There’s just something about this show that screams charm. Every delectable morsel of “Chuck” is either cute, heartwarming, action-packed, or laugh-out-loud hilarious. To be honest, I’ve been a little worried about “Chuck.” The series started out with a stellar first season, and has continued with a phenomenal second act so far. Most programs that succeed in their first season tend to follow with a sub-par sequel. This has been infamously dubbed as ‘The Sophomore Slump.’ Few shows overcome that obstacle. Even critical faves, such as “Lost,” have taken a dip in their respective second seasons. Some shows, like “Heroes,” never recover.
So I’m earnestly inspecting each episode; looking for the beginning signs of deterioration. Fortunately, these elements of doom have yet to occur. Moreover, the storyline appears to be more cohesive than ever, and it feels as though that the writers have clearly drawn out the plotlines for this season. Unfortunately, whenever a show starts to vibrantly shine in quality, the network will then decide to axe it. Too many television greats have been ruthlessly canceled, especially including the recent “Pushing Daisies.”
This particular episode dealt with the back-story of Sarah’s dad. Without revealing very much about Sarah’s real identity, the flashback aspects of the episode helped to establish the origins of Sarah’s slightly dysfunctional childhood. I personally found it fascinating that a future CIA agent could be raised by a con man. Sarah’s father, played by the masterful Gary Cole, was both sweet and disturbingly strange. He clearly had a heart, a fact that could be consistently demonstrated by the strength of his relationship with Sarah…but I couldn’t believe that he would encourage his daughter at such a young age to engage in criminal activity…or intentionally get her hit by an armored truck!
One particular element of this episode that bothered me slightly occurred early on in the episode. Chuck couldn’t simply accept that Sarah had taken a day off for personal reasons. His behavior, though amusing, was shockingly stalkerish. I just found it hard to believe that the decent Chuck could just leave well enough alone. Then again, if he hadn’t followed Sarah, the stage for following series of events wouldn’t have been set.
Sarah’s father had sold a hotel to a very dangerous Sheik (I think that’s how you spell it – I’m not really clear on what a ‘sheik’ is to begin with…). However, Sarah’s father didn’t own the hotel and was simply pulling a con on the Sheik. Props to the writers of this episode for delivering an exceedingly good plot, which allowed the ground for some first-rate character drama.
Concerning the subplot of Morghan’s antics, I have to say it was both amusing and faintly alarming. I think Captain Awesome’s offer to help Morghan was great and all, but when Devon threatened to pluck him, I was a little shocked. I’ve always taken Devon to be the fun, kind, and obsessively athletic kind of guy. But for the most part, Devon has seemed to be the gentle giant character that would never hurt anyone. Then again, he can’t really be blamed for his looming frustration towards Morghan, especially given Morghan’s former torch for Ellie.
Overall, this was a really good episode. “Chuck” always reminds me about what good television should be like. Simply put, there are too many shows out there that are a struggle to watch. “Chuck” is an hour of pure entertainment, and for that I give this episode a 9/10
