"Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" was about as refreshing as Chuck can get. It's distinctively different tone and devotion to fun was a welcome change from the first half of the season, which undoubtedly was dark and worked well for the most part, but got a little tedious near the end. If the first half of the season can be considered as having a negative attitude, than the second half of the season is positively radiant. In the end, Season 3 as a whole will be as balanced as the previous two seasons. The producers told us to wait until the end, and the majority of us who stuck around were gifted with the light at the end of the tunnel--a very bright one at that.
The constant, artificial roadblocks between Chuck and Sarah have been shattered and the floodgates were in "Honeymooners," perhaps the most welcome difference in the second half. No longer are we wondering why Chuck and Sarah aren't together--the questions, I might add, rarely had sufficient answers. Now, it is taken for granted they want to be together, both Chuck and Sarah can articulate their thoughts in real words (gasp!), and the CIA or Beckman at least doesn't care. They've already started to have their cute moments, which are true delights to watch.
The plot was pretty simple and centered around Chuck and Sarah catching as Basque terrorist. More importantly, Chuck and Sarah are in agreement that they should run off after their final mission which is not sanctioned by the CIA. There is some great spy work with wonderful teamwork between the two, a result of two seasons working together. They use Southern accent and nifty hands, eventually drugging the terrorists.
It's all fine and dandy until Casey shows up. He and Morgan had been tasked by the CIA to find Chuck and Sarah. I really liked how Morgan was more than the bumbling idiot and at least helped Casey by locating Chuck on the surveillance camera. Casey is also rather accepting of Morgan, more so than I had expected, and lets him tag along all the way to Europe.
The Basque terrorist turns out to be an informant and the others surrounding are Interpol agents. Oops. Another Interpol team is sent in, and everything looks like it'll turn out fine. Big problem: there's a third of the episode left. Part of the fun of Chuck is watching the clock and wondering how many more fun situations the writers can through into the episode. The Canadian girl with the broken leg who Morgan had been hitting on and Chuck had been flashing on (I still don't understand why the flashes weren't important.), is the real terrorist. She kills the Interpol agents off-screen and for no apparent reason, keeps Casey and Morgan alive. After the original Interpol team who they drugged earlier confronts them, Chuck and Sarah rush back into action, crashing the party with a scooter. With great precision, Sarah and Chuck take out the terrorists, handcuffed at the same time, and a tied up Casey and Morgan are able to help a bit.
The looming question was, do Chuck and Sarah want each other or the spy life? Both say they unquestionably want the other. But what about having it all? In real life, that rarely happens, but this is television and anything is possible. Of course Chuck and Sarah can be spies and of course they can be together. This isn't some dark HBO drama. Is anyone not excited for the rest of the season?
I haven't read much on the topic, but Ellie and Awesome look like they will be exiting sometime soon. Their drunken send-off party is serenaded by a love Jeffster, singing John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Ellie and Chuck have a hug at the end of the episode, but will this be the last one of the season? I hope not, but unless the writers can integrate them while they're are in Africa or somehow make them reconsider, the ship has already sailed.
I'm guessing there won't be the oodles of Chuck and Sarah in the next few episodes, but it signifies that the producers aren't afraid to move forward with the characters. They've stagnated the relationship for two seasons and it's time to put an end to the silliness. As Beckman puts it "But off the record, it's about damn time."
Score: 9.4/10
Monday, April 26, 2010
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