We’re in the home stretch now. “Chuck Vs. Bo” introduces us to the final villain, the final arc, and our last bit of stunt casting; gives us momentum on many character arcs; and the return or something you’ve either been waiting all season for or never wanted to see again. With so much packed into one episode, could it possibly deliver without feeling too cluttered?
Recap:
Sarah definitively decides she no longer wants to be a spy, and comes up with an idea for Carmichael industries to fight Cyberterrorism instead, fulfilling the spy urges without being in danger. Morgan finds an iPhone from his Frosted Tips days, and discovers a message he left himself before losing his memory—there’s another pair of Intersect glasses out there! The gang goes out on their “last mission” to find them before they get into the wrong hands, only to find the Bo Derek (Bo Derek, obviously) tangled in the events. She’s a spy, working for Nicholas Quinn (Angus Macfayden, Braveheart) and he’s got a shocking connection to Chuck’s life—he was the CIA’s choice to be the first Intersect before Bryce Larkin stole it back in the first episode. Meanwhile, Jeff and Lester continue their quest to uncover the truth, and manage to track Chuck and the gang to the big gunfight with Quinn. The gang beats Quinn and his forces but allows him to escape, though not before Jeff and Lester plea to have their memories of all the carnage they just witnessed erased for good. Things seem hunky-dory, until letting the bad guy get away comes back to bite them when Quinn abducts Chuck and holds him for ransom for the Intersect. Sarah and Casey go after him, only to discover it’s a trap. Out of options and with no hope for backup, Sarah does the unthinkable—she uploads the Intersect.
Review:
I’ll come right out and say it: yes, this episode delivered, and yes I liked it a whole darn lot.
There are a lot of reasons not to like the episode, and I’m sure it’s going to be incredibly divisive in the fanbase (as has everything since season 3.) Sarah with the Intersect is going to be the main point of contention, of course; possibly even how Jeff and Lester’s investigation ended. And yet, I felt fulfilled. I came to accept that Chuck was not a show about innovate storytelling and was going to go the way of predictability most of the time, but it didn’t matter because the characters were great and the quirkiness of the show made it fun and enjoyable. Chuck is a very fluffy show, no matter how dark it tries to get, and episodes like this remind me that it’s okay to just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s not a Breaking Bad kind of show, but it’s still miles above being simply a guilty pleasure.
That’s not to say this episode didn’t have its fair share of curveballs and shockers, though—both hilarious and dramatic. The titular Bo Derek was only around for the first section of the episode, but man did they use her well. She wasn’t quite in my generation, so she’s far from being a favorite guest star for me personally, but I loved how they handled her. We got our first “real-life celebrity is actually a spy” with Stan Lee a few episodes back, but this was the first time it was truly utilized—and boy, was it worth the wait. Derek was the perfect choice for this kind of part, and she’s still absolutely gorgeous at her age. I bet Joshua Gomez had a good time getting to make out with (what I’d bet) is one of his childhood idols! Chuck’s awkwardness, and Sarah’s subsequent quips, about his crush were also really funny.
The opening of this episode was pleasingly meta. Chuck had taken itself a little too seriously in the past couple of seasons (one of the reasons I didn’t particularly like season 4) and thus hadn’t been too self-referential. But this season, like I said in my last review, they aren’t really holding anything back. It definitely feels very “final season-y” now. I loved that they mention the pointlessness of the Buy More—complete with a (strangely) more solemn reprisal of the Buy More’s theme from the first couple of seasons.
Sarah’s faux pas about naming the “last mission” was clever, too. That even becomes a recurring theme in the episode: is there ever going to be a final mission to get out of this? You have to feel bad for Chuck and Sarah at this point; for the first time all season, I really felt like their yearnings to get out of that life were honest and not forced at all. I loved that Sarah came to the realization in a mundane way; frankly, it feels more realistic than the pregnancy scare last week. It’s no doubt helped by the fact that they actually have a plan this time—an ingenious one, too! Fighting cyberterrorism is a nice compromise to the “spy or no spy” question. They have both! Though I assume Casey will decide to leave to be with Verbanski at the end; I doubt “stealing harddrives” is really something he’s interested in.
The Frosted Tips are back! Intersect Morgan was controversial with fans, but I loved the storyline. I’m glad we revisited it one more time; having Morgan directly face it, instead of just the aftermath, seemed to seal off the story better than where it they previously left it. We also got some movement on his relationship with Alex, which was nice. Like I said back in “Chuck Vs. the Baby,” Gomez and Mekenna Melvin have wonderful chemistry, so it’s cute to see them on good terms. Also, the whole “rainbows” part of that story? Very funny.
Jeff and Lester’s journey continued to be awesome. I enjoyed the constant throwback to the crashed car in Vegas. I don’t get how the spy gang could have missed the permanent marker notes Jeff left that clearly would have kept them on the trail, but considering how much fun this story was, I’m okay with it. I’m not sure how I feel about Jeff and Lester forgetting, though. It was funny that they begged to forget, and I did enjoy the final scene with Big Mike (complete with another Subway plug!) but I’m still interested in what they would have done after discovering the truth, without the memory wipe gas.
Speaking of which, what was with that gas? The good guys and the bad guys used it. I guess it was cool that both stories tied together, but something about that popping up and being used so much felt weird.
Also, the alternate Buy More was awesome. ’Nuff said.
I really like how the final arc has been introduced—tying it back to both this season’s story and the very beginning of the series. I was a little uncertain about abandoning Intersect Morgan so quickly and then ending the overall plot in “Chuck Vs. the Santa Suit,” but it’s nice that part of that plot managed to tie into this one. Also, I’m a sucker for anytime a story comes full circle, so making the final villain the guy who was originally supposed to get the Intersect was a stroke of genius to me. It’s something no one ever thought about from the beginning—if Bryce stole it, whom did he steal it from? To tie him into the mythology even further, he’s helped out Fulcrum, The Ring, and Volkoff Industries. A little forced, maybe, but I can appreciate adding weight to his introduction.
While it was nice that we got an already fleshed out backstory and motivation for Quinn (lost the Intersect, got captured, pissed at everyone now) having every line of his dialogue in both of his scenes be pure, unadulterated exposition was not the best introduction to his character. Now that it’s out of the way, hopefully we can see him flourish into something unique, like they allowed Volkoff to do.
Now what you’re all waiting for: Sarah gets the Intersect. What is there to say? It was definitely a shocker. It really all depends on how it’s used from now on. Morgan’s arc worked because it was part of Decker’s plan. But we’d been told for the first three seasons that Chuck was “special” when it came to the Intersect, only to see so many other people use it. But then, Shaw and Morgan both failed even with the Intersect for different reasons, so perhaps the whole point of having another person get it is to further reinforce that Chuck himself is the only one that can properly use it. I’m betting Sarah loses it after the next episode, but it should still be a fun ride given tonight’s cliffhanger.
The Intersect has become the most controversial element of the show ever since Chuck upgraded to 2.0 way back in the season 2 finale. And just like Morgan getting it and Chuck losing it, Intersect Sarah is definitely something you’ll either love or hate. Which camp do you think you’ll be in?
Derek B. Gayle is a Virginia native and has a BS in English from Randolph-Macon College. He’s an avid Power Rangers fanatic, and favorite current TV shows include Community, Supernatural and Chuck. You can reach him on Twitter @Durkinator27 or visit his blog at thebeardedawesome.wordpress.com.
