Heartwarmed Yet?: More Thoughts on "Chuck Versus Santa Claus"

You've already read my advance review of the Christmas episode of Chuck, but I am curious to know just what you all thought of this week's episode ("Chuck Versus Santa Claus"), in which the Buy More gang is taken hostage on the day before Christmas and Sarah takes an action that could change her relationship with Chuck forever.

I thought that this week's episode, written by Scott Rosenbaum (who also wrote "Chuck Versus the Break-Up" and co-wrote Season One's "Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami"), offered up a tasty mix of the genre-busting elements we've come to know and love from Chuck, including a heady blend of romance, comedy, and action. And it was fantastic to have an episode that featured a single plot that involved each and every member of Chuck's talented cast (including, yes, Julia Ling's Anna Wu, who showed up now two weeks in a row for a change).

My review of "Chuck Versus Santa Claus" incited quite a lot of heated debate ahead of its premiere so I am extremely intrigued by what everyone's reactions will be to this episode.

I appreciated the way that Rosenbaum was able to work the entire cast into the action by having Devon and Ellie show up at the Buy More early to take advantage of the Friends & Family discount. I also loved the irony about how Devon wanted a "sense of danger" in his life, unaware that he was about to become a hostage in his future brother-in-law's secret world of espionage. (And I was extremely glad that Ellie and Devon didn't find out about Chuck being the Intersect or Sarah being a government operative. That's what sweeps episodes are for, after all.)

Loved that amateur criminal Ned wasn't quite the, er, amateur criminal that he seemed initially and was actually a Fulcrum agent with some kick-ass fight moves, a disarming way of gaining Chuck's trust, and a willingness to murder Ellie should Chuck not comply with Mauser's instructions. I can usually call a bait-and-switch a mile away but I could not have predicted that the entire hostage situation was a setup from the start, with both Ned and hostage negotiator Lt. Mauser both Fulcrum agents looking to kidnap Chuck.

I'm not entirely sure how Ned would have gotten away if Devon and the gang hadn't taken him down, but Fulcrum isn't exactly known for its generosity towards its employees. Was that crash into the Buy More intended to be a one-way ticket to prison for Ned? Or was he intending to go out in a blaze of glory once Mauser had gotten away with Chuck? Hmmm...

What I loved most of all was the way that "Chuck Versus Santa Claus" reaffirmed some of the main qualities of our beloved characters. The moment in which Chuck refused to follow Casey and Sarah's instructions about hiding in the Castle, thus leaving Sarah and Devon in harm's way, again reminded us that, as geeky and accident-prone as Chuck is, he's brave in the face of danger and always he's worried more about his loved ones than himself.

Chuck choosing to call Sarah during the hostage standoff proved the depths of his feelings for her and lead her to accept his invitation to Christmas ("I knew you could be heartwarmed"). And, even though in the midst of a hostage situation, Chuck decides to have a genuine emotional moment with Sarah and gives her his mother's charm bracelet. (The way he stroked her hand when she said he should give it to a "real girlfriend" broke my heart.) Plus, in true hero fashion, Chuck puts Ellie's life before his in agreeing to go with Mauser quietly, even though he knows he will never see her again.

And then there was Sarah quite literally following through on her promise to always protect Chuck... even if it means killing in order to achieve that end.

Chuck, for everything he's seen as the Intersect, still lives in a black and white world where morality is a rigid rather than a flexible thing. Sarah has been such a supportive and positive influence in Chuck's life, that it's easy sometimes to forget that this woman is a trained government agent and has killed many, many times before (remember Chuck's flash at the end of the pilot?). In killing Mauser to prevent Chuck's identity from leaking, Sarah crossed a moral line that Chuck had assumed was drawn in the sand: he, Sarah, and Casey are the Good Guys and part of that means not taking human life in order to take down their adversaries. After all, Chuck still believed until that point that Sarah was a regular girl ("Underneath that spy cover is a regular person just like the rest of us"), but now...?

The truth is that Sarah had a tough decision to make. She should have taken Mauser in for questioning and the team could have gained valuable intel about Fulcrum but there was no way that Fulcrum wouldn't have eventually learned that Chuck was the Intersect. Her primary mission is to protect Chuck at all costs. This time, the cost was Mauser's life. But she never for a second thought that (A) Chuck would find out about the fact that she murdered an unarmed man in cold blood, or (B) that Chuck had actually witnessed the killing and could not look at her the same way now.

Throughout the history of the series, Chuck and Sarah have had their romance derailed by external influences: rival lovers, governmental codes of conduct, timing. But this is the first time that the thing that may keep them apart is an internal dilemma. Can Chuck forgive Sarah for killing Mauser, even if it was to keep him safe? Can he ever look at her again and see the woman he loves and not a cold-blooded killer? It's an interesting change of pace and one that signals a greater dramatic tension between the two would-be lovers and well as a willingness to deal with greater issues of morality and responsibility.

What else worked for me? Morgan talking about being an adult while wearing an elf costume; Emmett giving a sob story about his 86-year-old grandmother dying of a rare disease ("She needs me, her bobo") in order to escape the hostage standoff and then using the camera to talk about the store sale; Casey's band-aid covered fingers, all cut up from working the gift-wrap station; another secret entrance from the Castle to the Buy More behind the employee lockers; Ned shooting off Casey's toe (and Jeff revealing that he's gotten by with only eight for some time); the Buy More gang taking bets on the outcome of the police chase; Sarah getting nostalgic looking at the ad for eggnog yogurt; the Bartowskis' traditional Christmas plans ("eggnog, PJs, a fake gas fireplace, and a Twilight Zone marathon"); Anna missing Morgan's big heroic moment; Lester kissing Anna, who finds him utterly repulsive; Lester calling the "love chat line" and Jeff calling his mom in prison; Chuck blurting "NO!" when Ned says that Sarah can leave during the hostage standoff; Lester saying that his always coming up from behind is "awkward."

And, oh, learning that Casey's mom calls him "Johnny Boy." Classic.

Best line of the evening: "It's an electronics store, Major Casey, not Basra." - General Beckman

But enough about my views. I want to know what people thought of "Chuck Versus Santa Claus." Did it live up to your expectations? Did you gasp aloud when Sarah shot Mauser? Do you blame Chuck for looking at his cover girlfriend/handler differently now? And how will these two get past what happened? Talk back here.

Chuck returns with new episodes on Monday, February 2nd at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.