Tuesday, November 25, 2008

"Chuck vs. the Gravitron": Where Can I Get an iPod Compatible Nerd Herder?


Can the geniuses behind Chuck please come out and take a bow? The writers behind the best show on tv appear to be able to do no wrong. (*knock on wood*) Chuck is the one show on television that I can consistently count on to provide me with entertainment from all angles. I mean every single angle—it’s like I’m walking around in that fun house of mirrors and in every single mirror the tv show doesn’t fail to entertain me. Whether we are watching Lester twitch at the idea of a real turkey for Thanksgiving, Ellie obsessively cleaning in preparation for the “Very Awesomes” to arrive, or watching Sarah’s never failing, heart wrenching looks at Chuck. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Spoilers after I watch the very familiar Ferris wheel scene from The OC.

I don’t think I can actually describe my conflicted emotions throughout the entire episode last night. Yes, the little voice in the back of my head was saying the whole time that Jill was evil, but from her shooting “Leader” to the lie detector test, my heart just kept jumping in and out of my shirt. Her speech in the fun house of mirrors really had me going there for a minute. Especially after choosing not to shoot Chuck on the Ferris wheel (note the cheesy, yet awesome line “you broke my heart, do you have to shoot it too?”). But then, in that moment when she asked Chuck to let her out of the chair so she could kiss him I knew she was an evil, conniving, Fulcrum agent with her own self interest at heart. Sure, it’s possible that she got in too deep and didn’t know what she was doing anymore, but in my book Jill is a betrayer and always will be. Maybe it’s the Chuck+Sarah support talking, but I am so glad Jill is out of the picture…for now.

And the path to getting Jill out of the picture. You know how people say that when you break up and see an ex there is a clear winner and a clear loser? Well, even though Chuck still works at a Buy More and isn’t exactly where he wanted to be in life at this point (shown clearly by Chuck vs. the Ex), by the end of this episode Chuck is the winner. Chuck wins with flying colors. Not only did he get revenge on backstabbing, betraying Jill, but he did it in the geekiest most Chuck way possible. He used his inner nerd to it’s fullest while getting some of that Chuck charm in there that we have come to know and love. And what made the moment great was while Sarah’s explanation of how Jill would catch Chuck at his most vulnerable moment was exactly how Jill got Chuck’s false trust twice in the episode, it was also the exact method Chuck used to trick Jill at the end. Classic.

Now aside from the great Chuck/Jill arc that closed off this week, the action and comedy of the episode were in full swing as well. I think that the carnival scene is one of the best action sequences Chuck has done thus far. From the scene in the Gravitron (which I refuse to ever go on) with Chuck and “the Leader’s” fight while trying to move around the walls, to the suspense of the scene in the fun house, every scene was done beautifully and artistically. Then there’s Chuck’s seemingly genius use of the Castle’s instruction manual to get them out their sticky situation. That boy knows his way around a computer, and clearly not just the one stuck inside of his head. I am constantly impressed by the ways the writers are making Chuck more and more competent as a spy while keeping his dork in check. Like Chuck said last week, “The running, jumping, shooting people part of the job, that’s all you guys. But the puzzles, that’s all me.” I think he can add instruction manual reading talent and computer expertise to his list of skills that come in handy while on the job.

And let’s not forget our Buy More friends, most notably speedy and loyal boss, Big Mike. His running scenes never fail to make me crack up…especially while wearing a fantastic fishing outfit. The tie-in of Big Mike believing Casey was protecting the Buy More could not have been done any better. In addition, Ellie’s freak-out about Devon’s parents coming for Thanksgiving was not only believable, but also hysterical and showed us a side of Sarah Lancaster that we hadn’t really seen yet. I plan on going back to see exactly how many times she said awesome in that one sequence.

Chuck seemed to hit every mark this week. And even if there are some things that I can find loopholes in, or questions about where the show is gonna go in the future, I gotta say…I really don’t care right now. I am so happy with the way this season is going that I am perfectly fine in believing every aspect of the Chuck world, from Buymoria to Spy Land. Every story line keeps me intrigued, whether my heart is pacing, my laughter is uncontrollable, or my eyes are slightly tearing up. That’s not something I can say for any other show out there.

Other moments I loved:
  • After checking: Ellie and Chuck’s conversation used the term awesome five fabulous times.
  • Ellie got a slow-mo sequence with the turkey…and the fact that she threw out a perfectly good turkey to Morgan horror.
  • Jeff tripping over his own trip wire and the goodbye between Morgan and Leseter.
  • “Unleash the Casey”
  • "You're under arrest Jill--and I'm breaking up with you"
Do you agree? Or am I caught under the Chuck spell? What are your thoughts?

1 comment:

mkr said...

when ellie was bring out the turkey slo-mo, with morgan salivating, i instantly flashed on the pool scene from fast times at ridgemont high. all they needed was the cars' "moving in stereo".