"Chuck vs. the Colonel" Review

Lucky you, you get two Sean blog entries tonight! Since my favorite TV show is possibly in danger of getting canceled, I've stepped up my game to do my part to save my show. Which one is that? Why, "Chuck" of course!

I love "Chuck" because it is the perfect blend of action and comedy, mixing very likable characters with guest stars that are cleverly casted, along with great writing and a fantastic song selection for every episode. It's got two great leads in Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah), it's got fan favorite actor Adam Baldwin (Jon Casey, plus he was a cool minor character in "Independence Day", a traitor in "The Patriot", and had a part in "Firefly"), and just about every awesome thing you can imagine.

I mean, what other show guest stars Carl Winslow from "Family Matters" to reprise his role from "Die Hard"? Or have Chevy Chase play an evil, cynical version of Steve Jobs (which oddly fits the perception that Chevy Chase is actually an evil, cynical jerk in real life)? They even had the chubby dude from "Borat" play a spy that once ate a 96-oz. steak and chased Chuck up the stairs to the tune of "Hungry Like the Wolf", where Chuck exclaimed, "I don't know if he's going to kill me or EAT me!"

This past Monday's episode is the last one before next week's season finale. For anyone watching it, "Chuck vs. the Colonel" could have been mistaken for a season - and series - finale. There's one episode left, and let's hope it's not the last-ever adventure for Chuck, Sarah, and Casey!

Ah, this episode had everything. Chuck was trying to save his father from Fulcrum, the splinter group of bad guy spies, but his two government handlers, Sarah and Casey, have been at odds with Chuck regarding his and his family members' safety. We discover that Chuck and Sarah have run from the government to save Chuck's dad, ignoring their orders and committing treason, all while leaving Casey behind. This was not good.

However, it was good for Chuck and Sarah's chemistry. You see, Sarah's "cover" for protecting Chuck has been to pose as his girlfriend. Although this was purely for professional reasons, Chuck (and recently Sarah) have shown signs of real interest. So after sharing a bed in a motel room their first night on the run, Chuck wakes up to find Sarah's hand in his, and once they both wake up, there's a kind of realization that nothing is holding them back from expressing their long-suppressed feelings. Besides some serious tonsil hockey, nothing else happens, because Chuck's buddy Morgan decided to remove Chuck's contraceptive of choice from his wallet and replace it with an IOU note. Hilarious!

Casey finally catches up to Chuck and Sarah, and after a skirmish with Fulcrum agents, Casey abducts the two to imprison them - although, he figures they'll be safest being locked away by the government. The Intersect computer in Chuck's brain makes him a target of Fulcrum, and they are forcing Chuck's dad to make a new Intersect for them - all of the government's intelligence and secrets encoded into one small device.

Since Chuck had the Intersect in his brain, Sarah and Casey have both protected him...but none of Chuck's family and friends have discovered his secret life as a spy. Until now. Chuck's sister Ellie is about ready to marry her fiancee, Devon Woodcomb, aka Captain Awesome, according to Chuck, because hey...everything he does is awesome.

This is the episode where Capt. Awesome finds out about Chuck's spy life. What's his reaction?

"That is.....AWESOME!" *high fives Chuck*

Ahh, I love this show.

After escaping Casey's clutches to rescue Chuck's dad, Chuck and Sarah arrive to Fulcrum's secret hideout to find that Fulcrum is planning to program the Intersect into a large group of their operatives - effectively making an army of bad guys with built-in knowledge of the US governments intelligence...and weaknesses. Before they can act, Casey again gets the jump on them, holding Chuck at gunpoint and being his usual comically-grumpy self. He tells them they made three mistakes: one, they didn't know Casey had followed them; two, they didn't bring nearly enough ammo; and three...they didn't ask Casey to come along.

Seriously? Casey just wanted to be included this whole time? Awww...this was followed by the best line of the episode, as Chuck sheepishly, earnestly asked, "Casey...? Would...you like to help us...rescue my father?"

Yes! The team was back together! But no group hug..Casey wouldn't allow it!

Our heroes find Chuck's dad, but Chevy Chase Evil Jerk Man comes in with armed Fulcrum agents, and the good guys are going to be killed after the other Fulcrum agents are implanted with the Intersect. As the rapid, flashing images burst from a giant screen into the audience, Chuck's dad tells him to open his eyes: turns out that his dad made this Intersect not to implant information, but to remove it - from Chuck's brain. Seeing it as a curse, Chuck had long tried to find a way to remove the Intersect and get his normal life back. At long last, it worked.

Before Chevy Chase Evil Jerk Man realizes the deception and kills them, we find that the government has their own way to defeat Fulcrum: a full-blown airstrike. In the ensuing explosions, we see Fulcrum's base destroyed, Chuck and Sarah's relief that the Intersect is finally gone, and the thought that maybe, just maybe, everything is back to normal.

We find Capt. Awesome struggle at first to keep Chuck's secret, but he reassures Ellie that Chuck, and their father, have Ellie's best interests in mind. Sure enough, Chuck and his father return home just in time for Ellie and Awesome's wedding rehearsal dinner. As they leave, Chuck asks Casey to come with them - not as a protector, but as a friend. Casey shuts the door in his face, only to reappear a second later with a nice suit coat...nice job, COLONEL Casey! That's right...the ep's title referred to the promotion Casey got for "capturing" Chuck and Sarah, but Casey came through, explaining that Chuck and Sarah's "defection" was actually a planned ruse to lure Fulcrum's secret location out into the open.

Chuck sees Sarah approach, awestruck, and he takes her hand as Chuck's friends and family move on to what looks like a new beginning...

But wait! A gnarled hand sticks out a thumb, causing a semi truck on a dark road to stop. It's Chevy Chase Evil Jerk Man! He says he's got a wedding in Burbank to catch...uh oh, he wants revenge on the Bartowski family! Eh, I think Chevy was better off in "Christmas Vacation".

And now, we have Ellie and Awesome's wedding, and a very unwelcome guest, yet to happen. The show's creators are hinting at a game-changing event to happen that'll change the look of the entire series. Good gravy, I can't wait!

If you value my friendship, good television, even your life..please watch Chuck at 8pm on NBC next Monday. Skip "House". Ditch "Dancing with the Stars". Forget about big bang theories or how someone met their mother...watch Chuck!

Some other great moments of the ep...

-The hijinx at the Buy More where Chuck works. His buddy Morgan, suckered into helping Emmitt Milbarge seize control as store manager, realizes that he cannot live his life at the Buy More. Instead, he quits, picks up his girl Anna, and goes off to pursue his dream of becoming a Benihana chef in Hawaii!

-Buy More slackers Lester and Jeff discovering Casey's employee locker containing all sorts of spy stuff, and mistaking him as a crazy stalker after Chuck....a stalker even worse than Jeff, and that's saying something. Jeff and Lester also use one of Casey's explosives to knock out the power from the Buy More, which causes all sorts of stuff, not the least of which is knocking out the power to the cell door where Chuck and Sarah were imprisoned in.

-Captain Awesome is a ripped, suave, all-around good guy with a great job as a doctor and a cool fiancee in Ellie. And now, he is also the only guy to know all about Chuck, and after freaking out for a bit, he stayed true to Chuck and Ellie's request: "Can you...be...awesome??" Yes, indeed he can!

I'm going to have a radio show this weekend to save "Chuck", by going to blip.fm and tweeting every time I play a new song...the entire playlist will be songs played in "Chuck" episodes, which is a great thing, because the music supervisor for the show is actually the same person who did the music for "The O.C." Listen in by checking my updates on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday, and enjoy! Should be a sweet season finale on Monday...let's make sure it's not the last!


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