Bo Derek graces CHUCK with her presence and name in this week's episode.
Apparently Morgan, while under the influence of his frosted tips and the poisonous Intersect, stole some Intersect glasses from a bad dude and Bo Derek. The latter playing herself as an evil spy who bangs the rainbows out of Grimes.
Grimes' paralleling story is that Alex got the rainbows banged out of her by a surfer dude while Morgan and her were on a break (or she cheated on him, as if anyone cares). Why do these story lines? Shrug. Because it's kind of funny? Because it leads us to ridiculous stuff? Don't ask. Just enjoy.
The main plot of this one is that Chuck and Sarah have decided to stop going on dangerous missions and instead work on cyber terrorism and the like. Everyone but Casey is all for it, though the team talks him into it eventually by calling attention to just how many times he's been shot (great little nod to fan discussions over the years).
But when this Intersect issue comes up, they have to go and complete just one more dangerous mission or worry about that device coming back to haunt them, or something. They go. Hilarity and action ensues, and eventually the team does find the Intersect glasses hidden away in a game display at another Buy More (with some gender roles reversed from their Burbank Buy More doppelgangers).
Just as the gang thinks they are out of the spy game, Chuck gets kidnapped and Sarah and Casey have to go save him. I won't even mention that they could have called the CIA/NSA/FBI/SWAT and everyone else to come back them up because this show so rarely deals with that realm of reality (and mind you, MOST entertainment avoids these realities as well just to make their stories somehow work), but the two get into a big shootout and are overwhelmed. Sarah, having brought the Intersect glasses to trade for Chuck, sees no other way out of the situation (and she is known to do wildly irrational things when she thinks any harm could come to her man), so she Intersects herself and kicks the living shit out of her opponents.
I have held onto this moment for some time. I am a bit surprised they even ran with it. But when I initially heard they were keeping it in, I was worried. It sounded like a really bad idea (like Morgan getting the Intersect). It feels like the writers really ran out of ideas this season. AND YET, that moment worked for me. Sure, Sarah shouldn't really need the Intersect. But it is difficult to show what a Sarah using the Intersect would actually look like on this budget. So, we have to suspend some disbelief and accept that Sarah looking only somewhat more badass with the Intersect would be SO MUCH MORE BADASS with another $1 million in the budget. And in that moment, I actually felt a rush. I enjoyed it.
I didn't mention the Jeffster side story which was HILARIOUS! Yeah, I know, if they always had this forget-shit gas, why didn't they use it before? Because the writers just thought of it, obviously. I forgive that kind of writing since, again, it is done on virtually every show except a couple of cable shows that are able to write all their scripts before they shoot their episodes. Anyway, Jeff and Lester being repeatedly gassed, put back in the same car, in the same place, with the same exact conditions, and both always figuring out that it had to have been Team B's doing, never stopped being funny to me. Well, maybe until the end when the Subway commercial showed up in the form of Big Mike.
I laughed a number of times during this one and enjoyed it, but also felt some of the pacing was off and that it dragged a bit too much in places. One of the best working elements is still Chuck and Sarah simply having a conversation. You would think the writers, dealing with an ever decreasing budget, would have just given us more of those moments THAT WORK SO WELL but no. So, we get weak pacing, poorly structured plots, and some strangely written episodes this season. I'm not saying I haven't enjoyed a majority of them, but I am coming away from this season feeling a bit like I did at the end of season 4. Underwhelmed by the season while still having enjoyed individual episodes.
Alright, let's get to my favorite portion of every review.
QUOTABLES!
The team meets to discuss the idea to shift the company to a safer line of work.
Morgan: Well, I love it, okay. You know how I feel about bullets. Which is to say negatively, okay? This is fantastic!
Casey: Where do I fit in? What am I? Chief Googler?
Sarah: Well, actually, you'd be doing a lot of the same stuff that you already do.
Chuck: Yeah, I mean, we're still gonna need field ops to recover stolen systems and breaching company security to find their weak spots.
Casey: [grunts]
Morgan: Plus, wouldn't it be lovely to not get shot at?
Chuck: Exactly! Aren't you sick of getting shot at?
Sarah: Or getting shot. I mean, you get shot a lot.
Casey: Not considering how much I get shot at.
After waking up in a crashed car with booze and panties, memory-wiped Jeff and Lester begin to piece things together.
Jeff: Lester, something really weird is up.
Lester: Yeah, last, last thing I remember is that there's something going on underneath the Buy More. Yeah, that's right. With Bartowski, and Grimes, and Casey, and that whorey blond.
While on the mission and Grimes having to sex up Bo Derek to get information, Sarah playfully taunts Chuck's star crush.
Sarah: Hey, Chuck, how's it going with Bo? Have you had any sneak peeks of your childhood crush's boobies?
Chuck: What?! No! [pause] Shut up.
Later, when Bo reveals herself to be an enemy agent, Sarah saves Chuck and Morgan by knocking her out.
Sarah: [smiling] Sorry I had to do that to your girlfriend.
Chuck: Oh, you didn't hit her in the face, did ya? [Sarah's smile disappears] I'm kidding! I'm kidding. But it is Bo Derek.
If I had to rate this episode, I'd give it:
89 out of 100
Good humor, some good action, fun references, and a thrilling ending (we could debate the necessity of it all until the end of time) but like much of season 5, flawed. Let me also say that I thought Bo Derek did a fine job. Not that I expected anything else. She is a capable actor.
UPDATE:
Click below to listen to the podcast covering the last three CHUCK episodes and beyond!
Or... RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE this link to download the MP3 version (better quality and you can play it on any device).