One big positive about Chuck this season is how well it’s been utilizing its full supporting cast; Morgan, Ellie, Devon, Sarah and even Beckman got standout episodes and moments, so it’s about time we got into a full Casey spotlight. Unsurprisingly, it involves the return of his stellar love interest—though the episode itself may not have been quite stellar.
Recap:
Gertrude Verbanski (Carrie-Anne Moss) returns, to Casey’s delight, and requests Carmichael Industries’ help on a mission involving a wanted weapons dealer. Casey isn’t happy that she’s treating him like her kept man—buying him sweaters, tricking him into vacationing in Miami, giving him a banana hammock (which we never actually see him in, sadly)—feelings which put the mission in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Sarah thinks she might be pregnant, Morgan and Devon try to stop Jeff and Lester from discovering the spy secrets of the Buy More, and Chuck…goes through a lot of mood swings. In the end, Casey and Verbanski work things out and catch the bad guy; Verbanski decides to leave but will be waiting for Casey (to finish the series, I guess); Sarah isn’t pregnant after all; and Jeff and Lester…actually do discover Castle.
Review:
There were some decent character moments this time around; the ending and everyone’s conclusions were a step forward. The trouble was that getting there was wrapped in some very slow-paced stories, stilted dialogue and predictable plots. Past Casey-centric episodes like “Chuck vs. The Sensei” and “Chuck vs. The Tic Tac” were never very strong, but at least they were entertaining. The main plots of “Chuck vs. The Kept Man” were just boring.
I’ve really enjoyed the romance between Casey and Verbanski this season, so I was a little disappointed that this outing wasn’t more entertaining. Admittedly, Casey’s awkwardness at Verbanski’s advances (and Adam Baldwin’s signature faces and grunts throughout) were a high point of the episode. However, I was a little uncomfortable at just how creepy Verbanski was at the beginning, essentially forcing poor Casey into being her pool boy. Luckily, the story didn’t just play this for laughs and made it relatively insightful: Casey and Verbanski simply don’t understand romance, and it isn’t in their nature. Of course Verbanski will confuse “boyfriend” with “sex toy” if that’s all she’s really known in the spy world. Luckily, they both figure themselves out (no doubt helped by Chuck’s pointing-at-the-heart advice) and end the episode on a good note. It was a little forced to just have Verbanski up and leave Burbank, but that’s the curse of special guest stars. I wish we’d gotten to see more Carrie-Anne Moss, she was incredibly enjoyable to watch, and melded with the cast surprisingly well. Oh well, at least Casey’s got a girlfriend to run to as soon as the series ends.
Despite last week’s curveball with the titular baby not being Sarah’s, it was only a matter of time before we got to that big pregnancy question…one week later. Chuck has handled such TV clichés with finesse in the past (the Awesome-Ellie wedding episode had freaking Chevy Chase and “Mr. Roboto”) but this time, there just wasn’t enough charm. In its defense, though, Yvonne Strahovski sold this week’s unusually emotional Sarah, even in moments that could have been a little over-the-top.
It does seem like the show is pushing Sarah and Chuck in favor of “leave the spy life and raise a family,” so it probably won’t be much of a shocker if they make that decision in the finale. But for now the storyline, however predictable, does work as a slow burn to string the season together.
Zachary Levi seemed kind of off this week, mostly because his reactions were oddly over-the-top and cartoony. Considering Levi generally gives consistent performances, I’m wondering if this could be the fault of the director, Fred Toye. Or it could have been the fact that he had three different character arcs going on: first he was enthusiastic about emphasizing the “C.A.R.E.” part of their company; then he was having trouble “using his heart” to read Sarah’s signals; then he was “spiraling” after contemplating kids and the spy life because of the pregnancy scare. These weren’t completely separate arcs, but it didn’t all tie together as well as it should have.
In addition to the slow pace, writing-wise there seemed to be an overload of puns and one-liners tonight. Some were okay, but then there was Sarah’s “Don’t worry, I wore my seatbelt.” Ugh. I have to admit, though, I did get enjoyment out of Gertrude’s “debriefed” pun at the beginning…in a guilty pleasure sort of way.
I actually enjoyed Jeff and Lester’s storyline the most. Normally the Buy More stories can be superfluous, but they were actually—dare I say—endearing. In an episode largely devoid of truly funny moments, I did laugh out loud at Lester’s slow-motion reveal in his woman disguise. While other clichés in this episode fell flat because of the slow pace, Vik Sahay and the cinematography sold this quick little joke. And Jeff’s slip to Lester’s backside was…cute. If that’s the right word.
I’ve wanted to get the Buy Morons to get suspicious since the CIA-revamped store debuted in season 4, but it makes sense to use this now as a way to unite the Buy More and spy world for the final arc. My only complaint is that I wish we could have seen Jeff noticing things over the course of the season to lead up to this, instead of it coming out of nowhere. However, it was clever to see Devon utilized as a fake-spy again, a la season 3, to divert them.
There were a couple of other factors I really liked. The references to Downtown Abbey were odd, but hey, why not? Pop culture references are always welcome on Chuck, especially when it gives us a sweet bonding moment between Casey and Alex. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sarah’s awesome speech to Casey about her skimpy outfits. The show’s been mildly on-the-nose about its fanservice in the past, but with Devon’s slow-mo walk a few weeks back, Lester in drag this week, and Sarah’s speech, this season really hasn’t held anything back with making fun of itself in that sense. And I love it.
“Chuck vs. The Kept Man” is not particularly offensive, it’s just boring and bland. Which is sad, considering a love story between Casey and Gertrude could justify lots of fun and explosions. At best, it’s just middle-of-the-road, but hopefully the final four episodes will kick it up back to where we were in the past two weeks.
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