CHUCK Vs. the Bullet Train: 5.11 - RuhRoh!

The 89th episode of this fun little show has been unleashed on the masses and it... is... surprisingly good! Woohoo!

I say surprisingly because on paper it didn't sound all that spectacular but it really delivered on all the points that I think make the show worthy of its five seasons and its loyal fans.

So, Chuck's been kidnapped, Sarah's been Intersected, and there is a rescue mission. Quinn, the new chubby baddie, just wants his Intersect glasses, which of course he can't have since Sarah used them. Back at Castle, Ellie and Awesome (FINALLY!) are working on figuring out what made the Intersect go puff puff for koo koo crisps on Morgan.

On the train, Chuck is told his wife and Casey have been killed and their corpses delivered in coffin thingies. Of course, they are not dead and Sarah saves Chuck from captivity. Then, Chuck and Sarah have sex. Granted, we don't see the sexy time, but we know it happened. Then Chuck draws a picture of their happy life. Yes, it sounds lame but it is actually done well.

Meanwhile, Alex gets herself kidnapped and Casey gets blackmailed to turn on Chuck and Sarah. However, the team is able to get a message back to Castle and Morgan and Awesome spring into action, only to be captured. That leaves only two individuals left to save the day. Jeff and Lester.

This whole thing shouldn't work. It really shouldn't. It should come off as cheesy and dumb but instead I found myself laughing, rooting them on, and just generally enjoying the entire thing.

But of course there is a caveat to all this fun. Sarah's Intersect has a ticker and if she flashes one too many times (she tells Chuck she has already flashed FOURTY TIMES!!!) her brain will fry and she could start forgetting things (like Alex, who no one should be surprised she has forgotten since I am surprised she ever knew her name). And as Quinn escapes and then reappears etc etc etc, Sarah gets herself captured and then her memory screwed with to the point where she has forgotten all the important things, like Chuck. And now Quinn has her thinking she is a CIA agent whose mission is to KILL CHUCK!

I love it... though, it really should have been introduced like 8 episodes ago.

QUOTABLES

After Chuck and Sarah have a serious talk about her being Intersected, they share an uncomfortable silence before it is broken.
Chuck: It's the coolest thing in the world, isn't it?!
Sarah: The coolest ever.
Chuck: Did you do any parkour?
Sarah: Off a bridge, onto a moving truck, and then onto a car going in the opposite direction.
Chuck: Awesome!

After Awesome and Morgan are captured trying to save Alex, Lester finds Morgan's earpiece communicator on the ground with a barking John Casey on the other end.
Casey: Morgan!
Lester: [picking up the device] Hellooooo?
Casey: Who the hell is this?
Lester: I might ask you the same question, little earling.
Casey: Lester, Lester Patel?
Lester: [long pause] Mayyybe?

Casey discusses the issue with the team and they decide to give Jeff and Lester the mission.
Casey: This is Colonel John Casey of the National Security Agency.
Lester: That is so funny, there's a John Casey works at the Buy More.
Casey: That's me, you idiot! I'm NSA. Sarah Walker, Chuck Bartowski, they're CIA.
Lester: They are so not!
Casey: They are so so, you colossal dope! Now, I need you. My daughter needs you. And your country needs you.
Lester: [pause] Canada?

Jeff and Lester tap into the communications system of the vehicle where the bad guys are holding Alex, Awesome, and Morgan.
Jeff: [coming through the PA system] We appreciate that you too are armed. But we have heat vision infrared scopes, laser guidance system, and armor piercing bullets. Over!
Morgan: I think this is where we should get down.

If I had to rate this episode, I'd give it:

94 out of 100

Sure, the green screen work in this one was pretty bad at times, and it wasn't a perfect episode, but when compared to the majority of this season, I think this one shines like 5.03 and 5.07. I am also very happy to see it executed so well since what I had heard about it, on paper, sounded pretty bad. That gives me hope for the finale. But 5.11, like the other two I mentioned, make suffering through some episodes that aren't as good more than worth it (minus Baby, which should die!).

What did you think?

Also, check out our podcast about the episode below. Warning, ADULT LANGUAGE.

Click below to listen:


Or... RIGHT CLICK AND SAVE this link to download the MP3 version (better quality and you can play it on any device).

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CHUCK Vs. the Frosted Tips - 5.03: the Intersect Problem

First of all, right click on this link and SAVE! We recorded a podcast about the last two episodes plus Chuckfest3. You should check it out when you have time... but download it now. Don't hesitate! Even if you have no plans to listen. It's not that big of a file and you will thank me later. Or curse me out. Maybe somewhere in-between.

So the third episode in the season that starts with the number five was a full-blast character funathon that reminded me why I still love this show so much. We got fun Casey and Sarah interaction; Casey and Morgan; Casey and Gertrude; Casey and Alex; pretty much Casey getting a lot to do and Adam Baldwin had a lot of fun with it.

When we last left our bunch of elite spies, we the audience had just discovered that Morgan was a traitor, having sold himself, the Intersect, to the competition. As the episode opens, we see that Sarah and Casey are on a mission of some sort and it involves Gertrude. There is some fun back and forth between Casey and Sarah, especially as Sarah tries to direct him in how to ask his mark out.

Let me just declare that Carrie-Anne Moss is great on the show. She has totally blown me away. I have never been a particular fan of anything she has done (though, that may be more about the characters than her, I don't know) but she has grabbed a hold of this part and made it her own. I totally buy into her character and how she fits into this world. Plus, Baldwin and Moss have great chemistry and I can't wait for more scenes between them.

Meanwhile, Chuck and Morgan have a secret meeting in a garage and it turns out to be General Beckman! Here we get some hilarity as Morgan greets her from the car.

General Beckman: I'm outsourcing to your team to circumvent the leak. My only condition is that no one breathes my name in relation to the mission.
Morgan: (beeping the horn and yelling) Yo, Becky! What up, baby girl?
General Beckman: (to Chuck) I told you to come alone!
Morgan: You're doing pilates, huh? You are. Don't say you're not. You are.
General Beckman: What the hell is wrong with him?!
Chuck: So many things.

The next scene has Chuck running into Alex, Morgan's once dearest love and the daughter of the man who could have snapped the bearded one in half just three episodes ago. She is upset because Morgan is no longer being the awesome boyfriend he once was and asks for Chuck's help. Mekenna Melvin is kind of adorable in this scene and I am totally falling in love. Granted, that may just be the residual Chuckfest3 splash-over where she was super adorable and I totally fell in love. Whatever the case, I'm in love and Morgan's a dick. More Mekenna, please!

Back to the spy world where Casey, having placed a hidden camera on Verbanksi, along with Chuck and Sarah spy on Gertrude's meeting where they discover that Morgan is a traitor! And when he is confronted about it, he doesn't show much remorse.

Morgan: You had the greatest weapon on the planet and you chose not to use me! That's on you!
Sarah: So you went and told Verbanski about the Intersect?
Chuck: Morgan we were just trying to protect you, that's all. Don't do this.
Morgan: It's already done. Okay, Chuck? It's too late.

When Casey tries to stop him, Morgan subtly threatens him. Casey responds by telling him that he won't let his daughter date a traitor. Morgan responds dickishly.

Morgan: Right, right, right. Your daughter. Your daughter. Sure, excuse me. Let me take care of that right now. (pulls out his cell phone) Sweet little Ali.
Casey: Alex!
Morgan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, whatever. There you go. (Morgan holds up his cell phone) A'ight?
Casey: You text message break-up with my little girl?
Morgan: Yeah. Well, I can do better.

There is also a side story in here about Captain Awesome taking care of the cutest baby actor ever! Well, it is actually about how bored he is taking care of his kid. The guy who needs constant action can't just chill with the cutest baby ever! Just want to eat her up! Numnumnumnumnumnum!

But I digress.

Chuck starts to try to figure out what is going on with Morgan and comes to the conclusion that what he needs is for something embarrassing to happen to him to snap him out of his douchery, recalling a story of a behavioral change when they were kids when Morgan first grew a mustache. There is some fun bit of dialogue here that you should probably experience while watching the episode. But the team discovers that Morgan has stolen something from them and they decide to get it back while also pulling Morgan's pants down. It's actually a great plan.

Meanwhile dos, Captain Awesome discovers that Jeff has been freebasing carbon monoxide for a very, very, very, very, very, veryveryvery long time. He corrects the problem. If you don't know, Devon is actually my favorite character so I will take any scene with him. He was a bunch of fun last episode and continues his awesome ways here. In the end, he tells Jeff to stop sleeping in his van. This should do away with my need to write about it further.

Onto the Carmichael squad, as they infiltrate Verbanski's deepest, darkest layer, in daylight. We get Casey being badass, Chuck being a hacker, and more Morgan being a dick when he discovers that his assistant hasn't gotten his coffee right.

Morgan: (spitting up his coffee) Scotty, what is this?
Scotty: A tall soy latte with two Splendas.
Morgan: Soy? Who said anything about soy? What do you want me to do, start lactating for you?!
Scotty: I'm not sure what you mean?
Morgan: I asked for almond milk! Al-mond milk!
Chuck: (watching from a remote feed) You megalomaniacal bastard.
Morgan: Okay? Please fix it!
Scotty: Yes, sir!
Morgan: (to Gertrude) This is the best that Harvard has to offer?

When Morgan is called to train a class in martial arts, Gertrude is left alone in her office, with Casey hiding inside. This leads to a pretty great sequence where Morgan beats down one Verbanski trainee after another until only a incognito Chuck is left. This is hands down the best Morgan as the Intersect scene we will ever see. I love it. This is intercut with Casey and Gertrude having a sexy little fight in her office. Meow. These two kitties sure have chemistry.

The whole sequence culminates in the confrontation between Chuck and Morgan where Bartowski actually handles himself well, at least defensively, against Morgan's Intersect. The two then have an argument where they circle each other like two caged pit-bulls. There's even a "Lord of the Rings" reference tossed in the mix. What can I say, I love this scene too. And when Morgan is ordered to stop his former team, we get some extra bit of confrontation/fun tossed into this tasty omelet.

Let's fast forward! Somewhere in there the gang decides Morgan just needs to get in touch with his inner self to break what is most likely a Decker control in the Intersect. There is a confrontation between the Verbanksi and Carmichael groups during a mission that leads into a shoot-out and a fight, then an exploding helicopter, Casey and Gertrude kissing, and Morgan returning back to what appears to be normal. This is the only thing that bothers me about the episode, the easy with which Morgan breaks the spell he has been under. I don't know why these writers feel the need to make resolutions so simple/easy. It is almost as if they think the collective IQ of the viewers is 80.

As the episode ends, Jeff arrives at the Buy More having slept without the carbon monoxide poisoning for one night, totally clear headed and looking frighteningly normal. What does this mean for poor Lester? Casey kicks Morgan out of his apartment and the bearded bandit has to stay with Chuck and Sarah. And we are told that since Morgan announced to everyone who would listen that he was the Intersect, that there is a kill order out on him. Ruhroh! Someone wants the little guy dead! Tune in next week for more!

If I had to rate this episode, I would give it:

93 out of 100.

So, what did you think?

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