plans from chuck at the end where casey said i'll handle it? sarah seemed to know but chuck didn't.
ReplyDeletehulk will have to wait for the after life. macho man died in may.
MACHO MAN IS DEAD?!
ReplyDeleteThat's worse than CHUCK 5.04!
Cor,
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that you're segregating that aspect of the episode to something that has to be executed by a woman just shows that you're looking too deeply into it from a feminist perspective. I could just as easily see Chuck have the same realization of having a lack of friends as a result of secluding himself from the social world and becoming a spy.
I'm watching the ending season of Chuck for:
ReplyDelete1. Not the plot line
2. Nor the character development
3. Nor the "sexytimes"
4. Nor the spy story
5. Nor the acting (good, bad, or otherwise)
6. Nor the clever, witty dialog
7. Nor the cheesiness
8. Nor the lack of rational thinking
9. And, not for its "heart"
I'm watching to ogle and drool over Zachary Levi and Ryan McPartlin. Who knows when they'll be on something else again to do above-mentioned behaviors.
Nine episodes to go and I'm going to enjoy every one of them.
Cheers
"Nine episodes to go and I'm going to enjoy every one of them."
ReplyDeleteI need a girlfriend like this... who finds everything I do to be great no matter what. ;)
Nick--
ReplyDeleteIn defense of Cor, I disagree. I think we are just responding to inconsistencies. I don't consider myself a feminist, but a realist.
From pilot to now, Chuck has had a best friend named Morgan. He still has that best friend. Despite odd extras that appeared at the engagement party and wedding, Chuck still has his best friend.
Even before the spy life, Chuck only had Morgan. He may have had more when he was in the fraternity at Stanford, but friend-wise, Chuck has had very limited needs.
Sarah, despite what they portrayed here, does have friends. She made amends with the Cat Squad and two of them were in her wedding. She doesn't maintain contact?
Ellie didn't say she was dropping her career just staying home with Clara for a few months.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Awesome and Ellie will take turns staying at home with her.
"Ellie didn't say she was dropping her career just staying home with Clara for a few months."
ReplyDeleteUh huh... make it work for yourself if it makes you happy. The reason it was done this way was to make Awesome less available so when he isn't in an episode, you don't wonder where he is.
At the end of season 3, didn't John and Alex talk about how she was graduating from college with a degree in Criminal Psychology? Why was that idea dropped? What does she do for a living? Maybe now that she isn't dating Morgan, the writers will develop her character a little. I know, it'll never happen.
ReplyDelete"Sarah, despite what they portrayed here, does have friends. She made amends with the Cat Squad and two of them were in her wedding. She doesn't maintain contact?"
ReplyDeleteYep. Sarah was written this way for THIS episode so she could later realize she had what she thought she didn't have. Lame.
I assume her character is still a college graduate with a degree in criminal psychology.
ReplyDeleteMy previous post above was a reference to Alex.
ReplyDeleteI wish we would see Sarah be in contact with Carina and Zondra.
ReplyDeleteAnd if they are going with Chuck and Sarah contemplating a family, I would have loved for them to have Awesome stay at home longer, so Chuck and Sarah could have contemplated Chuck being a stay-at-home dad, as they are always looking at Ellie and Awesome as some kind of role models.
I thought Sarah meant she didn't have any friends that weren't spies.
ReplyDeleteShe's friends with Casey and Morgan but they are spies.
I just visited a site which has a name, but my name for it is "Chuck fans who love Fan Fic."
ReplyDeleteThey uniformily loved this episode.
Enough said.
"I thought Sarah meant she didn't have any friends that weren't spies."
ReplyDeleteYeah, that bitch Ellie the spy!
I bet they reveal at the end of show that Ellie is a spy.
ReplyDeleteEven if Sarah has a secret desire to have friends who are spies or who aren't Ellie, why would she pick some random woman at a Buy More convention?
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Wienerlicious girls who attended her bachelorette party?
I'm not sayint they should brind back those people to be Sarah's friend's, but make what happened here make sense.
I really wish they had made David Koechner's character Todd Packer. Especially since he essentially was him in everything but name. I've been wanting someone to make him taste his own teeth for years now.
ReplyDeletePlus, network synergy.
"Yep. Sarah was written this way for THIS episode so she could later realize she had what she thought she didn't have. Lame."
ReplyDeleteThe supposed connection with the sniper woman felt very forced and it did feel strange and Sarah came across as a little dump, because as there was no real connection, it was baffling how easily she trusted her.
But Sarah has always showed insecurities when Chuck brought up a need for normalcy. And he did start that theme, didn´t he?
I did miss Verbanski, because unlike the forced connection with assasin-lady, the dynamic between Sarah and Verbanski felt real and was fun.
I don´t disagree, that there was a lot in this ep that felt forced. For me it just scored major points for getting us away from the heavy emphasis on the bromance for now. And as much as I enjoyed parts of the earlier three eps, that emphasis brought down my enjoyment of them.
Are you going to write something up for GeekFurious soon?
I would love to know, whose acting you didn´t like, as nothing stood out as particularly bad to me, but even though I watch a lot of tv, I am bad at telling, if the acting, writing or directing is to blame, if something doesn´t quite work.
Well, Sarah met the woman and they seemed to hit it off.
ReplyDeleteeveryone hates the episode because of Sarah's longing for friendship.
Nick, MediaSavant pretty much said it: Chuck has always had the firm support of Morgan as a best friend. And Sarah does have friends, as she says at the end. It's the sudden neurosis of "I have to have some normal female friends or I'm not a normal or acceptable woman!" that bothered me. Chuck accepts that his friends and family are in the spy life. To the point of this "issue" suddenly coming up, Sarah also accepted that.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'm a feminist in that I believe women are equal in rights to men, which is the dictionary definition. I'm not a rabid man-hater who looks everywhere for "downtrodden women" and "male oppressors". Most of my friends are actually men. But the inconsistencies in Ellie and Sarah's characters in this episode in favor of what APPEARS to be abruptly "feminizing" them were glaring enough to remark on.
Cor
"To the point of this "issue" suddenly coming up, Sarah also accepted that."
ReplyDeleteI haven´t rewatched yet, but I think Chuck started the normalcy thing, when they walked in on Awesome´s baby yoga class, didn´t he?
Because Sarah does have a history of thoroughly overcompensating, when she fears that Chuck doesn´t deem her normal enough.
It would still have worked much better, if there had been a real connection with her and random lady, but it´s not a completely sudden neurosis for her.
It is however a very old conflict brought up again, that maybe should be resolved by now.
Good news. Tonight's FRINGE was so bad that it has now made me like this episode of CHUCK more.
ReplyDeleteMan, after seeing the love for this episode from other places, some even calling it the best since the glorified season 2. I'm starting to think the word "normal" is some sort of trigger word used deviously by the writers. Instant nostalgia.
ReplyDelete"everyone hates the episode because of Sarah's longing for friendship."
ReplyDeleteBlanket statements just make YOU sound dumb.
Everyone doesn't hate this episode... and I certainly don't hate it because Sarah wanted a friendship. I don't actually hate it, I just think it is super lame.
"Man, after seeing the love for this episode from other places, some even calling it the best since the glorified season 2."
ReplyDeleteLOL! Every other episode is "the best since season 2" to some group of people.
I was joking around about everyone hating the episode because of Sarah wanting friendship.
ReplyDeleteSo you can find something lame and not hate it?
It takes a lot for me to hate something. But I do think this episode was one of the weakest in the series. Near Muuurder levels.
ReplyDeleteI did find the plot of the episode to be very similar to Muuurder.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate Muuurder, but I really just don't care about it. Even on rewatch, for me, it's spectacularly mediocre and forgettable from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteThis one's not quite there. A few moments like "pineapple" and then the last 5 minutes or so are what drag it up above Muuurder level. Hopefully this is the one big mulligan of season 5 for me.
Cor
120 comments within 3 hours of finishing on the east coast and 1 of finishing on the west. Is that a record or something?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it started off ok then got weird. leaving aside any feminist / anti-feminist discussion, it's as if the writer decided that Sarah needed an inner dilemma and just concocted one out of whole cloth. Whatever else it was, it was lazy writing at the least.
That said, I'm wiling to forgive a lot for the return of the nerd herder outfit. Also the Casey badassery at the end rocked.
Jim
By the way, I thought it was interesting that Decker told the Assassin Lady that BOTH Chuck and Sarah were to be left alive. I wonder what that's about.
ReplyDeleteJim
A lot of people on other Chuck fansites liked this episode.
ReplyDeleteFrankly my favorite part was Lester being arrested for attempted murder. It actually made sense because Jeffster have done loads of stuff that merit jail time but for the first time it actually happened. Not for arson, not for vandalism but attempted murder. Plus although I love Lester and Jeff sometimes u feel like punching them in the face and this was one of those times and I finally got my punch in the face on Lester
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is I mention the Lester arrest in my review as one of the things I disliked in the episode, but mostly because writing it like that was totally out of the established values of this show. Lester DID try to kill them. He SHOULD go to jail. But you know it will be swept under the rug, thereby teaching kids out there that it is OK to try to murder your friends.
ReplyDeleteFinally Morgan is not intersect!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that...
I loved Chuck-Sarah moments...Their kissing was romantic...
I loved the episode!!!
I think I'm banning myself for life after reading some of this.
ReplyDelete"I think I'm banning myself for life after reading some of this."
ReplyDeleteWaaaaahhh! I CAN'T HANDLE OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS! WAAAHHH!!!
Oh and to the person who said this many comments must be a record... maybe for this season. Hell, in season 3 I think we could get 1,000 comments on an article. What's strange about that is that the traffic is higher now if you base it on comments to hits ratio.
BTW I was scared When Chuck fell down the pool...I thought something would happen to him...
ReplyDeletethe episode was kinda lame in all honesty. but the ending and the CS scenes were good.
ReplyDeleteWeeding through it, there were quite a few moments that could have been handled better.. sure, but I dunno. The episode didn't really feel like "Muurder" to me, because honestly.. that was probably one of the worst, if not the worst episodes of "Chuck" out there. Opinions are opinions, though!
ReplyDeleteFor me this episode worked just fine and its my favorite episode from this season so far
ReplyDeleteI loved it(this is the first time i use "loved it" Magnus:D) because despite the story line not being most ingenious one they used a lot of the dynamics that made this series great in the past 4 years:
- Morgan/Casey doing their love/hate routine that always works for me
- Chuck/Sarah getting many good scenes together and reminded me why Zac and Yvonne where praised for their on screen chemistry
- a lot of family stuff involved in this episode and the ending dinner scene was amazing
On the down side there where plenty cheesy and too obvious elements like the whole "normal" theme of the episode
but overall for me the good things overshadowed the not so good ones and for the first time this season the show felt like Chuck, good old lighthearted fun
"By the way, I thought it was interesting that Decker told the Assassin Lady that BOTH Chuck and Sarah were to be left alive. I wonder what that's about."
ReplyDeleteDecker ships Charah! He hated Morgansect because it took away screentime from Chuck & Sarah and that's why he put out the kill order. Now that Charah is back front and center Decker wants it to stay that way, so everyone else has to go.
Oh crap, Decker is a shipper? Now this season makes so much sense!
ReplyDelete"Oh crap, Decker is a shipper? Now this season makes so much sense!"
ReplyDeleteYes! And the plot to make their business fail is so that they'll just hang it up, become normal, and have tons of kids.
SPOILERS!
ReplyDeleteif the writers hadn't already do the brain altering storyline in season 3. having chuck get the trojan horse intersect would've been brilliant. Seeing chucks personality altering and having problems with his marraige and his friendships would've been interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I had to delete your comment since it is exactly what is going to happen...
ReplyDeleteOh, spoiler.
ReplyDeleteSo my problem with the whole "normal" storyline was that I didn't really understand what direction it was supposed to point the story in. The Chuck and Sarah quit the spygame at the end story arc? Or the Chuck and Sarah can't ever be totally "normal" so they have to find a way to make things work with what they have arc? I prefer the latter for obvious reasons. Overall, I didn't consider it to be as bad as Muuurder. At least this story was driven by the emotional character beats, even if some of them were poorly executed. Muurder flat emotionally AND had a dumb plot. Also, I thought at least there were some funny moments. Did no one else find the Evora bomb diffusion as funny as I did?
ReplyDeleteIt was hard for me to find the bomb diffusion funny since by then I was already wanting to fast forward to the end.
ReplyDeleteYeah, fair enough. It definitely wasn't as good as last week, but I had pretty low expectations going in with that clip they released.
ReplyDeleteI did too, especially since my friend, who has seen most of the episodes, warned me about this one. Though, he and I don't always agree but this time we did.
ReplyDelete""Seeing Sarah and Chuck go on and on and on about being NORMAL is a fan fiction paradise. The shipper fanboys particularly get hard over Sarah getting dumb and domestic. They'll tell you over and over they like "strong female characters", but that's not what they really want. They want them domesticated and getting doe-eyed saying, "I want to have your baby.""
ReplyDeleteHaha, SO true!! ;) It seems to these type of fans as long as Chuck and Sarah are happy together, all the cheese and plot holes in the world are ok. Overall all, I enjoyed this epi enough but yeah, all subtlety in this show is gone.
Any chance you'll tell us which cast member - in your opinion - doesn't have much range?
ReplyDeleteNope. Never. And it could be that I was talking about a guest.
ReplyDelete"Sorry, I had to delete your comment since it is exactly what is going to happen..."
ReplyDeleteSo, Magnus, either you're serious and *Woohoo, I rock!* or you're joking and *Boooo, you suck!*.
I'm good either way.
Jim
Just keep it under your hat, Jim. :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries. It's under the hat, and the hat is glued to my head.
ReplyDeleteJim
I vaguely remember what Jim wrote and...wow.
ReplyDelete(Even though it's vague, I'll keep it to myself)
I want Chuck and Sarah to have a baby (series finale) so I must be one of those shippers who can't see all the plot holes, lol. Though in my defence, the show has always had plot holes. That's nothing new. But I agree subtlety is gone.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't care, I'm just along for the ride since it's the last season. I view these episodes as bonus. I have to admit though the first 3 episodes bored me because they were Morgan heavy and I just can't seem to care about that at all. I tried, but I can't. The only way I could was if they were the BEST episodes ever created but while they weren't bad, they weren't the best either so I was meh on it. I just don't want Morgan heavy episodes or him as focus in any way.
I really enjoyed this episode though, my favorite so far.
I shouldn't have said it is EXACTLY right...
ReplyDeleteWhat I remember of it is probably not what he exactly said, either.
ReplyDeleteMe happy : ) thanks to decent visual memory i remember what Jim said unfortunately i am not familiar with the project he used as an example
ReplyDeleteSee Magnus you manage to spoil even when you don't want to! Asterix Game Pls :X : ) )
" What I remember of it is probably not what he exactly said, either."
ReplyDeleteThat makes two of us. Hey, we could be senility buddies!
Jim
Jim
ReplyDeletePlease write again your thoughts
Magnus you can delete his message after we read it:))
I thought it was a good episode. Not all that strong, but for casual viewing it was pretty good. It wasn't so much Sarah's want for a normal friend, than her asking Chuck's permission at the end that annoyed me (a bit). I *think* that line was supposed to be a joke about how she doesn't have 'normal' friends, but it just kind of seemed off.
ReplyDeleteThere's a bit of talk about the inconsistencies in Ellie's character, but that episode where we saw how much the lack of human contact was getting to her was a long 'Chuck' time ago. A few months, which in baby terms, is quite a while! I can imagine spending all day everyday with your newborn, you'd get used to having her there. For everything.
The BuyMore Convention was hilarious. I'd like to see more of that! (yeah, I know. One-off thing....)
Arc
Interestingly enough, I thought the worst stuff was the convention. It just wasn't done very well. All the guest actors seemed to be hamming it up for a different show.
ReplyDeleteGo watch those scenes, then go watch Suburbs. It's like watching a master class in acting vs. how to mail it in.
Maybe it is time to shut this site down.
ReplyDeleteWhy you say that Razorback. I mean just cause you didnt care for this episode does not mean your not a fan. Unless you lost interest in Chuck. Sides why shut it down now. Just wait 2 and a half mouths then shut it down.
ReplyDeleteI still love the show.
ReplyDeleteBut I have my reasons for thinking about just packing this site up.
don't you dare pack up this site PLEASE DON'T at least wait until a month after Chuck is over before shutting down this site
ReplyDeleteNo Chuck for two weeks!!
ReplyDeletePlease Magnus give us some spoilers to stand waiting for 2 weeks...
Please please please don't! I come to this site all the time and I personally believe you make Chuck more enjoyable :) I...I think I love you, Magnus...
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteAlright, that last one was just too cute. :o)
I hated the episode because it has been established in previous episodes that Decker knows who everyone Chuck is friends with is.
ReplyDeleteSince Decker did know who Morgan was wouldn't he have just given a picture of him to the Viper.
That makes it stupid for Chuck and Sarah to even go to the Buymore convention to try and draw the Viper out.
Now it could have been written to show the audience that the Viper didn't know exactly who Morgan was but it wasn't.
If you rewatch the episode the scene where Chuck is talking to the guy in the cell before he goes to rescue Sarah in the car.
Then the Viper does show up at the Buymore with a picture of Morgan.
Then at the end of the episode the Viper and the other people are shown to be in direct contact with Decker where he is telling them what to do.
It was just a very poorly written episode.
It was too poorly written for me to overlook it.
Chuck, Sarah and Casey should have realized that Decker knew who Morgan was.
When you hire a hitman to kill a target you provide as much information as possible.
Decker and the Viper were written as much more intelligent than Chuck, Sarah and Casey.
Chuck: "My wife likes me clean shaven"
ReplyDeleteShe also likes/loves you with longer hair which she can run her hands through, that she can twirl your curls for comfort and play with your tie...ok that is all me living vicariously through Sarah. But in all seriousness..grow your hair dumbass!
I have never watched a TV show closely other than Chuck. Do other shows have the same writing problems that Chuck has? The main problems are:
ReplyDeleteGigantic plot holes.
Characters that vary their personality from one episode to the next.
Playing too little attention to what has happened previously on the show. Not following a show bible.
Introducing interesting and then ignoring them in the next episode.
Is just Chuck or other shows have such problems with these issues?
Thanks
CHUCK isn't even close to the middle of the worst offenders. Maybe not at the bottom of the list but I would put it closer to the bottom than the middle. Hell, there are shows with more prestige than CHUCK that constantly violate their own rules and setups and toys with the audience unnecessarily.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of one instance where the CHUCK writers violated their own "bible." Please point out where that happened.
I used the wrong words when I said the writers violated the "bible". What bugs me is inconsistency the writers have often shown. The best example is the Intersect. In season's one and two it is so secret that no one other than Graham, Beckman, Casey, and Sarah know that Chuck has it. It is so important that they send an untrained civilian on missions. They also seem to have no way of removing it.
ReplyDeleteIn season 3 suddenly the Intersect isn't that important because Chuck is fired and they go without it for months. Then more people start finding out like the scientists in fear of flying. Finally during season 4 Chuck loses the Intersect twice even though the government could do nothing.
These types of issues are what bug me most about the writing.
Essentially, the problem you have is related to the Intersect. The season 3 point I agree with. Why would they just fire Chuck over that? Dumb. I don't see your season 4 issue. You mean that he couldn't get it back? I think you need to go back and watch those episodes. It is explained what the problem is in that regard.
ReplyDelete