After last week's episode raped the entire canon of the show with its wild stupidity, this episode does virtually nothing of importance, and yet works better. And yet, if not for a couple of bits and pieces, you could literally skip the last two weeks and not feel totally lost next week.
One of the best things about this one is that Gertrude returns to make Casey squirm via her super hotness for his sexiness (I LOVE HER!). She needs her Casey meat really bad, having been away from him for several weeks due to the murder charges against her. Now that the CIA has dropped the charges (wait, didn't she actually murder a CIA agent?) she is able to return to get back to licking things off the colonel.
Another really good thing about this episode is that Sarah looks sexy like a meow meow! Well, she does every week but she is especially hawt in this one. And Chuck acts cute. When Chuck acts cute, it feels like the show I fell in love with. I like when that happens.
Meanwhile, Jeff's ability to think has resulted in him piecing things together and somehow figuring out that Casey, Chuck, Sarah, and at least one other are spies. He has even put together a board linking different bits of evidence together, much like the one Chuck had back in the episode Lethal Weapon in season 2, totally figuring out that Casey is NSA, Sarah is CIA, and Chuck is some kind of asset. He also seems to have connected Bryce to the whole thing, something last week's writers couldn't. Actually, if you pause on the different shots on the board, you will notice that Jeff must have gotten his hands on the DVDs in the same way the bad guys did in SPACE BALLS because he knows way too much. This is kind of amusing and results in a couple of bits of hilarity when Morgan discovers Jeff briefing Lester on his findings. This part of the story also results in one of the funniest Jeffster moments in the series, when Lester dresses up as a woman to spy on Captain Awesome. Impressive.
There is a side story about Sarah thinking she is preggers that really doesn't go anywhere but makes up for a large portion of the episode. It does get Chuck and Sarah talking about the future and gives us a classic Chuck moment when Sarah tells him he is "spiraling" as he worries about the future.
The main mission story is totally forgettable. Something about buying weapons. Shrug. Somehow a weapon that can shoot real bullets has a safety feature that prevents it from shooting at friendlies carrying the same weapon. Yeah, it isn't total science fiction, but the weapon should PREVENT YOU FROM FIRING IT. The creators of the show don't seem to understand that logic and allow the weapon to fire over and over even when the safety feature is on. What happens to the bullets? Do they have WINGS? Do they fly around the target? It is stupid.
What does work well is the relationship moments. Gertrude and Casey. Chuck and Sarah (who apparently don't sleep together so how could she ever get pregnant?). Casey and Alex. Jeff and Lester. And even the ending sequence with Jeff, Lester, Big Mike, and Captain Awesome meeting in a fake room within Castle to throw the Jeffster spy mission off.
The final payoff, as Jeff breaks through the fake wall (is that the same wall they used last week?) to discover Morgan, Sarah, and Chuck inside Castle, and Morgan subsequently shooting both of the former band mates with a tranquilizer gun, is actually worth the ride.
Now for some QUOTABLES:
After Chuck spends all night brainstorming a new mission for the team, he shares it with Casey at Castle.
Casey: Clandestine Agents Relating Emotionally. C.A.R.E.?
Chuck: Mmmhmm.
Casey: You really think this is what our clients want? A private security firm that holds their hands? Builds their self-esteem? Tells them their special?
Chuck: Isn't that what everyone wants, Casey?
Before Casey can leave for the mission he runs into his daughter who has brought an interesting DVD for their movie night.
Casey: Downton Abbey. (reading the description) An upstairs/downstairs costume drama in early 1900s England. Yeah, something tells me not gonna be a lot of explosions in that one.
Alex: Are you kidding? What about the bombs they drop on Edwardian convention?
When Casey is tasked with putting on some skimpy bathing trunks, he balks, but Sarah isn't sympathetic.
Sarah: Do you know how many skimpy outfits I have had to put on for this team? Did you hear me complain when I had to put on a cat suit, or seven inch platform high heels, or a belly dancing outfit?
Casey: Belly dancing?
Sarah: Okay, that was private. Look, put on the banana hammock and stop whining!
Sarah walks in on Casey and Gertrude having sex and retreats out of the room, horrified. Chuck meets her at the door and sees the look of shock on her face.
Chuck: Sarah? What's wrong?
Sarah: Everything. It's all wrong.
Chuck decides to have a conversation with Casey about Gertrude.
Chuck: Mind if I give you a little advice?
Casey: Use the word 'care' and I'm gonna take this glass, shove it down your throat, and punch you in the stomach so it shatters.
After Jeff and Lester follow a Captain Awesome on what they think is his spy mission drop, drag queen Lester makes some out-loud mental notes.
Lester: It's oddly comfortable running in heels.
Lester: Just so you know, I'm keeping these shoes.
If I had to rate this one, I'd give it:
85 out of 100
It wasn't a bad episode but it also felt uneven at times. The spy mission felt tacked on just to give the team something to do, while the pregnancy element could have been handled with more consistency. The Jeffster mission was funny and the relationship beats mostly worked well. The fake mission worked much better than the real one. Oh and the couple of DOWNTON ABBEY references made me chuckle. Unfortunately, Casey hasn't gotten to season 2... which suuuuuuuuuucks, but not as much as MISFITS season 3.