Sex, Lies, and Secret Agents: Chuck Comes Face to Face with His Ex on "Chuck"

You've already read my advance review of the next three episodes of Chuck from last week but I am curious to know just what you all thought of this week's episode ("Chuck Versus the Ex"), in which our would-be superspy ran head long into ex-girlfriend Jill (guest star Jordana Brewster) and confronted the reason behind loss of his "mojo" back at Stanford.

Written by Zev Borow, who wrote last season's "Chuck Versus the Crown Vic," and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Arrested Development, Super Troopers), this week's episode is easily the best of the series to date, displaying Chuck's full potential to blend action, comedy, and romance into one delicious, sugar-coated package.

While I listed all of my reasons in my advance review, I'll say this: it gave nearly every single supporting character an opportunity to shine in a storyline that had Chuck, Casey, and Sarah investigating Jill's boss Guy LeFleur while Captain Awesome trained the Buy More staff in CPR, all while advancing the love triangle between Chuck, Sarah, and Jill and giving us another peek into Chuck's college days.

So what did I love so much about this week's episode? The way Emmett said "pronto," for one; Big Mike's near-choking on one of his beloved doughnuts; the awkward reach-hug/hand-grab between Chuck and Jill after she discovers him hiding under the table; Casey saying "who hasn't?" when he learned that Jill had slept with Bryce Larkin (and his later disguise as an arty matre'd); the James Bondian music before Chuck's "fine Italian automobile" stopped short of the restaurant on his date with Jill; getting to hear Yvonne Strahovski's actual Australian accent before she excused herself to go to the loo. (Ha!)

What else? There was Emmett channeling Tobias with a subtle "hot, hot, hot" whilst drinking coffee; Ellie catching Morgan with her underwear; Casey wiping down the glass table after dumping Jill's tissues in the trash; Jeff swallowing the pen cap so that Lester and Morgan could pass their written CPR test; Chuck taking control of the crime scene to demonstrate his first real display of courage and grit.

And, oh, that cringe-worthy kiss between Chuck and Casey which paid off the CPR training storyline and brought us the least likely liplock on television this year. Plus, I couldn't help but root for Chuck when he finally won the girl after saving the day himself and got to kiss her in front of an entire squad of FBI, CIA, SWAT agents... to the tune of Iggy Pop's appropriately-titled "Pumpin' For Jill" no less. God, I love this series.

While I missed Anna (why exactly was she excused from the mandatory CPR training?), I thought that Borow did a fantastic job further developing Emmett's character and making more of a presence at the Buy More. In his first appearance, Emmett (Tony Hale) came off as little more than a corporate drone but I was happy to see him play a larger role in this week's episode as he begins to put the screws to our boy Chuck, slowly becoming aware of Chuck's inexplicable absences from the Buy More.

Best line of the evening: "If I wanted to take tests, I would have been a boat captain." - Jeff (Though it was a toss-up between that and Casey's "I served my country with honor, let me die with dignity.")

But enough of what I thought. Do you agree with my assessment that "Chuck Versus the Ex" was the best episode so far? Did you jump with joy when Chuck turned up at Jill's hotel with an entire contingent of FBI agents? Or feel your heart break when Sarah overheard Chuck say that his relationship with her was nothing but a cover? Talk back here.

Next week on Chuck ("Chuck Versus the Fat Lady"), Chuck and Jill have to cancel their weekend getaway at the last minute when Chuck is needed for a mission to uncover corrupt Fulcrum agents in the CIA; Jill is jealous when she meets Sarah and learns that she and Chuck will have to pose as a couple.