Spies Like Us: An Advance Review of the Next Four Episodes of "Chuck"

Anticipation is running high for the return of NBC's action-comedy Chuck after three weeks off the air (thanks to the Olympics) and the unveiling of a romantic subplot that, er, may have rubbed certain fans the wrong way.

The public reaction to the last episode that aired ("Chuck Versus the Mask") took many people--including this critic--by surprise, not because the writers had once again managed to keep Sarah and Chuck separate but by the vehemence and venom being hurled at the series' producers and the installment's writer, Phil Klemmer. (It also had some fans clamoring for what would most certainly be a destructive boycott of the series itself, a terrible and foolhardy effort that would lead not to any plot direction changes but to an inevitable cancellation.)

I had the opportunity over the weekend to watch the next four superb installments of Chuck, which returns to the NBC schedule a week from today, and was extremely pleased by what I watched.

For one, the writers--especially "Chuck Versus the Fake Name" writer Ali Adler--are not only aware of some of the viewers' criticisms but deal with them head on, allowing the characters--including Chuck and Sarah themselves--to voice their own concerns about the burgeoning romances between Chuck and Hannah and Sarah and Shaw. With a wink and a nod, Adler gives the characters license to poke fun at our own expectations and hang-ups about on-screen romances with a nicely played self-referential zing.

I won't give any of the plot points of the next four episodes away--I made a promise to series creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak against spoiling anything--but I will say that even if you aren't a fan of the latest romantic permutations, these episodes still have quite a lot to offer, not the least of which is the series' trademark combination of action and comedy, which these episodes have in abundance.

Will Chuck and Sarah eventually end up together? Hell, yes. Are they clearly meant for one another? Yes, again. But any series looking to sustain itself over the long haul would have to be crazy to subvert the sexual tension between the leads by having them give into temptation and consummate their relationship. That's all the more apparent here, despite the very real discussion--both aloud and internally--that Chuck and Sarah have in these episodes. Just because two people are meant to be together doesn't mean that they should be together right now, especially when there are matters of personal duty and professional responsibility that are keeping them apart.

The push and pull of Sarah and Chuck's would-be relationship keeps things exciting and it keeps people coming back week after week to see just when the duo will succumb to their feelings. But, naturally, there are bound to be other romantic interests for both Chuck and Sarah along the way. Both of them are human and, if they can't be with the person that they love, they're clearly willing to take a chance with someone else in the short-term.

These next four episodes deal with the love quadrangle between Chuck, Hannah, Sarah, and Shaw but it's not the only thing going on within these gripping and suspenseful (as well as hilarious) installments, which deal in their own way with larger themes of of identity and self-definition.

There are some major game-changing plot developments that shake up the series not quite as severely as last season's Intersect 2.0 finale, but there are lasting consequences, particularly coming out of "Chuck Versus the Beard," the sensational episode written by Scott Rosenbaum and directed by Zachary Levi. The episode might just be one of my favorite episodes of Chuck to date and features some major changes for Team Bartowski.

Levi is amazing here as in the previous episode ("Chuck Versus the Fake Name"): funny, vulnerable, and unlike any way we've seen him before. (And, yes, that's a hint.) Very nicely played, indeed. Plus, the episode--which features The Sopranos' Tony Sirico--is a hell of a lot of fun and deals with emotional complexities of Chuck and Sarah's jobs in a very meaningful and interesting way and forces Chuck to rely on his own natural skills and abilities for a change.

Additionally, several of these episodes deal with our favorite spies' backstories. Both Sarah and Colonel Casey (in "Chuck Versus the Tic Tac," guest starring Robert Patrick) get some very revealing subplots that fill in the gaps in their characters' respective histories and prove to be very, very illuminating, while the stakes are raised for a few series regulars as well. Look for several familiar faces to make some potentially life-altering decisions in this block of episodes. (That's all I'll say on the subject.)

And there's also a pivotal metaphorical crossroads for Mr. Bartowski himself, one that could change the landscape of the series as the season goes on. I can't say more without spoiling what is a fantastic episode ("Chuck Versus the Final Exam"), which has some extreme consequences for Chuck as well for as the team itself. (One hint: a sauna, a towel, and a sharp breeze play a role, as does a surprising but emotionally powerful twist.)

Given that the third season was originally meant to be just thirteen episodes, I'd anticipate some major shifts and reveals coming up in the two episodes following this arc... and I'm curious to see just how interrelated the first thirteen episodes are to the back six.

In any event, these episodes demonstrate the immense promise and potential of both Chuck Bartowski and Chuck itself, forcing the former to face up to some hard truths and take another leap into adulthood (and the spy world) and the latter to offer some major plot twists that will shake up the series in some very unexpected ways, as the battle with The Ring reaches its boiling point.



Chuck returns with new episodes on Monday, March 1st at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC.