Fruit Punch Drunk: The Fat Lady Sings for Chuck and Jill on "Chuck"

I'm not entirely sure how NBC's Chuck became such a contentious, controversial series, but after my write-up of last week's episode ("Chuck Versus the Ex") garnered some vociferous responses on both sides (those who loved the episode versus, well, those who didn't), I wanted to be sure to see what everyone thought of this week's episode ("Chuck Versus the Fat Lady"), the second in a three-part storyline that featured the return of Chuck's ex-girlfriend Jill. (You can read my advance review of the entire three-episode story arc here.)

While Chuck and Jill grew closer--despite the disapproving glare of Casey and the more-than-slightly jealous shifty glances of Sarah--astute audiences were, of course, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did in last night's episode in which the team goes on the hunt for a computer file containing the identities of every single Fulcrum agent within the CIA, Chuck betrays Casey and Sarah to save the life of Jill after she's kidnapped by a lethal Fulcrum assassin, and the truth about Jill comes spilling out... but not before she and Chuck head off into the sunset for a romantic get-away.

While not as strong as last week's pitch-perfect installment, "Chuck Versus the Fat Lady," written by Matthew Lau (who last wrote Season One's "Chuck Versus the Marlin"), offered up a fantastic second act, one in which Chuck finally gets the girl of his dreams (seemingly, anyway) and makes a step towards having as normal a life as possible when one happens to be the Intersect. I absolutely loved the opening, in which James Bond-ian superspy Chuck manages to evade a number of security measures in order to gain access to... the Buy More roof, where he and Jill have a romantic picnic. It's a tongue-in-cheek reminder of the loopy charms of this fun series and it stands in stark contrast for the inevitable betrayal that lies ahead.

Jill, of course, is a Fulcrum agent, as Casey and Sarah learn to their horror at the end of last night's episode. Which should make you wonder just how coincidental it was that she ran into Chuck last week and what she's really after. Does she know that Chuck is the Intersect? You'll have to wait until next week to find out. What is for certain, however, is that Stanford is quite the hotbed of intelligence operative recruiting; after all, Chuck, Bryce, and Jill are all involved in espionage. But my question is this: does Bryce know about Jill's nefarious associations? Bryce himself has been after Fulcrum for quite some time now. Could it be another reason why Bryce got Chuck kicked out of Stanford? Hmmm.

While Chuck and Jill decipher numerous clues (loved the fact that LaFleur's Venetian music box clue was in fact "Rootin' Raspberry" Hi-C and led them to the opera) and play find-the-magic-flute (heh), there's a bit of a power play going on back at the Buy More as Emmett attempts to discover just what Chuck is up to on all of those off-site installs he frequently disappears on... and attempts to turn Morgan against Chuck in his quest for power over the mythical kingdom of BuyMoreia. ("What is he into? Uppers, glue? A baby mama?")

What worked for me? The subtle way that Yvonne Strahovski once again managed to convey jealousy, sadness, and want all in a single look or turn of her head and the way she effortlessly combined strength and femininity in Sarah's scene with Jordana Brewster's Jill, where Sarah tells her romantic rival that it's her job to protect Chuck from everything (including, it would seem, heartbreak). It's clear not only why Chuck is tearing himself up over the fact that he can't be with Sarah but also the extent of Sarah's feelings for him, even she can't act on them, all beautifully crystallized when she's ordered by Casey to take out Chuck when he steals the files and she can't bring herself to shoot him. The course of true love, as they say...

What else did I love about this week's installment? Casey the Human Pitch Pipe ("I wasn't hatched," he says in explanation); Jill revealing that Chuck played the flute; Sarah masterfully taking down the sharpshooter at the opera; Chuck using Morgan's game copier to copy the Fulcrum data; the poker game and Emmett's wine cooler-fueled rant of destruction at the Buy More; Chuck and Sarah's very cold shower complete with slo-mo when he realizes he's in the shower with Sarah; Jeff going into "prison mode" to explain that he's not a snitch; Chuck and Jill's "nerd code" conversation about the location for their next assignation; Jill peeling off her shirt and covering up the surveillance camera in Chuck's bedroom. (Wowza!)

Best line of the evening: "I have heard the loading dock is like a Five for Fighting concert." (And tied with "Tastes like high school.")

Next week on Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Gravitron"), Sarah and Casey rush to try to locate Chuck now that they know that Jill is an undercover Fulcrum agent in search of the Intersect; Chuck is forced to use his relationship with Jill to get to an agent known as Leader; Ellie tries to prepare for a Thanksgiving dinner with Captain Awesome's parents and disinvites Morgan from dinner.